FBC TV

About two years ago, our church opened its new Family Ministry Center, Student Ministry area (The Underground) and our new Fellowship Hall. One of the things that sets this part of our campus apart from the rest is the media technology that was incorporated into the design plan. Part of that technology includes a background music system and over 30 LCD TVs mounted throughout the new areas (along with a few other secrets). Since then we’ve added over 30 LCD TVs to our Education Building as well.

Up until now, we’ve used these screens to run announcements via PowerPoint. That’s been pretty good for promoting events, ministries, etc. But what if we could do more? What if we could take it to the next level?

Stay tuned for FBC TV!

There are no time machines

One of my favorite movie series of all time is the Back to the Future series. Not only do I love the story lines, but the continuity of the three stories is amazing...it’s basically one long, interwoven story. Even more than that though, I love the thought of being able to go back in time.

I don’t know about you, but I could use a time machine to create more time. As media ministers and staff, we stay so busy that we often neglect to take time off to rest. It’s easy because there’s ALWAYS something to do...and 100 more things waiting to get done. But, we must make the time! Burning ourselves out won’t do anyone any good and it certainly won’t bring glory to God.

This is an area that I need to work on in my own life. I need to make time for myself, my family and most importantly my God...and I encourage you to do the same.

Making the connections

First Media worked a long weekend to install the fiber optic cable and the components necessary to connect our Worship Center video and audio feeds to our Living Room (contemporary) service. We ran into a few snags along the way, but we got it done.

The feed originates at our Control Room IMAG switcher (Panasonic MX70) and runs to a Sony Hard Disk Recorder...we use that to delay the programming that’s sent to the Living Room. It then runs through an Extron fiber transimitter, down the fiber cable to an Extron fiber receiver in the Living Room tech booth and ultimately to another MX70 IMAG swticher.

But if that’s where the connections stop, then we’ve missed our target completely. Our purpose as media ministers, staff and volunteers is not just to provide and operate technology, but to use that technology to connect people...to one another, to service and to God. Technology is a ministry tool. If we remember that, we’ll approach our tech projects with a renewed enthusiasm and intentionality.

Here I Stand!

This week we have several items on our plate. I’m taking the “Here I Stand!” logo created by David Hobbs and making a sermon bumper in Motion. We didn’t want anything over the top, just some subtle movement as our pastor walks up on stage. I’m enjoying learning more about Motion...it’s amazing what you can do with it. I’ll post the bumper when it’s done. We’re also working on our second installment of the First 90. We’ll continue to tweak it each week until we’ve got it where we want it.

This weekend we’ll be working to install the components necessary to pipe our audio and video signal to and from our Worship Center Control Room and our Living Room Tech Booth. This is my first foray into fiber, so I’m looking forwarding to learning something new. We’ll use this as a backup for sending our weekly sermons to the Living Room and as an overflow. It will also allow us to feed a signal from either of those rooms to any/all of the 50+ LCD displays throughout our campus...the possibilities with that are endless.

Thanks, Ed!

For the last two years, Dr. Ed Stetzer has been our Interim Teaching Pastor. God has used Ed to bless our congregation with his teaching, his leadership, and his humor. Last Sunday, we thanked Ed for serving at First Baptist. Click here to see our “Thanks, Ed!” video.

New Pastor and the First 90

It’s gonna be an exciting week in First Media!

Today is Dr. Bruce Chesser’s first day. Bruce will preach this coming Sunday morning and we will celebrate with fellowship, fun, food and a concert on Sunday evening. First Media will have a busy week preparing for Sunday’s celebration.

Also, after a year in the making, we will be unveiling the First Ninety this Sunday. The First Ninety is a weekly 90-second update of the ministries of First Baptist Church. I’ll post each episode of the First Ninety on Wired for Service.

Busy Summer

We’ve had a busy summer in First Media. We’ve done VBS, end of year projects, four videos for the Montana Southern Baptist Convention, a video to introduce our new pastor, and many more projects.

This week we’re shooting and producing videos for 4 different projects...deacon ordination testimonies, The First 90 (coming soon to Wired for Service!!!) and two others which will be unveiled soon. Today we’ll be shooting several people on location, including Dr. Morris Chapman, President of the Southern Baptist Convention. I’ll post those videos in the coming days.

We’re also working on a new tech project. Our IT department will be installing fiber that we’ll use to connect our Worship Center and our Fellowship Hall so that we can pipe the sermon from one room to the other. This will also send our Worship Center feed to the 60+ LCD monitors that we have throughout our campus.