Just Shoot Me A Practical Guide for Using Your Video Camera in Youth Ministry

Just What Do You Mean By "Using Video in Youth Ministry," and Why Do You Want to Use It? The four digital laws First of all, let's make it abundantly clear that we do not believe in the Four Digital Laws. Law 1: Youth workers love teenagers and have wonderful plans for their lives. Law 2: Youth workers are older and separated from teenagers. Therefore they cannot know and communicate with them. Law 3: Video technology is God's only provision for youth workers' separation from teenagers. Only through video technology can youth workers know, communicate with, and impact teenagers. Law 4: We must individually buy and use video technology in our youth ministry if we hope to know and communicate with teenagers. We just don't buy this. (Well, except maybe for the fourth law, which we think holds some truth.) It is not true that every youth worker, every youth ministry must use video. Far from it-you don't have to use video in your ministry at all. To the contrary, you can be very effective without it. Then again, using video just might move your ministry into a realm of effectiveness you haven't yet experienced with your youth group. A defining moment So what do we mean by "using video in youth ministry," anyway? For most youth workers it means playing back prerecord-ed clips (on rented or purchased videocassettes) of any length or quality (in any youth ministry setting for any purpose). You're reading this because you're obviously looking for an entirely different, more active use of video. So what do you think of this definition? Using video in youth ministry is applying the skills and technology for capturing, preparing, and presenting video images to any or all goals, tasks, or purposes of youth ministry. This will be our working definition in this book. The two worlds of using video in youth Ministry Here's what we see as the two worlds of video use in youth groups: Simply put, this means that every image is either- A live image coming directly from a camera, or A prerecorded image played back from a VCR, camcorder, DVD, computer hard drive, or other technologies that will continue to emerge. You may already be applying ideas from both worlds in your ministry. For example, have you ever used a video cam-era, video projector, and screen to project an enlarged, live image of what was simultaneously taking place on the stage or platform? A great idea for concerts, youth rallies and conferences, and worship services of all flavors. On the other hand, any time you pop a videotape into a VCR or even playback video clips from a computer or DVD, you are in playback world (since the images aren't live, but rather prerecorded and played back from some device designed for playback of video images). But wait! There's more! Any video production you show in youth ministry-that is, a playback video-or anywhere else for that matter, will be either homegrown or prefab. Homegrown videos are productions you make yourself- you didn't buy it, rent it, or borrow the program. You shot it with a video camera of some kind, maybe you edited it (more about this in chapter six), and played it for your entire youth-group world to see. Prefab videos-these you bought, borrowed, or rented. This is the world most youth workers are well acquainted with. Both worlds are great places. Both have tons to offer to your youth ministry. Yet we believe (because we've experienced this first-hand) that homegrown videos represent greater potential and possibilities for youth groups-greater capability to build bridges to teenagers and their faith development. This entire book is focused on the wonderfully exciting, creatively limitless, and powerfully personal world of homegrown videos. Here's why we're a little biased about the superiority (usually) of homegrown videos over prefab videos: - Where can you buy, rent, or borrow Christian video programming that stars the kids in your veryDelp, Jay is the author of 'Just Shoot Me A Practical Guide for Using Your Video Camera in Youth Ministry' with ISBN 9780310238195 and ISBN 0310238196.