Church video recording  systems do not have to be difficult and overly expensive.  For only a few hundred dollars, you can produce quality recordings of your worship services!

You will need: Camcorder with video-output, set top DVD recorder, infrared repeater (if you want to control the zoom feature of the camcorder), and a small TV (19”).

Mount the camera in an unobtrusive location that can easily record the sanctuary.  Connect the camcorder video-out into the video-in of a set top DVD recorder.  For crystal-clear audio, use an audio-out connection from your sound board and connect it into the audio-in of the DVD recorder.  Using an infrared repeater, the camcorder zoom feature can be controlled.  Connect a small TV to the DVD Recorder audio/video-out so you can view the service from your sound booth (or video recording area).

You can easily install this setup for under $500 (depending upon the camcorder and DVD recorder you choose to purchase).  The camcorder does not need to be fancy, just as long as it has video-out.

The infrared repeater can be purchased at Audio General for under $100 http://www.audiogeneral.com/Pointers/IRRepeater.html

This is a great ministry to help the sick and shut-in stay connected with your church.

We are really excited to have Jeff writing for FWBMedia.

Here’s a little more information about Jeff in his own words…

I am 28 years old and live in Mount Hope, West Virginia.  I am a member of the Kilsyth Free Will Baptist Church.  I am the webmaster for my church (www.kilsythchurch.org) and the WV State Association of Free Will Baptists (www.wvfwb.org).  I am also the director of Hope Outreach which is a community-wide benevolent ministry that operates out of my church.

Outside of helping the needy through Hope Outreach, my passion is helping people create a quality media service for their church.  Rather it’s a church newsletter or a church video system, I enjoy helping folks reach outside the box to promote their mission.  One of my biggest frustrations with technology is the learning curve associated with teaching a non-techy individual.  Many people are excited to have a church website or a church video ministry, but very few have the patience to learn the software or learn how to operate the equipment.

I have been blogging for approximately 1 year.  I am fairly new to the blogging community, but I have learned that it’s a great way to communicate ideas.

My love for technology requires that I work in the secular world.    I am an accountant for the West Virginia Educational Broadcasting Authority (PBS).

If you benefit from Jeff’s posts please leave some comments.  Thanks!

I’m really excited because we have some guest bloggers who will be posting in the next few weeks on a variety of subjects that relate to media and the church.  We’ll try to introduce our bloggers as they start posting so you’ll have some idea of who is sharing.

If you’d be interested in blogging here at fwbmedia, please shoot me an email.  travis@fwbmedia.com

Thanks.

Cross-posted from DigiTrail Blaze

For less than $20 a year, you could provide a missionary (or yourself) with a local phone number and free, unlimited long distance to anyone in the US or Canada. I’ve been testing an amazing little device that installs quickly, works on almost any computer, and is as easy to use an old-fashioned telephone. Read the rest of this story »

We are looking for some FWB bloggers to help us with content on our new site.  If you are a FWB blogger or know someone who is, please drop us a line.

travis@fwbmedia.com

You can send a text message with your computer. Use the 10 digit wireless number and the following chart to email a text message. This is a great tool for prayer chains or just to keep your people informed. You can create a group list with your favorite email application. Be aware that wireless providers sometimes change their format.   

AT&T – cellnumber@txt.att.net
Verizon – cellnumber@vtext.com
T-Mobile – cellnumber@tmomail.net
Sprint PCS – cellnumber@messaging.sprintpcs.com
Virgin Mobile – cellnumber@vmobl.com
US Cellular – cellnumber@email.uscc.net
Nextel – cellnumber@messaging.nextel.com
Boost – cellnumber@myboostmobile.com
Alltel – cellnumber@message.alltel.com

Millennium Maxwell House Hotel

The annual Free Will Baptist Leadership Conference is being held at the Millennium Maxwell House Hotel in Nashville last night and today. State denominational leaders from all over the country are here along with board members from most of the denomational agencies. Media Commission members are attending the conference and are having a face-to-face meeting this afternoon. We will be discussing the media needs of our denomination and how the commission can provide resources and information to meet those needs. If you are attending the conference, please let us know how we may help you. If you are not at the conference, please comment on this post or use the feedback form to let us know what you need in the area of media.

What we call “media” is rapidly changing in our world today. In the early 1990s, the Radio and Television Commission was appropriately renamed “The Media Commission.” Previous commission members envisioned something very different for the work of the commission than what has actually been accomplished in the past decade. However, previous efforts were not in vain. Even now, current members of the commission feel an obligation to serve the ever-changing needs of our churches. As the cost of producing digital media drops, the commission is poised to resource and network churches and media professionals within our denomination with the necessary tools to share Christ with a media-saturated culture.

Logo Contest Winning Entry

The Media Commission of the National Association of Free Will Baptists is pleased to unveil its new logo, the winner of a design contest sponsored by the commission in September. Marc Neppl, a 2007 graduate of Gateway Christian College, submitted the winning entry. Marc and his wife Casie are associate home missionaries at CrossPointe Free Will Baptist church in Suffolk, Virginia. Entries included14 designs from 6 participants and were judged anonymously by a panel of professionals. Contest judges included Media Commission members, the design department at Randall House, Eric Thomsen, editor of ONE, and Sarah Fletcher, editor/designer of WNAC’s Together With God magazine. Judges were impressed with the quality of all entries, and the winning entry was specifically commended for its simplicity and clean, contemporary feel. Read the rest of this story »

A Logo Entry from the FWB Media Connection

The runner-up in the Media Commission’s 2008 logo contest is an entry from the Free Will Baptist Media Connection, a new company whose goal is to bring glory to God by assisting His churches in Kingdom work.

The principals of the company are three graduates of Free Will Baptist Bible College: Jamie Lane, Aaron Harris, and Matthew Price. Jamie is the pastor of Grace FWB Church in Nashville. According to the company’s website, they offer competitive prices for printing and design work (print and web) for churches and organizations.