After enduring hideous presentations all week at work,
the last thing you want to see are bullet points at church.
Reading content from bullets in business or educational
settings is bad enough, but excerpting them from sacred
texts? One example of brilliant use of visual aids doesn’t
involve slides at all. John Ortberg, Pastor of Menlo Park
Presbyterian Church, uses a flip chart. Yes, a flip chart!
Even though the congregation has 4,500 members and
his sermons are broadcast to two remote locations, the flip
chart works! As he speaks, he’ll sketch words or images
on the flip chart to create a powerful mnemonic that con-
gregants remember throughout the week. It’s easy to recall
the message because his points are boiled down succinctly
into a few key words or a sketch. If he’s preaching a series
of sermons on the same topic, he’ll rewrite the same word
series or sketches a few Sundays in a row, just to make
sure that his point hits home.
Using a flip chart for a group this size is effective
because a video feed magnifies the flip chart on
a large screen so that everyone can see it.
The flip chart also provides a means to make his sermons
more dynamic and engaging. Best of all, because he writes
as he preaches, no one has the chance to read ahead. Pastor
Ortberg’s flock is captive to his story.
Ortberg uses slides when he refers to
scriptures, and the congregants read along
with him. When the screens are not in use,
beautiful images of nature or stained glass
are projected so the congregation can
focus on his message.
242 slide:ology
Case Study: John Ortberg
Faith and Flip Charts
John Ortberg
Pastor, Menlo Park Presbyterian Church
Even though Ortberg could have used slides
in this sermon, he used large signs on easels.
He used varying type styles to make each one
look like a different type of sign.
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