Incorporating Video in Kids Church Services

Video for Kids' Church Services

No question about it: video is an integral part of our kids’ lives in this sight and sound generation!

When used well, it becomes an awesome tool to help keep kids’ attention and reinforce the lessons. But when overused, it becomes nothing more than the TV shows the kids watch everywhere else. 

Video in FAITHkids

FAITHkids curriculum depends primarily on live classroom teachers; especially for teaching the primary Bible lesson of the day. But our slide deck presentation files have a few short videos  – animated lessons and praise & worship – each week. They reinforce the rest of the activities in the classroom and give the kids a sensory change to break up the service into components to help hold their attention. 

So how can you add video to your services on a small budget?

It’s probably cheaper and easier than you think! The simplest way to get video into your teaching space is to connect a device to a TV with a cable. The device can be something you probably already have.

  • A Windows or Apple computer/laptop
  • An Apple iOS device – iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch (These require an additional adapter from Apple)
  • An Android tablet with an HDMI port

If you’d rather not be tied to your TV and you’re using one of the Apple devices, you can connect an Apple TV to your TV and forego the adapter and cable – you just need to have a WiFi connection handy.

Now how much is all this going to cost?

Since you probably have the most expensive part – the computer or device – here’s what you’re looking at:

TV

  • A huge TV is nice, but not a necessity. If you’ve got 10-20 kids, you’re fine with a 40-inch flatscreen TV.
    • A quick look on bestbuy.com yielded 4 great TVs for under $200 each.
  • If you’ve got up to 100 kids, a 55-inch flatscreen TV is great.
    • A similar search came up with a perfect TV for $330.
  • The TV only needs to be HD-capable – 720p is fine for a 40-inch TV. 1080p is best for a 60-inch TV. 4K capability really isn’t necessary.

Wired Connections

  • If you’ll be using an iOS device, you’ll need the $50 adapter.
  • For all options, you’ll need an HDMI cable. Look around. You might have one laying around somewhere. If not, purchase one. But shop around. Lots of stores mark up cables significantly. Ordering the cable online may render a better price. At the same time, don’t skimp on length. Measure out what you think you’ll need and buy a sufficiently long cable.  Bestbuy.com shows a 25-foot HDMI cable for $15, and a 50-foot cable for $40.

Wireless

  • So here you’re using an Apple computer or iOS device. Get an Apple TV. (Note that Apple TV isn’t a TV, it’s a little set-top box with a remote that allows you to stream video content to a TV; which is exactly what we want to do.) A 3rd generation Apple TV is all you need, but they’re discontinued and difficult to find. A 4th generation (32GB) Apple TV retails for $150, but occasionally goes on sale in several stores.
  • You’ll also need an HDMI cable to connect the Apple TV unit to your TV. A short cable is fine. Expect to pay around $7.

Total it up

  • A wired config for a small classroom would be $200 (TV) + $15 (25-foot HDMI cable) = $215 plus tax and shipping.
    • For an iOS device, add on $50 (Apple adapter) and the total comes to $265 plus tax and shipping. 
  • Make this for a large classroom with a 55-inch TV. $330 (TV) + $15 (25-foot HDMI cable) = $345 plus tax and shipping.
    • For iOS, we add the adapter in, and it totals out to $395 plus tax and shipping.
  • For the wireless connection for a large classroom, you’d be looking at $330 (TV) + $150 (Apple TV) + $7 (HDMI cable) = $487 plus tax and shipping. 

Questions?

If any of this still has you scratching your head, click the button below to message us and send us your questions!

Ask Steve & Denise