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When you’re getting started in visual church media, there are many factors to consider.

First, you must determine which software you’re going to use – PowerPoint, Keynote, ProPresenter, Media Shout, EasyWorship, etc. Next, you’ll have to select a font that is both legible and fits the style of your worship environment. Finally, you’ll want to choose backgrounds that fit your church’s style, the current season, and add a great look to your screen(s). This is the decision that you’ll make the most, which is great because it’s the most fun.

Why Still Backgrounds?

These days, it’s most common for churches to use motion backgrounds, which are looping videos made specifically for displaying text, in their worship services. However, there are a few reasons that you may choose to use still backgrounds instead.

They’re economical. While you can find free motions here and there around the web, for the most part, motion backgrounds cost money. If you’re not ready to spend, stills are the go-to option because they are almost always available for free.

They’re great for beginners. If you’re just jumping into using visuals at your church, still backgrounds are a great place to start. You can use them as you first get used to creating your slides and work your congregation up to using motions.

They’re simple. If your congregation isn’t used to having video on their screens, it might be best to keep your worship slides simple for a season. A still background can provide a great look without drawing too much attention. Because of this, they can also be great to use during preaching.

Here are our suggestions for the best places online to get still backgrounds for free:

1. Church Motion Graphics

A popular choice for finding free still backgrounds is CMG (churchmotiongraphics.com). Because they specialize in making worship backgrounds for churches, their stills already have the styles that churches desire most for screen visuals. You can find over 5,000 still worship backgrounds that can be downloaded for free. Plus, they have still titles, such as Welcome and Announcements, available for free. You can use all of these in your church for no charge or required attribution.

See Still Backgrounds From CMG

2. Unsplash

While Unsplash (unsplash.com) isn’t specifically created for churches, it is known as the internet’s top place to download stock photographs for free. So, while you can find photos of nearly anything here, Unsplash made this list because it’s the perfect place to find nature backgrounds from some of the world’s best photographers. Every still on Unsplash can be downloaded for free without any required attribution. 

See Still Backgrounds From Unsplash

3. Church Media Drop

Our friends at Church Media Drop (churchmediadrop.com) have created one of the best hubs for churches to download resources from around the internet. You’ll find many backgrounds here that can be downloaded for free, among other types of media for ministry. They also allow creatives to submit content from their churches to add to their database for others to download.

See Still Backgrounds From Church Media Drop

What Do You Think?

Does your church use still backgrounds? Have you tried any of these resources? Which one is your favorite? Let us know by leaving a comment in the section down below.

Notice: Church Motion Graphics is the parent company of The Creative Pastor.

Kendall Conner

What do you get when you combine production, design, and communications together with a passion for the Church? It turns out, this is the precise formula to make up Kendall Conner. For over 20 years, this Christ-led creative has been bridging the gap between media and ministry. In addition to serving as the creative pastor in his local church, he is the Chief of Operations for Church Motion Graphics, a ministry-focused design studio that serves thousands of houses of worship around the globe. Kendall specializes in equipping church media leaders and volunteers to utilize creativity in their services to share the hope of Jesus.

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