In the seven years, I have been publishing online, I have learned many things that have been invaluable to our church media program. One of these is how to create free church media graphics.
This article was originally written while I was still working on my Viral Believer site. The article was aimed at using church media graphics for social media such as Facebook. The information can be used for announcements, worship slides, website images, or any other purpose you might use church media graphics.
As you attempt to provide a great media ministry to your church for a minimal cost, I hope you will find my experiences helpful.
Use Of Church Media Graphics
Over the years, I’ve realized that society is also very visual-oriented. If done well, Christian memes and pictures can powerfully communicate a message.
My goal is for you to share your faith authentically and in ways that influence the culture. Instead of sharing someone else’s faith, you will learn how to do it yourself and share God’s blessings in your life.
If you’re a Christian blogger, webmaster, pastor, or church leader, I hope you find the following helpful.
Many Christian photos I’ve made have been shared by thousands upon thousands. Every time this happens, I have seen an increase in my followers on Twitter (Yes, you can post pictures to Twitter) and Facebook, and I now see great results on Pinterest.
If you’re new to my site or haven’t heard of me before, my current Facebook followers are 155,000+, my Twitter followers are around 8,000, and my Pinterest followers have increased from 500 to more than 1,000 in the one month I have been using it.
Many Christians with larger followings are more talented and gifted than I am. I’m not trying to be an expert. I am just sharing what I have discovered that works.
Let’s now get to the meat of my findings that will make you a creator of viral Christian content or help you in your church media ministry. A little reflection on James 1:22.
Step 1: Use the Right Size Picture for The Right Social Media Platform
I’ve learned that not everything that works on Facebook will work on Pinterest. What works well on Pinterest doesn’t work on Twitter. You get the idea.
You need the right size for your Christian photos to share. This is an image that I have created for you to help you determine the best size.
You can consult your presentation software company to find the exact dimensions of your worship images. You can also use PowerPoint to adjust the sizes.
These websites provide the sizes for Facebook and Twitter. Facebook and Twitter can resize or crop images to make them fit. This means that your photos may not look the way you wanted them to on their feeds. Based on research into what size gets the most interaction and clicks, Pinterest sizes are determined. Pinterest allows you to upload any size image, but experts recommend this size.
Step 2: Choose the Right Background Image for Your Picture
I was a novice blogger when I started. I did a Google or Bing image search to find the picture I wanted to use. I did not know the various types of licenses available and the risks I was taking. This is something I do not recommend.
Many places offer free stock photos. These places have free stock photos. Here’s a list of some that I use from time to time.
This time, I chose an Unsplash image to be the Pinterest image. It has been resized to 750×1135 before it is uploaded to this website. This will ensure that it is smaller than the original. This was done for those who are reading this article on mobile devices, so the page loads faster.
Here’s the image I chose.
Step 3: Add Your Message to The Picture
This is where the fun begins. You can choose what you want to say and show your personality by how you say it. This can now become a reflection of you.
First, decide what you want to say. The article’s title will be used as the text in this example. But I have hundreds of images that aren’t about my articles. Here’s an example.
You can use Bible verses, Christian quotes, article titles, or, as I did, song lyrics you love.
Once you have chosen what you want to write, you will need to find a program that can place it on an image. Microsoft Paint was my first choice when I started out. It didn’t produce high-quality images, but it was honest. These are some of the things I learned over the years that will help you choose a better Paint product.
These sites will allow you to take better photos if you’re using them for personal use only or to promote your site. Both offer free plans as well as upgraded plans.
If you’re a serious photographer, I recommend you move up to professional status.
Because of my website work, 3 years ago, I was asked to become the graphic designer at Gillette Wyoming’s advertising department. Nick De Laat, my good friend and now Wyoming State Legislature candidate, introduced me to Adobe Illustrator.
He bought my first subscription. Instantly, I saw the benefits of using a program that makes images rock.
What you’ll see is my workflow with Adobe Illustrator. You can do many of these things with Adobe Photoshop, which is available for about 10 dollars per month. However, I chose the more robust program that gives me access to all Adobe products.
Fonts to Choose
Let’s not just choose any font. Here are some tips to help you make the right choice. Your font choice conveys emotion and your message.
Italic fonts or cursive fonts are often better for reading scripture texts. Bold or brash fonts are best for article titles. Use a font that is large enough for easy reading.
It also means that even though you may want to include a whole Bible chapter in your picture, it will not work. It would be impossible to read the font in the right size. When it comes to creating a meme, brevity is the key.
Another trick I learned recently is using Font Pairs. These are called Font Pairs. This is an example of what I mean.
You can see that they use two different fonts. Bookman, along with Century Gothic or Avenir LT Std, is used in this instance. They complement each other well.
Try using a font pair when creating a Christian image. I currently use Museo Sans and Georgia for the Pinterest images. Georgia was already available in Adobe Illustrator. I also downloaded Museo Sans from Adobe Typekit free of charge because I am an Adobe subscriber.
Now I will add my text to the picture.
You will see that I took a few additional steps to this image. I created a background to hide the text and added the watermark at the bottom right. Both of these were done using Adobe Illustrator’s transparency feature.
Also, I used a color combination that made people stand out by using the yellow color on a blue background.
Do it! You can take your time and play with the various programs. It won’t cost you anything. You can try each one. This is how I learned. You can find great resources for Photoshop and Illustrator on YouTube, the Adobe website, or by simply searching your question on Google, Bing, or on Google.
Although I know you may have some questions, here it is. Now you can create your own Christian images to share on Facebook and Twitter, or Pinterest.
I would love to see you share your inspirations on the internet or your church media graphics.
Finally, if your goal is to have a wider selection of Christian photos, particularly if you are a creator of power church media graphics, then DepositPhotos is the best place to find Christian images. You can find nearly 1/2 million photos under their religion section.
Let me once again give you the links I provided.
