The congregation stood. I was reading the Gospel. None of the people were looking at me. They were looking at a screen to my right where the words of the Gospel were being projected on a slide. It was my first time leading worship in a church with a screen. I wasn’t sure I liked it.

I was accustomed to people paying attention by looking at the presiding minister while the Scripture was being read. To be fair, I did not even like the practice of people finding the text in pew Bibles or reading along with the text printed in their bulletins. I like the idea of active listening without adding the visual text component. I knew it worked best for me.

Since that time, I have become accustomed to people looking at the text in their Bibles or in the bulletin or on a handheld screen or on a big screen in front of them while I read the Scripture in corporate worship. I believe those people when they say that they get more out of the text by both hearing and seeing it.

I have also become accustomed to people singing the words of the hymns from a slide on a screen in front of church rather than from the bulletin or the hymnal. When the Christian Worship (2021) planning committee was looking at electronic resources for the new hymnal, I guessed that I was seeing screens at about half of the churches where I was the guest preacher.

The 2025 survey of all WELS congregations validated that guess. 532 (56%) congregations reported projecting slides for at least part of the service. 424 (44%) reported not projecting slides during worship. Some of the congregations that do not project slides reported that they use the Service Builder slide technology to provide slides of liturgy, Scripture readings, and hymns for online worshipers who do not have a hymnal with them at home.

Are you seeing the same thing? Your answer probably depends on your WELS district. The South Central and Pacific Northwest districts report especially high slide usage. Michigan reports noticeably lower slide usage than every other district. Wisconsin districts tend to report slide usage slightly above the average.

There seems to be general acceptance of screens to project high quality ecclesiastical art, videos like the WELS Connection, and announcements after the service. There seems to be good discussion in circuit meetings about best practices for the use of slides and screens showing text and occasionally music during services. It is important not to obscure altar, pulpit, font, and cross in the sanctuary. Let the discussion continue! Let the gospel predominate!