Battleground United Methodist Church in Battleground, Washington began using an InFocus LP820 digital projector recently for a variety of activities including church services, children's education programs, worship conferences and even choir practice.

On Easter Sunday, one of the best-attended services of the year, the church took some members by surprise using this innovative technology in church. For many, it was the first time they had seen church leaders use a DVD player easily connected directly to the projector to display images that according to Laura Perkins, director of music, "added a wonderful spiritual quality to our services through their very effective video presentations."

The InFocus LP820 projector has become a very important member of the congregation and isn't just for special occasions and holidays. Each week the church secretary burns a CD with content including all of the scripture, lyrics for songs and any other visual information that will be included in the following Sunday's services.

"With the help of the projector, it has become very routine and easy to use," said Perkins. "We can connect with the entire congregation is a new way with the assistance of technology."

Following the success experienced by many schools, the InFocus LP820 is also used with an interactive computer program at the weekly youth education classes and activities. By using projection, a larger group of children are engaged in the learning instead of trying to gather around a single computer screen. The youth choir at Battleground United Methodist Church also makes use of the projector to learn new song lyrics and enhance performances.

Additionally, the church leadership recently hosted a district-wide conference at the church and used the projector to enable speakers to project their presentations more effectively. The speakers were able to bring their computers, hook them up to the projector and proceed with their workshop very efficiently.

"It is so wonderful to watch the expressions on the faces of the congregation and to see how they are touched by their worship experience," said Perkins. "Our attendance is up since the addition of the InFocus projector and one visitor made the comment that this was just exactly what she was looking for in a worship experience."