Presentations and Flip Charts using Microsoft Power Point

If you are familiar with Microsoft Power Point then you are going to love this! It is the fastest and simplest way I know to illustrate a story using your computer or to make a really professional looking flip chart.

If you are not familiar with Power Point then the following will make no sense at all. I suggest you make friends with someone in your congregation who can teach you how to use it. Many people in business and lots of younger people know their way around this program.

Here is how I create a presentation and Flip Chart:

Outline the Story: First I write a basic outline of the Bible story I am teaching and decide on the main points or “scenes” I would like to illustrate. This tells me how many slides I will need and what words to put on each one.
Words: Sometimes I write the words directly on the slide and other times I use the notes section at the bottom of the slide in “normal” view.
If the Bible passage is straightforward and easy to understand for the age group I am teaching I use the words directly out of the Bible. For this, I go to a great site at http://www.biblegateway.com and type in the Scripture reference and select an easy to understand version like the Contemporary English Version. I like to use the “printer friendly” option before cutting and pasting the words into my presentation.
Images: I use Google Images (www.google.com) or Flickr (www.flickr.com ) to find appropriate pictures for my slides. It usually takes a number of searches to find the “perfect” pictures. When I find one I think will work well then I cut and paste it into the Power Point presentation. If I want to save it for later I download it to a folder on my computer. Hint: If a picture file is small it will probably be fine for a Power Point presentation. If you plan to print the slide show and make a printed flip chart then you will need pictures that are at least medium resolution. Flickr is great because you can download photos in a number of sizes.
Another idea: If you are industrious (and this is really fun to do as a family or class project) have some volunteers pose for the various “scenes” and take your own pictures.
Tell the Story using Power Point: Finally, I show the presentation on a laptop or a bigger screen if available.
Make a Flip Chart: I don’t always have a laptop at my disposal and I still like using the basic flip chart, anyway. So, using the various print features for slides, handouts and notes pages I can print out my own flip chart. Using heavier paper is helpful. I can also save the presentation to pdf if I want.