House of Worship

Prestonwood Church Goes HD with Sony

The use of technology is not a new concept to the Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas. Pastor Jack Graham said he recognized that the church's message needed to be spread beyond the walls of the church to the world at large. As a result, Dr. Graham and his church purchased airtime on the Trinity Broadcasting Network and in April 1994, PowerPoint® Ministries was launched officially as the church's radio, television and Internet broadcast ministry.

According to the ministry, it now reaches 500,000 people globally each week through its radio and television programs. The radio program can be heard on 58 radio stations, and PowerPoint Ministries television broadcasts can be viewed in more than 72 countries. The ministry recently upgraded its level of technology by installing a range of Sony high-definition broadcast and production equipment, including HDC-1400 studio cameras and an MVS-8000G multi-format production switcher.

According to the church's media team, working with Sony has allowed them to achieve these capabilities. After doing extensive research, they concluded that the Sony HD cameras and switchers were the best fit for the television and media ministries.

"Our church has always embraced every method we can to communicate the message of Christ," said Graham. "This HD technology from Sony allows us to find new ways of reaching out to our members and larger audiences who need to hear our message."

"People today expect a professional level of production values when viewing television, and that means our worship service needs to be equal to what they have come to expect from their home theaters and movie theaters," said Scott Seal, executive director of PowerPoint Ministries. "Having HD quality also enables us to appeal to younger members of the congregation and to communicate and connect with a generation that is very media savvy."

With their increased technological capabilities, they said the church has also been able to produce more local events and productions at their worship center, expanding their reach into the local community.

In addition to the upgrade in image quality and production capability, Graham and Seal were also impressed with the high levels of service and support from Sony.

"We're very excited about embracing the future of HD technology," Graham said. "Sony's level of service and their support for our team here has given us all the confidence in the world that our equipment will take us to a new level and that Sony will be right there by our side. It is going to be the best possible experience for all of us."