FAQs about Sermon Bumpers and Series Trailers
On our Making Sunday Happen Podcast before COVID hit, we had several folks sending in questions about Sermon Bumpers and Series Trailers. We produce a lot of Bumpers and Trailers for churches, so I thought I’d put a couple of our most asked questions about these videos together. My prayer is that some of these ideas will help you in your church.
QUESTION: What is the difference in a Sermon Bumper and a Series Trailer?
ANSWER: Think of a Series Trailer as a Promo, a teaser for your series. The Trailer is usually used on Social Media or in the weeks leading up to a series start date to promote your upcoming Sermon Series.
Think of the Sermon Bumper as an introduction to the topic your pastor is about to preach on. A bumper is usually played in a Worship Experience as the pastor is making his way to the stage to preach.
In order to save your team time and money, I would suggest the Series Trailer be the exact same video as your bumper, just with ending text that reads “New Series starting Next Week.”
Here is an Example of a Sermon Bumper:
Here is an Example of a Series Trailer (note the ending line “New Series Next Week:”
Both of these videos are included in our FEAR NOT Series in a Box
QUESTION: What is the “why” behind a bumper? Is it out of function only? (Getting in/out of live to recorded) Other reasons?
ANSWER: A Bumper can serve several purposes –
It is used to set the tone for the message your pastor is about to preach. It gives branding to your series. It packages it together so that the series itself is more memorable.
Bumpers are also used as a transition element in the service to get the podium and speakers on stage or can divert the attention of your audience while the band leaves the stage.
Bumpers can also be used to promote your series – you can tweak them to use as a Trailer and throw them on social media, your website or other places to tease people into coming and checking out your church.
They are also great to use on your online messages. People are used to consuming video. Video is the now and the future. It’s where everything is. Video is an incredible tool to peak interest and brand your series.
QUESTION: How long do you think they should be?
ANSWER: Between :30-60. Any shorter doesn’t give your team enough time to transition on stage. Any longer gets a little too long to read or digest.
QUESTION: Do you make any different versions for different weeks? Especially for series that continue for multiple months?
ANSWER: Yes. I suggest you run a bumper for about 4-5 weeks max. Anything past that, I would refresh your bumper, do your series in Parts or Volumes, or break it up in some other way.
The lifespan of a bumper is about 4 weeks before people start tuning out. You can change the footage, the text, the music, the colors. Use the same exact structure of your bumper, just change out the “content.”
Every 4 weeks or so is my opinion.
Here are some more examples of Sermon Bumpers our team has produced for churches:
Here are some more examples of Series Trailers:
