The Best Songs For Human Videos

I was in a discipleship program in Phoenix, Az, called Masters Commission, in 1989, when the phrase "Human Video" was coined. The phrase Human Video comes from creating and performing dramas to songs, particularly Christian songs. The purpose of the songs and the subsequent drama to the song, is to communicate the gospel of Christ or a biblical value.

The year I was in Masters, the artist Carmen was the juggernaut of Christian music.. His songs were a tad cheesy and corny but they were easily pantomimed. I learned to have an ear for songs that could become Human Videos. After graduation and becoming a youth pastor, I would teach our youth human videos and they would perform them for the church, the youth group, and for outreaches. Although my time has passed for being in human video (it looks awkward) I continue teaching human videos 25 years later. Thats' a lot of songs. That's a lot of stories that were told. I hope the songs I have included will inspire you to use them with your drama group or maybe start a group if you do not have one.

Assembly of God Fine Arts

Fine Arts is the national youth arts program for my denomination, The Assemblies of God. Each year, thousands of kids participate in fine arts. They sing, they dance, they play an instrument, and they do human videos. There are three categories of human video, solo, small group, and large group.

Each category has it's challenges, but in the end many church youth groups field multiple teams in all of these categories. Teams must make it through a regional and state process in order to be invited to Nationals. There are sweat and tears in each teams journey to delivering a hopeful message through human video. The path to nationals all starts with the first step of picking the right song.

• Does the song tell a story? As you listen, is the song painting a visual in your mind? Are there potential characters and parts for kids to play?
• Who are you trying to reach? Is this for outreach or for the unchurched? If it is for the latter, it should have a clear gospel presentation. Is the song for church? Does it challenge the status quo or build up the Body of believers?
• Is it fast or slow? If you are doing multiple performances, you'll want to have a certain pace to your performances. The fast songs make good openers and the slower ones could make good closers.
• What is the central theme of the song? Is the song about faith, Jesus, or social issues? Determining the theme of the song may or may not determine the audience their suitable for.
• Is there a biblical story the song parallels? The song may actually tell one or reference several biblical stories. Many times I'll hear a song and it will not openly reference a biblical story, but it will remind me of a biblical story. I will usually try to include the story into the song.
• Who can be in it? Would this song be best for a solo human video, a small group video (4-7 people), or large human video ( 8 -12, or more)
• What age group would this be appropriate for? We should consider who the video is suitable for adults, students, or everybody.

Are Human Videos An Outdated Form Of Ministry?

These are a list of songs that I have done with our drama teams over the years or have the potential of being human videos. The human video is in the ear of the beholder. If they work for you, let me know. Am I missing a song your group has done? Add yours here.

I listed a few of the Carmen songs in my list of 50, but much of Carmen's catalog is not available on Amazon as single mp3's; so, I feature the whole albums here. Carmen is still good material for kids camps and children's programs, but you will have to be the judge wether they would be useful for youth services (remember the cheese factor I spoke about?)

Should Youth Groups Use Secular Songs For Drama?

The criteria I use for choosing a song by a band who are not a Christian band, is that it speaks of pain and hope. This is where most people live and who do not know Christ. They live with the pain and a hope that's always looking toward the light.The song cannot have anything suggestive in it or any swearing. The song must also evoke a spiritual or Biblical story or principle.