During our July 4th weekend services, we gave the audience the ability to text their vote regarding song selection (our band had learned three special songs and were ready to play whichever one won). Each service had a different winner.
We also used a fun pre-service poll to greet people as they arrived. We asked them to vote for their answer to this question: Which would you rather have?
- George Washington’s hair
- Abraham Lincoln’s beard
- Martin Van Buren’s sideburns
It was a simple and fun way to engage the crowd, especially the kids.
The technology behind text voting is simple and pretty straightforward. Our IT guy created an iPhone app to toggle between the questions on the fly. The results also updated on the big screens immediately.
For those who are wondering: More people preferred Martin Van Buren’s sideburns over George’s hair and Abe’s beard.