Wouter Van der Zeijden was in a worship service at the Church of the Nazarene in Vlaardingen, Netherlands, when Pastor Dennis Mohn preached a sermon about how to be an example for youth. This sermon sparked the idea for Xperience TV, a monthly live Internet TV show made by young people for young people. The first live show will air 29 November.
Van der Zeijden, who is the producer of Xperience, is a youth worker and very active in youth programs at the Vlaardingen church. He has a passion for young people and is constantly thinking of new ways to engage and reach youth in innovative ways. He believes Xperience TV will do just that.
“Let me first say what isn’t the mission: The mission isn’t directly talking about church…we want to focus on the subjects that young people are interested in, whether it’s what shoes they wear or decisions they need to make about their lives…it doesn’t really matter as long as it’s something they’re focused on,” said Van der Zeijden.
In the Netherlands it is becoming more common that young people are either leaving the church or finding little reason to ever go to into a church, so Van der Zeijden wanted to find a way to tear down church stereotypes and create a place where youth, regardless of religion, can come, hang out, and be a part of a discussion.
Since Van der Zeijden’s church in Vlaardingen hosts live services on the Internet, there was already camera equipment and a controller room in the church. As Xperience got bigger they brought in two more cameras, help from professional producers, and an entire crew.
“It’s completely bigger than I thought, but I was triggered by the thought that it’s possible,” said Van der Zeijden.
What is so unique about this project is that the entire live program is run by a crew mostly under 25 years old, half of them being under 20. This is very important to Van der Zeijden because he wants the youth to own the program.
“Our director is 18, he has got an incredible talent…he wants to be a director in his professional life and he can practice it in church,” said Van der Zeijden. “That’s amazing for me as a youth worker.”
Here’s how a typical night at Xperience TV studio is expected to go:
The first 45 minutes are the actual show, which is filmed by five different cameras in a round table discussion format with a live audience. The studio is in the Vlaardingen church and seats close to 100 people. During the show they talk about different topics that young people are interested in with different guests. For example, in their first show they will talk about video games and there will be a social worker that deals with gaming addiction in the discussion.
“It’s a talk show with a big table in the middle and there are different guests…every few minutes we have a different [topic]…music, discussions, funny items; it’s a very fast focus for young people,” said Van der Zeijden.
Then when the live show is over, the cameras are turned off, and the studio becomes a place where young people are able to hang out afterwards.
“In the after show you get to meet other people and get into deeper talks with each other,” said Van der Zeijden.
It is Van der Zeijden and his crew’s hope that when the live show is over young people will continue to have conversations about the topics that were just discussed. Whether they talk with the social worker, Zeijden, or a new friend they met that night, it is a place where relationships are cultivated and deeper thought is encouraged.
Since the studio is in the Nazarene church in Vlaardingen, Van der Zeijden hopes that the audience Xperience TV attracts will become interested in the church as well.
“You can see the TV program online, you can come to the studio, you can come to the after show, and you could come to [church] next week. And then we would have something like a praise and worship or a Bible study…but Xperience TV is like the front door to our youth work,” said Van der Zeijden.
To see Xperience live tune in this Saturday, 8 p.m. CET (19:00 UTC).
You can find the live broadcast at xptv.nl
