On Being Creative...

[garyhodges]

So my wife and I have been made interim Directors of Worship and Creativity at our church. In this role we are taking a look at the church from top to bottom -- from website to print material to the physical look of the building to stage set-up to logo, etc...

Also we are looking for ways to incorporate the arts more -- drama (nothing hokey), painting, sculpture, video, music...

All that to say, we are looking for inspiration.

What are some things that you're doing in these areas?

Know of websites of churches or whatever that might prompt some creative thinking?

[carguy1]

Ok, I really just wanted to read this post, but I couldn't figure out how to subscribe to the post without posting a reply. So, I would alos be interested in hearing what others have to say about this.

[milepost13]

churchmarketingsucks.com (http://churchmarketingsucks.com/)

Nate

[russhutto]

Here's a few simple tips that can dramatically alter the "feel" of your environment, when it comes to media and creativity (positively).

1) Pick one font and use it on everything. In fact, if you have the resources to design your own font go for it. Use it on your website. Use it on your print material. Use it on your letters and mailers. Use it on your message slides. Create a "Your Church" font that people will begin to associate with your church any time they see it. Use something in the arial, helvetica, verdana type family. Stay away from the Times Family of fonts. Fonts with all the little curly cues and tails are a bit harder to read. Plus, the arial family looks a bit more modern, crisp, and clean.

This doesn't mean you can't incorporate other fonts into media, but just be aware that a simple little trick like this can help in creating an image.

2) Create an ICON for your church. This will be used alongside your logo. You don't necessarily have to have your full logo on everything. Create a simple icon that maybe takes an element of your logo and incorporate it into everything. For example our logo is the words "House of Joy" with a simple little roof with a cross over it, and the words "a different kind of church" below. Our ICON is a little house. So the icon makes it onto the corner of mailers, letters, small invite cards, etc. And people begin to associate it with us.

3) Think themes. Design your own. For all your signage, tables, banners, etc. Pick one theme and go with it. There's nothing more aggravating from a design standpoint then walking into a place and feeling like a kindergarten fingerpainting creativity bomb went off.

Pick some of the most "hip" hangouts and take cues from them. Clothing stores, coffee joints, art galleries, etc. all have clean, themed design. And there's a reason for it. It draws people in, not repels them.

4) Borrow. Borrow. Borrow. Take inspiration from other places that are doing things extremely well. Use transferrable principles when possible. Sure there's the whole idea that we as followers of Christ should be leading the way in creativity. I totally agree, but at the same time I think we should also be creative in the way that we "market" what we've got. At times this means, using something that might already be working well for someone esle.

5) Create. Create. Create. Nothing sparks creativity like creativity. Put a team together. Brainstorm these issues. Talk about them. Chew on them. We plan our services months in advance and EVERY element has been carefully selected and planned to get the most impact. Same with our design. It's never just decided by one person. Even if it is the most rad idea ever in the history of creative church design/media ever, it still needs to be bounced off others.

Hope some of these tips spark some ideas for you. These are just few of the things we use to keep things going from a design and media creativity standpoint down here in Valdosta, Georgia.

[Milestoneworship]

fall in love with Web 2.0. With the advent and popularity of interactive websites like blogs, it is important that your church hosts an online area in which people can do things like leave comments, pictures of ministry stuff, maybe even video. In my view, thinking like Web 2.0 can really help to market your church in a very personal engaging way.

[free_by_grace]

Remember in the planning of the visual aspect of the church, and especially in web design that too many colors is too many colors. Decide on a color scheme and do your best to stick with that as much as possible.

Take inspiration from as many church websites as you need to to figure out what you like/dislike, want/don't want. Find somebody who you know has a good savvy for web stuff.

You might look at local colleges for somebody in the design/visual arts majors who is a Christ-follower that shows promise and interest in web design. You might find somebody in your church community who already has familiarity and experience in good web design and implementation.

[garyhodges]

Cool. Keep 'em comin'...

I already have some pretty strong ideas, but I'm hoping to find images, videos, etc. that I can bring to the team and leadership.

[milepost13]

for some help with color schemes:

wellstyled.com

colorblender.com

colorsontheweb.com

For examples of different, good church website designs:

http://churchbeauty.com/

Nate

[csobalvarro]

Church websites serve a few important functions. Certainly providing members and visitors with a calendar of what's going on each week is probably the most obvious. But to do this, particuarly for a larger ministry, probably requires more than any one person can do alone. I think it's important to get your ministry leads involved as much as possible. Some church cultures embrace this more than others. Then there's the value the web can provide to ministry teams. Online collaboration. My worship teams are helped greatly by a website where set lists, song charts, mp3s, rehearsal schedules, contact lists, etc. can all be kept. Our small group ministry has another such site for leaders. Again, very useful. Then, I think the next frontier for many churches is to actually make their website a place where ministry is done, where people can interact with each other and with their pastors and leaders. A few churches do this, but it's a very small percentage overall. Anyone reading sites like this probably already knows this.

BTW, I love your job titles. Director of Worhsip & Creativity.