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    cheap and easy ways to look good
natalie johnson
One of the goals of youth ministry is to get students in the door, right? Our goal is that they will be influenced and captivated by the life of Christ and will become followers of Him for the rest of their lives...
Sometimes it happens just that way...other times, it's not life-changing on their first visit. One thing we know about High Schoolers and Junior Highers alike is that they like to be a part of something cool. Here are some cheap and easy ways to make your youth ministry look good...
Your Space
Decorate your youth room so that it's a place that the students can be comfortable. If they want to be there - they'll want to bring there friends there, too.
Ideas:
Paint the walls. A can of paint costs $20. Pick one or two colors and
cover every wall, or just add accent walls. Color adds so much to an
environment. Get the students opinions, let them vote, or have a contest or
game to decide which colors to go with. Throw the game somehow if they
choose something that will just look bad. :)
Hang Posters. Movie posters, or current Christian artist posters,
concert posters, surf, skate...whatever your students are into. They'll know
where to find them if you don't.
Buy 10 x 10 inch canvases for each student, for them to paint on. It
doesn't have to be a picture or even anything that looks good. Have them
paint patterns (polka dots, stripes, or just paint a solid color). Make at
least 25 so that it has a visual effect when they're all together. Then hang
them all on one wall: 5 across and 5 down with 5 inches in between so you
have a collage like wall that the students have contributed to.
Another option is to put up a bulletin board with all the pictures you have. Encourage students to add to it as they have their own pictures from church events, school activities, etc. Keep a Polaroid camera with you so that you can snap a picture of newcomers as they arrive. Try to avoid getting a shot of them alone. Just attach them with pushpins, to give them the impression that this is a work in progress.
Your Signage and a logo
It doesn't have to be award winning design. Just a symbol of some kind that the students can relate to - with your ministry name. If it's cool they'll want t-shirts, stickers, beanies, notebooks and pencils with the logo on it. Get a sign made with your logo for the entrance. Print it on all of your stationery, mailers and sign up forms, get it into
the main service bulletin so that they're is recognition for your ministry
throughout the church body.
Your Screen
PowerPoint can be important because students are visual. There are so many
resources available to you to liven up your screen during your services. A
few that I would recommend are Premier Background Images V. 1 & 2 - 300 static
backgrounds that will liven up any presentation. Drop them in behind your message notes, announcements, or worship and you suddenly look modern and
technologically savvy.
Take the time to type out all of your worship songs in the same font. I recommend Myriad Bold - it's readable and yet contemporary, and comes loaded on most computers. Avoid stylized or grunge fonts as they won't be able to read them and they will be sick of
seeing them very quickly. This way you can keep the same font and worship
slide and freshen up the look with different backgrounds.
Your Site
Consider getting a website set-up. Students depend on the internet for
information. They can look up they're favorite celebrity, or athlete and
find out every detail about them including their height, weight, nicknames,
most embarrassing moment...but can't find a website for a local high school
ministry with times, activities, bio on the youth pastor, kids that look
like them - that they may even recognize. Be current for your students sake.
Get a website up - even if it's just your ministry logo with contact info,it's a great start. It later can become a platform for simplifying your
ministry - downloadable forms, advertisements for upcoming trips, a calendar
of events. This is a great way to communicate with everyone at once.
Your Savings
Here are a couple ways to cut corners without cutting quality.
Take advantage of email: Send advertisements for events via email instead
of by mail . This way you can use unlimited colors in a .pdf, instead of black and white fonts printed on a fluorescent astrobright paper...and you save on postage.
Ask students: Many high schoolers know how to use Photoshop and
probably enjoying using it too. Have them create PowerPoint backgrounds for
the group and give them a little shout out during the service - so the
student feels encouraged and wants to do more. FYI. PowerPoint Backgrounds
need to be 800 x 600 pixels at 72 dpi RGB color. If you don't understand what
I'm talking about, don't worry, one of your students probably will.
Simply Youth Ministry is constantly giving things away to spruce up your
youth ministry's services. Go to simplyyouthministry.com/freebies for a kick
start.
I hope this helps to inspire your creativity. Many blessings to you and your ministry.
http://www.simplyyouthministry.com/community-articles-from-the-field.html
natalie johnson
One of the goals of youth ministry is to get students in the door, right? Our goal is that they will be influenced and captivated by the life of Christ and will become followers of Him for the rest of their lives...
Sometimes it happens just that way...other times, it's not life-changing on their first visit. One thing we know about High Schoolers and Junior Highers alike is that they like to be a part of something cool. Here are some cheap and easy ways to make your youth ministry look good...
Your Space
Decorate your youth room so that it's a place that the students can be comfortable. If they want to be there - they'll want to bring there friends there, too.
Ideas:
Paint the walls. A can of paint costs $20. Pick one or two colors and
cover every wall, or just add accent walls. Color adds so much to an
environment. Get the students opinions, let them vote, or have a contest or
game to decide which colors to go with. Throw the game somehow if they
choose something that will just look bad. :)
Hang Posters. Movie posters, or current Christian artist posters,
concert posters, surf, skate...whatever your students are into. They'll know
where to find them if you don't.
Buy 10 x 10 inch canvases for each student, for them to paint on. It
doesn't have to be a picture or even anything that looks good. Have them
paint patterns (polka dots, stripes, or just paint a solid color). Make at
least 25 so that it has a visual effect when they're all together. Then hang
them all on one wall: 5 across and 5 down with 5 inches in between so you
have a collage like wall that the students have contributed to.
Another option is to put up a bulletin board with all the pictures you have. Encourage students to add to it as they have their own pictures from church events, school activities, etc. Keep a Polaroid camera with you so that you can snap a picture of newcomers as they arrive. Try to avoid getting a shot of them alone. Just attach them with pushpins, to give them the impression that this is a work in progress.
Your Signage and a logo
It doesn't have to be award winning design. Just a symbol of some kind that the students can relate to - with your ministry name. If it's cool they'll want t-shirts, stickers, beanies, notebooks and pencils with the logo on it. Get a sign made with your logo for the entrance. Print it on all of your stationery, mailers and sign up forms, get it into
the main service bulletin so that they're is recognition for your ministry
throughout the church body.
Your Screen
PowerPoint can be important because students are visual. There are so many
resources available to you to liven up your screen during your services. A
few that I would recommend are Premier Background Images V. 1 & 2 - 300 static
backgrounds that will liven up any presentation. Drop them in behind your message notes, announcements, or worship and you suddenly look modern and
technologically savvy.
Take the time to type out all of your worship songs in the same font. I recommend Myriad Bold - it's readable and yet contemporary, and comes loaded on most computers. Avoid stylized or grunge fonts as they won't be able to read them and they will be sick of
seeing them very quickly. This way you can keep the same font and worship
slide and freshen up the look with different backgrounds.
Your Site
Consider getting a website set-up. Students depend on the internet for
information. They can look up they're favorite celebrity, or athlete and
find out every detail about them including their height, weight, nicknames,
most embarrassing moment...but can't find a website for a local high school
ministry with times, activities, bio on the youth pastor, kids that look
like them - that they may even recognize. Be current for your students sake.
Get a website up - even if it's just your ministry logo with contact info,it's a great start. It later can become a platform for simplifying your
ministry - downloadable forms, advertisements for upcoming trips, a calendar
of events. This is a great way to communicate with everyone at once.
Your Savings
Here are a couple ways to cut corners without cutting quality.
Take advantage of email: Send advertisements for events via email instead
of by mail . This way you can use unlimited colors in a .pdf, instead of black and white fonts printed on a fluorescent astrobright paper...and you save on postage.
Ask students: Many high schoolers know how to use Photoshop and
probably enjoying using it too. Have them create PowerPoint backgrounds for
the group and give them a little shout out during the service - so the
student feels encouraged and wants to do more. FYI. PowerPoint Backgrounds
need to be 800 x 600 pixels at 72 dpi RGB color. If you don't understand what
I'm talking about, don't worry, one of your students probably will.
Simply Youth Ministry is constantly giving things away to spruce up your
youth ministry's services. Go to simplyyouthministry.com/freebies for a kick
start.
I hope this helps to inspire your creativity. Many blessings to you and your ministry. |
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