Jason, when I put together teaching series for our ministry I typically design from several different areas:
(1) Prayer- I never approach any series without praying through it first. I believe God gives us creativity and many times we don't tap into "the source" before we go looking elsewhere. I'll never forget something Perry Noble said at a conference last year: "we really need to start praying and stop downloading." Some of the most creative teaching series have come as a result of prayer. Definitely start with prayer. After all, God knows what the sheep need.
(2) Online Resources- I have found great resources online that offer solid ideas for series. One of my favorite places to check out is LifeChurch.tv. This church has such a kingdom mindset...offering their creative resources for free to churches. I love their latest series idea called "True[ish]."
Other sources online that I'd recommend are: BlueFish.tv, YouthBytes, and Vine Resources.
(3) Churches- Often when I have some down time I will surf the net and peruse through church and student ministry websites to see what teaching series they have going on. I can't tell you how many times just by seeing a graphic it has triggered a flood of thoughts and ideas for me and I immediately put pen to paper. I may take just the name of their series and create my own content, graphics, etc. There have been occasions where I listen to their messages and query their pastor(s) for permission to use their content, but again, I start with prayer before diving into the process.
So where do you begin your design process? What resources have you found helpful?
Labels: Creative, Leadership, Resources, Technology, Youth Pastors
Great thoughts,
One resource that is very useful is the church marketing sucks labs on flickr: http://www.flickr.com/groups/cfcc
also vine resources has moved to:
http://www.stufficanuse.com/