Blog

You’re probably just about ready for some sun. Have you considered Granger, Indiana, as your next vacation destination? Perhaps you’ve always longed to see the cornfields of Northern Indiana. No?

Hmm. How about considering Granger as a learning destination then? Wednesday and Thursday, May 18 and 19, WiredChurches.com will be hosting a variety of workshops at Granger Community Church, just 90 miles east of Chicago.

It’s easy. Pick one of the following workshops to attend all day. Come for one day or stay for two. Your materials and lunch are included. The experience? It will be packed with real-life examples of what works and what doesn’t, with space for questions and interaction.

The cost? Right now it’s just $99 per person, per day. Or $89 for groups of 2–5, or $79 for groups of 6 or more. Attend both days of workshops and get a further discount: $20 off per day!

Wednesday, May 18

Thursday, May 19

  • Creative & Communication Arts: Learn about Granger’s process for planning, promoting and executing weekend series.
  • Groups: Facilitate a working strategy to keep people engaged and discipled.
  • Kids: Learn about environments, curriculum and utilizing volunteers to help kids meet Jesus.

by Director of Story Kristin Baker

Yes, believe it or not, it’s time to talk about Christmas. After many years of having Christmas “surprise” us, we’ve started the discussions and planning earlier and earlier each year. We’ve come to realize the crucial timing of the season to bring in new people who would never step foot in a church for most of the year. To the Average Joe or Jane, taking your kids to see a Christmas show as a part of the natural rhythm of the season makes much more sense than dragging your family out of bed every Sunday morning and piling up an extra commitment to the rhythm of your week. So—we put a lot of thought, energy, creativity, and resources into our Christmas plans every year with Joe and Jane and their family in mind.

Here are a few samples of some of the Christmas productions we’ve done in past years:

2013 Scrooge: A Modern Musical

Our own spin on A Christmas Carol with recent hits on the billboard charts.

We held auditions for this and then wrote the show to the people we had, which provided a fun new spin and some interesting new characters. It was kind of an Annie meets Scrooge, since we had an army of talented kids audition. We figured God always makes the best of what we offer Him, so we’d better make the best of what He offered us. This fun, new take on a classic story was the result.

2012: Granger Commons Christmas Spectacular (Variety Show)

With the rising popularity of Christmas specials on TV, we thought we’d take a stab at a variety show, featuring our volunteers in their sweet spots. This was a fun show to put together, but we found the attendance wasn’t quite what we’d hoped. We found that, no matter how excellent the arts we were offering, story sells. People just weren’t sure what a “Christmas Spectacular” was. However, we had a blast!

2011: Let it Be Christmas

A full-length production telling the Christmas Story with Beatles music. We had originally produced a shorter version of this show in 2007, which sold out. We thought we’d try it again and expand it a bit. It sold out once again. Guess people like the Beatles, but we ended up showing them Jesus is even cooler. (Sorry, John Lennon.)

2010: Once Upon a Midnight Clear

A completely original full-length musical inspired by the movie Big Fish. What would the Christmas story look like if it took place in a vintage Circus? This was risky. Some loved it. Some, especially those who are afraid of clowns, didn’t like it so much. But I was incredibly proud of our team for trying something completely original. We grew and learned a lot from this show. At the end of Big Fish people told the author, “That’s my dad! I just didn’t know how to tell his story!” The manger scene gets lost in the clutter of Christmas, so we hoped a new setting for the manger might shed some new light. We hoped people would see our show and say “That’s my God! I just didn’t know how to tell His story!”

This summer we hope you’ll take some time to ask God what He wants to say to your community through you this Christmas. After all, it is His birthday!

To learn more about Granger’s process for planning, promoting and executing weekend series, come to the Creative & Communication Arts Workshop—one of many workshops happening October 13 & 14. Get your tickets now and save money with early bird discounts.

by Filmmaker & Designer Adam Tarwacki

If there’s one thing I have learned in my time creating video at Granger it’s that I can shoot the most amazing footage and have the coolest motion graphics—but if I have bad audio I have a bad product.

Once upon a time there was a story of life change that, if captured and told, could change lives. So we contacted our video guy, also known as Joe Shmoe (also known as Dustin Maust). He shows up with a camera, shoots the story, and it looks beautiful. He captures tears, laughter, and has the best comedic movement ever. This video will be awe inspiring. He sits down to edit this masterpiece only to realize all he can hear is the hum of the air conditioner and the loud kids in the room next door with a hint of his subject underneath. He leans back in his chair, raises his hands to the sky and cries out, “Why, oh why did I not heed the words of my master Adam Tarwacki?!” *Just so we are clear, I actually learned this from Dustin but I’m sure he learned if from somewhere else.

It all boils down to this: Good audio is half of a good video. You cannot forget about audio. Your audience will become distracted with humming and hissing and peaking volume. It’s hard to concentrate on the real story. Our job is to provide a full product that is engaging, beautiful, and helpful—one that tells the story and is distraction-free so the message is clear.

Continue reading on the GCC Creative Team’s Blog...

 

by Creative Arts Pastor Sean Bublitz

Leading Creatives: It’s challenging, it’s fun, it’s chaotic, it’s joyful, it’s frustrating—it’s the best.

Throw church into the mix and the haze of the how thickens.

We’re all creative in one way or another. We’re teachers, musicians, designers, writers, thinkers—we all have traits that are amazingly unique and endlessly frustrating. So how do you approach the art of moving a group of people with unique qualities from concept to performance?

Define The Box

We all create within a box. We have a facility box, a resource box, a time box, etc. Define the box you’re creating within for your team.

Set The Bar

What is excellence for you? What’s the vision? The end result? Define it so you’re all working toward one thing, not many.

Give Them Freedom

Be secure enough to acknowledge that you’re not always going to be the smartest or most creative person on your team.

Don’t micro-manage creatives. Give them appropriate space to create.

Tell them what to do, not how to do it.

Keep creating along with them. This creates empathy.

Continue reading on the GCC Creative Team’s Blog...


by Sean Bublitz, Creative Arts Pastor

I’m a huge fan of hockey and when I lived in the Chicago area I used to go watch the Blackhawks practice. It was incredible to see how the professionals prepare. They go full speed. Game speed. They practice exactly like they play in a game so that when it’s game time they’re ready, not trying to get up to speed.

We’ve applied the same idea to our weekend services. The last thing we want is to go into our first service not truly prepared. Not ready to give our best.

So each week before our first service we do, what we call, a service run through. In the run through we do everything that we’re going to do in a service, sans the message, before there are people in the room.

The benefit is that our excellence level is high from the beginning of the very first service. We’ve already worked through transitions, fixed mistakes, and practiced our cues. The nerves are mostly gone and we’re as prepared as possible.

Continue reading on the GCC Creative Arts Blog...

If you’d like to learn more about what goes on in Creative Arts and Weekend Services at Granger, bring your team to Innovate. You’ll find strategic and practical ways to explore innovation across the life of the church—in every ministry area. Register today for early-bird discounts and group rates!

Granger Community Church is looking for a Production Director to join our Creative and Production Team. The right person for this job loves people, live production environments and teams.

The Production Director at Granger oversees our Production staff team, volunteer team leaders and works alongside the Creative Arts Pastor to implement the vision for each weekend.

This is a full-time, live in Granger, Indiana, opportunity.

Some qualifications for this job include:

  • Strong leadership skills
  • Team building experience
  • Technical intuition
  • A passion for live production
  • Great communication skills
  • An eye for details

See the full job description or apply for the Production Director role using the links at the GCC Creative Arts Blog.

And if you’d like to see more of what goes on in Creative Arts and Weekend Services at Granger, it’s not too late to register for the Arts All-Access Pass this Saturday. Sign up for this or any of Friday’s One-Day workshops today!

by Mark Waltz, Pastor of Connections and MultiSite

Don’t go out of your way to pat volunteers on the back. They’re doing exactly what they should be doing—giving their life away. They should be sacrificing. They should be tired. Don’t acknowledge or celebrate them. The last thing you need is puffed up volunteers.

Some would claim this is biblical. I’m not sure what Bible they’re reading. The scriptures teach gratitude, mutual respect and personal value. It’s how Jesus lived his life. It’s how Paul encouraged the Church.

Live by this worst practice and you’ll be looking for volunteers—’cause they’ll be G.O.N.E.

Hear more from Mark about the importance of using volunteers to create great First Impressions in your church at his workshop at Granger on Friday, July 11. Register your team now for this or any of the workshops coming up next week:

Friday, July 11, 2014

Saturday, July 12, 2014
by Sean Bublitz, Creative Arts Director

As an organization grows, communication and alignment are two of the hardest things to maintain. Throw that into the mix of a bunch of creative people trying to stay on the same page and execute projects at the same time and you’ve got a difficult task.

Because of that we’ve developed a process to help us stay aligned with our weekend series development and planning. This system is the way that our communication, creative, production, teaching, and campus teams stay on task and aligned without having to meet every day and check in.

This is our process, the people involved, and the timeline we work to stick to. This is a guide for us, not a law. We have flexibility based on projects and pace. If it’s helpful to you, you can download the .psd for our timeline in the resources section of this site and create your own.

SeriesDevelopmentTimelineFN

10 weeks out

  • Our Lead Team (direction leadership team for our church) will agree on the series topic. The Lead Team doesn’t always come up with the topic. Our topic ideas come from many different sources. But the Lead Team will put a rubber stamp on the topic for us.
  • Our packaging team can then take the topic and start to brainstorm the branding, the series title, and the design and packaging.

Continue reading on the GCC Creative Arts Blog...

This is a great example of the kind of practical, behind-the-scenes learning we’ll be featuring at Innovate 2014. We’re finishing up the details of the elective offerings, but for now you can check out the speakers and main sessions. And if you register by September 14, we’ll reward your hustle with an early-bird discount.