Blog

Figuring out a way to include important announcements in your service can be tricky. There’s no one right way. At Granger, we do a short video weekly that hits the top 2–3 things we want people to know for that week. We call it “The Feed.” Check out an example here.

Want to create your own? You can use Granger’s graphic bumper video to get you started.

Looking to up your game or freshen things up a bit? Or is your task list turning into an epic novel? We hear you. We all could use a little help once in a while. No matter which camp you’re in, we want to help you get back on track and revitalize your ministry. Check out these top five resources, which have already helped dozens of people in churches just like yours, and get back on top of things:

  1. Guest Services | Creating “WOW” Experiences Training Videos. These videos will help your staff and volunteer teams deliver great experiences for your guests, from the parking lot to the auditorium.
  2. Communications Playbook. This “playbook” helps Granger Community Church have consistent, professional and effective communications. It includes a review of branding, Granger’s vision, how staff should work together with communication vehicles and the filters Granger uses to decide what gets promoted when and where.
  3. A Christmas Carol Total Resource Package. This package includes the resources Granger Community Church used to promote the weekend message series A Christmas Carol, including: Audio MP3s, Message Transcripts, Sample Bulletins, Granger Notes, Graphics, Service Orders, Message Intro Videos and the script for the musical element Christmas Carol (of the Bells) and the script for the production Granger did on Christmas Eve of A Christmas Carol.
  4. The Feed Video Announcement Bumper. Take your weekly announcements to a new level. This product includes the opener video, the ending video, the videos you see in the background and a few little videos of the Feed logo that you can use to create your own video announcements called The Feed.
  5. Guest Services Manual. This manual helps develop first impressions teams through forms such as: roles and responsibilities, scheduling, volunteer training, emergency response, usher assignments and more. It includes summaries of all volunteer team roles at Granger, as well as a copy of the Emergency Response Manual for Guest Services teams.

by Director of Story Kristin Baker

Powerful stories are sitting in your congregation waiting to inspire and point people toward Christ. Many of us have had to sit through long rambling stories of people that feel awkward and confusing. If you can find ways to help your people tell their story better, you will, like Christ did, tell a better story. Here are a few tips for helping to craft and capture personal testimony stories of people in your church.

  1. Seek out the Story:

    Set up topical confessional booths. The goal of these is to find concise sound bytes on one topic to cast a wide net of “Me Too” moments that relate to a general topic.

    Here are a couple of examples:

    Prayer: https://vimeo.com/32087199

    The Time I Needed God the Most: https://vimeo.com/25355966

    In these sessions, we limited the time to ten minutes per person and asked very specific questions about the main idea, lesson learned, the low points, and asked them to try to describe their experience in one sentence.

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

Let WiredChurches.com help put a smile on your face this summer. Take 10% off all orders through the end of June using coupon code SUMMERCRAB10 during checkout.

This offer is good for the rest of June on everything in the store! Here are some of the products you can save on right now:


Meat and Potatoes Graphics

The Single Guy: Popcorn Prayer Video

I Say I’m a Christian But
Live like an Atheist Graphics

Administrative Downloads Total Package

Guest Services Training Videos

The Elephant in the Room Trailer

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 Kristin Baker, Director of Story

Years ago, I’d get in trouble for laughing in church. Now I get to write things to try to make everyone else laugh in church. Don’t tell me Jesus doesn’t love irony. Here at GCC, our leaders and arts team truly believe in the power of comedy to connect people, ease tension on tough topics and, most importantly, open up hearts and minds so they’re ready to receive the truth of the gospel. Here are seven quick tips and examples that might help you get that combover-sporting, easily offended, scowl-wearing elder to loosen up and let that potluck potbelly shake like God intended.

1.) Hyperbole – Exaggerated characters make it safe to call attention to behaviors that are outside the character of Christ. Sample: Our leaders wanted to call attention to how our culture is tribal and has made sports and entertainment our new religion. They longed to help our people move from just a “fan” of Jesus to a fully committed follower. So in the fall at the height of college football (we live in Notre Dame-ville), we developed a series called “Not a Fan”. This piece “Fansanonymous” was written with exaggerated characters to illustrate some of the concepts in the series.

2.) Fish Out of Water – Place a character in a scene where he is out of his comfort zone and trying to figure out his place. This is a common comedy technique you’ve seen in several films like “Mr. Mom”, “Big”, “Elf” etc. Everyone chooses a character to “ego-identify” with in a scene. This is a vehicle for helping people discover the truth of what the speaking pastor is trying to deliver. In this sample, we were doing a family series and were aware that single people often feel left out when we address topics on marriage and parenting. One of our teaching pastors is single and wanted to devote a weekend to letting single people know that they are valued, that the church is their home, and that family comes in many forms. He also wanted to help married people understand that singleness is not a state to be corrected or looked down upon. Thus—“The Single Guy.”

Continue reading on the GCC Creative Arts Blog...

Heads up! We’ve added several new videos to the store at WiredChurches.com. Now there are more resources to pull from to help plan and execute your next series. Here are a few of the latest videos:

  • Henriette’s Story – Henriette recalls the genocide against the Tutsi people of Rwanda, and the role faith played in her family’s survival.
  • Name Calling – This poem explores the reasons behind the abuse of Christ’s name by people who go by the name “Christian.”
  • Things I Wish Jesus Never Said Trailer – Turn the other cheek. Don’t judge. Don’t worry. Those are all things that are easier said than done. But guess what? Jesus said them. By the way, this video is so new, the series it’s promoting kicks off this weekend at Granger.

Grab these and many more at WiredChurches.com. And to see all the newest additions to the store, browse the “What’s New” section.