Sharing What You're Made Of - Part 2 October 14, 2005

Sometimes our jobs are just way too much fun. Your entries for the Show Us What You're Made Of Contest are blowing us away! The entry from Crossover Church in Tampa, Florida was creating quite a buzz around the cubes yesterday. To start, they have one of the best taglines around: "Our sole purpose is to give your soul purpose."   This hip-hop church submitted two items: a welcome magazine and a mix CD they use for evangelism purposes. The welcome magazine is an alternative to the traditional welcome packet or tri-fold brochure, and is much more in tune with the community they are trying to reach. It has a great urban look and feel which just makes you want to share it and pass it around. And they have used in-house designers and like-minded advertisers to help reduce the cost of the piece. The mix CD (Crossover Cypha Mixx CD) not only includes hip-hop and Rn'B tunes, but also testimonials and an invitation to establish a personal relationship with Christ. What we love about these entries is that they are great examples of creatively stretching to reach people in their own context, right where they are.

There's still time to Show Us What You're Made Of - we're taking submissions throughout the month of October. Keep checking back for more cool ideas!

Sharing What You're Made Of - Part 1 October 12, 2005

The entries are pouring in for the CreativePastors Show Us What You're Made Of! Contest and what we suspected is proving to be true. You guys are doing some really cool stuff! We'll pull out a few of the entries and highlight them here throughout the month, so be sure and check back often. You just might find something that will spark an idea for your own church!

Our first highlight is from Keith Tusing, Family Ministries Pastor at Firewheel Church in Garland, Texas. He submitted one of their most successful student outreach events - Battle of the Burgers. At a church of 450 they had 380+ teenagers attend this event with many long-lasting results. Check out some of their promotional pieces here  and here . The promotion also included radio spots with the same flair and information on local secular radio stations. This event worked so well that they are planning on doing it again next spring. Way to go, Firewheel Church!

It's not too late for the rest of you to get in on the fun. We're taking entries through October 31, so dig into your repertoire and Show Us What You're Made Of!

Podcast > On the Couch > Love Affair October 11, 2005

Welcome to this week's CreativePastors Podcast with Ed Young.

To listen now, click on the podcast icon below.

On the Couch from the series Love Affair

Length 25:22

Marriage is one of the most difficult, yet rewarding experiences in life. It isn't always a rose garden. In fact, it takes cold-hard commitment and determination for a marriage to flourish. In this message, Ed Young is joined On the Couch by Dr. Jonathan Cude, a well-respected family and marriage counselor, as they discuss the steps to living a life of faithfulness on the rugged plains of marital reality.

CreativePastors

Love Affair Series

If you have iTunes 5.0, click the link below to subscribe to our podcast. Twenty-four hours after Ed delivers his weekend message at Fellowship Church, it will be downloaded to your computer automatically. You can listen at your computer or take the MP3 with you on your iPod or other MP3 player.

If you don't have iTunes, you can get it here free for Mac or Windows. You can also subscribe to the podcast using other podcasting tools and RSS newsreaders. The feed address is: http://feeds.feedburner.com/cpblog

Catalyst Blast October 08, 2005

Wow! We are still recovering from the three-day whirlwind of the Catalyst Conference. We had so many visitors in our booth that we didn't get a chance to hear much more than a soundbyte from several speakers. Honestly, we get just as energized connecting with the people who are out there in the trenches each day doing the hard work of ministry. What an outstanding group! We enjoyed meeting some great new people and spending time with CP/FC friends like Tim Sanders, Perry Noble, Mark Batterson, and recent internet celebrity Blake Bergstrom. A special thanks goes out to Jeff Murphy, who recommended an incredible restaurant in nearby Buford - Aquaterra.

Here's a look at the print piece we handed out, which was accompanied by a free copy of Gone Gabriel from Authority Issues.

The Catalyst Blog does a great job of summarizing the conference experience and the speakers' sessions.

Now we're ready for the fun of the C3 Children's Conference in a couple of weeks!

Podcast > Briar Rabbit from Love Affair October 06, 2005

Welcome to the CreativePastors Podcast with Ed Young.

To listen now, click on the podcast icon below.

Briar Rabbit from the series Love Affair

Length 28:33

The consequences of an affair are devastating. And the road to recovery requires much more than surface level repair. In this message, Ed Young teaches us how God, through His love for us, goes to great lengths to get our attention before we step over the edge and the ledge.

CreativePastors

Love Affair Series

On next week's podcast, we'll post details on how to have these messages delivered to you automatically. You'll also be able to subscribe to this podcast using iTunes!

Enjoy your free MP3 of this week's message. There's more to come next week!

Children's Conference @ FC October 05, 2005

While half the team heads to Catalyst, the rest of us are busy getting ready for this month's C3 Children's Conference.

Join us October 20 & 21 at Fellowship Church for two days of fun, learning, and inspiration. This year's conference is all about imagining the next generation of children's ministry.

No matter your size, we have something for you, including hands-on breakout sessions on set building, props, training, volunteers, secure check-in and much more.

Don't miss this year's C3 Children's Conference!

On our way October 04, 2005

We're hopping on a plane tomorrow morning, headed to Atlanta for the Catalyst Conference. We're looking forward to rubbing shoulders with some of the most creative people around - our users! It's always a pleasure to hear the cool things you are doing and the incredible ways that God is working in your churches.

And on that note, check out what we've got going this October on CreativePastors: your creative church idea could score you two free tickets to the C3 conference in January! Click here to find out how you can show us what you're made of!