The Remix of Children’s Ministry

2 new post

2007-10-29T16:11:00Z

2 new post can be found at http://www.mckeelive.com .

Thanks for stopping by.

Thoughts from All Access in Anderson, SC

2007-10-22T12:13:00Z

Read at mckeelive.com.

The Big News: mckeelive.com

2007-10-18T20:44:00Z

Ladies and Gentlemen. I have a big announcement. After one year and 121 post this blog is moving to www.mckeelive.com . My current host, 3cords.org, is shutting down on October 31st. 3cords has been very good to me and my blog. They have given me readers that I would have never gotten and an easy platform in which to write. So many thanks to the guys behind 3cords.org.

Now onto McKeelive.com. I am in the process of taking all the content that I have on this blog and moving it over to the new one. I am just over half way there. It will be up and running with all post by October 31st. You can go check it out tell me what you think. It is going to look totally different that my current blog.

Please up date all of you links to this blog and point them to McKeelive.com. I would appreciate that very much.

Now why Matt McKee Live and not the Remix of Children's Ministry? Matt McKee Live is much easier to remember. It allows me to post more about things other than Children's Ministry even though Children's Ministry will be my main focus. I also plan on doing more with video on my new site. I can't wait to expand to new things. So please continue to join me at www.mckeelive.com.

Sign Wednesday: Signspotting

2007-10-17T19:33:00Z

Last week I received a book in the mail. The book is called "Signspotting". As you may well know, I am a sign geek. My wife, Jessica, says that I am taking it to extremes, but I think I am just starting. Anyway, this book is incredible if you like signs. I showed it to the student ministry team today and they cracked up. The were laughing out loud. Now I could scan in my favorites and post them here but I would get into trouble. So here is what you can do. Go to their website here, or buy the book here. Here is the cover of the book:

Go ahead, take a minute our of your day and laugh. To many times we take ourselves to seriously. Ministry, business, and even life is serious but have fun while you do it.

In case you didn't hear...

2007-10-15T20:12:00Z

The University of Kentucky upset Louisiana State University in FOOTBALL. That's right. The many of us Big Blue basketball fans are glad to see there is a football team. Congrats to the 4 seniors that could have gone to the NFL last year but stayed to make this season special.

All Access at NewSpring Community Church

2007-10-15T18:25:00Z

This coming Saturday I leave for Anderson, S.C. Anderson is a little town of 26,000 people and the home of NewSpring Community Church. Do you know about NewSpring? If you don't you should. Their senior pastor is Perry Noble, who loves to blog here, and they have this guy called Tony Morgan who loves to blog here. Both of these guys are some of my favorite bloggers. I also can't wait to meet Pudge Huckaby, the Children's Pastor. Anybody with the name of Pudge has to be cool. He blogs here but is currently on a break. What makes NewSpring so great is that they average around 7,000 people in a town of 26,000. Now that is what I call a Community Church that is reaching the people around them for God. It is not all fluff. It is the get your hands, hair, and heart dirty type of ministry. Last month they baptized 562 people. God is working through them and they are being obedient. I can't wait to go to this conference/backstage look at NewSpring. Paul Tate our Creative Arts/Programming Pastor will be going with me. It will be great to hang out with him and not to experience this alone. I hope I can nudge him into starting a blog on this trip. It would be benefit many of us out there. He is very creative.

There are 2 major goals I have for this All Access event.

#1- For God to move me to rethink, renew, and remix my ministry.

#2- Hug Tony Morgan (he will hate this but I want to see the look on his face).

I will be keeping you up-to-date on what happens while at NewSpring. I am sure it will be incredible.

Stay Tuned...

2007-10-14T00:45:00Z

Big news is coming about this blog. I will announce it as soon as I can. Thank you so much for coming back often and sending me encouragement over the last couple weeks when I haven't posted very much. Please stay tuned.

Sign Wednesday: Bathroom Blitz

2007-10-10T12:49:00Z

One way to judge a restaurant is by going in the bathroom. I actually had an idea of a restaurant that was all about the bathroom. You know the barstools would like like but not function as toilets and the booths would be divided by shower curtins. Of course that is not the point of this post. The point is to bring you a collection of random bathroom signs. This week I want you to pay attention to all of the sings in bathrooms. There are tons of them and here are some of my favorite.

I can't explain this one but it cracks me up.

I wanted to be fair to the ladies who read my blog.

Speaking of men and women.
Magnetic sign that you get to place your own symbol.

Read carefully. They were sued and had to be taken down.

Please use up to 2 font sizes per bathroom sign. This is ridiculous.

So there you have it. This has been toilet talk for the day. Now I must go and see a new sign.

Update on the iPhone Display

2007-10-04T20:32:00Z

I know that I can be confusing sometimes and I apologize if the last post was one of those times. The iPhone display below is not just a large black plastic looking iPhone. It is a LCD screen with a plastic cover to make it look like a giant iPhone. On the LCD screen is a video that goes through how to use the phone. It goes through how the web works on the phone. It even goes through how to make a call. It truly is a sign that teaches you how to use the phone. So not only is it very sharp in appearance but it teaches at the same time.

This is the ultimate in the use of a sign. If you can ever get your signs to accomplish fashion and function then you are on the right path.

Sign Wednesday: iPhone Display

2007-10-03T18:34:00Z

We have an Apple Store in the Kenwood Mall here in Cincinnati. It is an incredible store. I think that if I don't work for Google then Apple would be a nice second. Yesterday I was walking by the store window and saw this:

Now don't get me wrong. This display has been up for a while. And yes that is a giant iPhone. Here is the deal though... The phone is a sign. An every changing sign that teaches you how to use the iPhone. It teaches you how cool it is to own one. I hope you catch this. It is a sign that teaches. I can't say that I have any signs that are this intentional about teaching my kids, students, or parents how to use my ministry. I don't have any sign that teaches how cool my ministry is. Do you? If so I would love to see it.

On a totally different note... I love that this guy is cleaning the sign/phone/teacher. Upkeep is very important and one of the most overlooked aspects of ministry and environments. Of course Apple and other companies do this very well.

Last thing, I still don't have an iPhone. I want one but my church is on the T-Mobile network and a hacked phone I wouldn't trust. I know you have been worrying about what you are going to get me for Christmas, so please don't make it an iPhone unless you give the gift of service with it.

How to get the Secret Weapon

2007-09-28T15:53:00Z

The first thing you need to understand about plotters are they are like:

I knew the number one question would be, "How do I afford a $7,000-$20,000 machine?". I am glad you asked, but first I must give you full disclosure. I got the one pictured below from Global Imaging for $3500 with ink included. It was their showroom model and they we getting a new one in. How did I do this? I built a relationship with them when I purchased the Zund for Fellowship Church. Now I didn't even have $3500 for this so I did the following and this is how you are going to get your plotter.

I told you that plotters are like cars. You can pay for them with cash, finance them, or lease them. I don't expect your church or business to have even $7000 to put down on a printer. I do expect your church to have $300 dollars a month over 3 years though. I also don't expect this to just come out of the Children's budget. The Children's department is not going to be the only one to use it. Why should they be the only one to pay for it. You are not the only one who should care about marketing at your church.

How does Horizon do it? We lease the current machine we have. We have a 3 year deal with a $1 buyout. At the end of 3 years, we will pay that $1 and keep it or trade it in for a new/used one. I told you, they are just like cars. Recently HP had a trade in program that would give you $7000-$10,000 for a trade in. We would be making money at that point but we are not to the point of need for a new one yet. We split the monthly expense between the Children's, Jr. High, Sr. High, Programming, and Publicity. We then split the cost of supplies such as paper and ink by who uses it. That means that I pay for the rolls of paper that I use and Programming pays for the ones that they use. Of course we share if needed but this way you know how much you have actually spent for budget reasons.

You see your first buy in is not your Senior Pastor or the boss at the business. Your first buy in is the other pastors and staff of your church or business. Then as a united front you let the Senior Pastor/boss decide if they want the 42", 60" or 96" machine.

These machines are expensive if you look at it as a cash purchase but they are very manageable if you look at it like a car. Now you don't have the excuse of it cost to much. I will continue this conversation later with the other top questions.

Sign Wednesday: The Secret Weapon

2007-09-26T15:21:00Z

I know what you are thinking. That is not a sign and this is Sign Wednesday. If you thought this then you are correct. This is not a sign but it is the secret weapon to sign making. This is called a plotter or a large format printer. Now that the introduction has been made you don't have to be afraid anymore. The one above is the one sitting in our church office and I use it every week. It prints up to 42 inches wide and I have printed up to 18 feet long images on it. If your church, ministry, or business does not have one you should get one. I mean this with everything in me.

But it is to much, right? I don't know how to use it... What programs do I use? Where do I get supplies? Won't this take me away from real ministry or business? What is the point of having one?

These are all of the standard questions. Believe me when I say that I have heard them all. I have done more research and crunched more numbers than most people in the printing industry. I have been to more print expos than I have Children's Ministry conference. I told you I was a sign geek. I know these machines. I have even walked into a local print shop and showed the owner of the company how to use his new DisplayMaker 98 inch flatbed UV printer. Before I left Fellowship Church I did tons of work to getting this machine pictured below:

This is a Zund UVjet 215 plus. This thing is so cool that it is on the church tour. It will print on anything, wood, glass, metal, paper, foam board, up to 2 inches thick and 7 feet wide. Just for fun I put a piece of corrugated metal through it so that I could say I was the first one to do so. You don't want to know how much this one cost.

So let me go ahead and answer your questions.

1. Where do I start? If you are really considering buying one, and you should be, then start off with a HP printer. They are the standard and will get you use to all of the other printers. Buy one that is a Post Script printer to start off with. This means you can plug it into your network at church or business and print to it like you do right now to your copier. Basically no extra hardware needed. HP is running a deal right now on their 5500 series which has been the best for years because they just came out with a newer, faster model. Either the 5500 or their new Z6100 series is going to be great. Remember this is a start and you will want to upgrade in 3 to 5 years after you see what these will do for you.

2. How much? You can get a refurbished HP 5500 with a one year warranty for $6400. A new Z6100 you can get for $13,000 for the 42 inch and $17,000 for the 60 inch. Inks are going to be about $225 per color and their are 6 colors. The ink last me about 7-8 months and I use mine like crazy. It comes out to be about $0.48 per square foot for ink. The paper, vinyl, polyester, canvas, magnets, and other material will come to you priced per square foot as well. That way you know how much a sign will cost you to print. For example, a 4' X 8' sign printed on paper and mounted to foam board would cost me $485 if I got it at Kinko's or if I printed it on my plotter it would cost me $37. No that is not a misprint. Now you see if you do any printing what so ever you will pay for the printer in no time.

3. Where do I get the printer/supplies? Don't get them from Kinko's. Get them from companies like Global Imaging or Queen City Reprographics. Both are companies I use and highly recommend. No I don't get kick backs.

4. What programs do I use? The easiest programs to use with this machine are Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, or Macromedia Freehand. Believe or not though, one of the guys here in the office uses Microsoft Publisher but I wouldn't recommend it.

5. What about real ministry or business? If you couldn't tell, I believe marketing works. I believe people want real ministries and real businesses to be as professional as possible. What is the best way to convert someone into a customer or tell them about Jesus Christ? That would be one on one conversations. What is the best way to show that what you are doing matters? The way your business or ministry looks and feels. Both are very important.

I know you have more questions. I know you I have talked over your heads on some stuff. Here is the deal. These printers are not hard to use. They will save you money if you are outsourcing your signs right now. If you aren't doing signs now then you will have to spend more money. I want you to care about how your area looks. I want you to care about how other people see your area. I want to stop mediocrity in this area. If you want help you can e-mail me.

Great Ministry Spaces

2007-09-25T13:57:00Z

I need your help. I am looking for pictures of great ministry spaces. I want the most creative, uniquely decorated, innovative spaces Sr. High, Jr. High, Elementary, Preschool, and Nursery. I have been to many churches but I am horrible at taking pictures. I know that there is one resource out there by Roger Fields that can be found at http://www.coldwatercafe.com/Places2See/1MustSee.htm. Thanks Roger for this but there has to more. You must have a bunch sitting on your computer as well. So here is what I would love for you to do, either send those photos to me by e-mail or post a link to your favorties in the comment section so that we all can find them.

Thanks for your help.

A Roller Coaster Day

2007-09-24T03:43:00Z

Have you had a day when you go through every emotion? Saturday, September 22nd was one of those days for me. There is a famous speech by Jim Valvano that talks about days like this. I quote:

"To me, there are three things we all should do every day. We should do this every day of our lives. Number one is laugh. You should laugh every day. Number two is think. You should spend some time in thought. And number three is, you should have your emotions moved to tears, could be happiness or joy. But think about it. If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that's a full day. That's a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, you're going to have something special. "

Why was it such a day? My oldest son went through surgery and come out great. I got to baptize 4 kids that are very dear to me. I also saw Kentucky win another football game and start the season 4-0. It was a day in which I cried, I laughed, I hugged, I loved, I cheered, I feared, and most of all I was loved in returned.

I hope that you have days like I did yesterday. They wear you out but life would be empty without them.

Sign Thursday: The Bulliten Board

2007-09-20T19:29:00Z

For those of you who follow this blog I am not changing Sign Wednesday to Thursday but I have been swamped. I will go back to Wednesday and I promise to write about the importance of the large format printer very soon. Let's get on with the show, and discuss one sign that is in most churches older than 15 years. It is the bulletin board. Here is a typical one:

Why is this typical? Crate paper, wood frame, lots of words, targeted to insiders, the use of some sort of cut out letters, and surrounded by beige walls. I was at this church recently and I could find no information about what R.I.D.E. was about? I am sure it is for kids but the rest of the little signs told me little to nothing. If you are going to make a sign please make sure that you intend for your sign to be read by dummies like myself. This will go a long way in helping you communicate.

I am not a big fan of bulletin boards. I think there time has come and gone. They are very hard to make look professional and they stay in the same place forever. Anything that stays in the same place over time gets looked over. Things that get looked over are not done well because people know that no one reads them. If no one is reading them then why do you still have it up on your wall?

Do something radical this week. Take down all your bulletin boards. I bet you that people will notice. I also bet that you might have to paint because the color of paint will be a different shade because the bulletin board has been there way to long. Then next week if you are compelled to have bulletin boards make sure they are in a different spot with different information.