If you told me that first year in Albany, N.Y. that Creative Missions would go on to serve hundreds of churches in Missouri, Arkansas, Alaska, Maryland, Idaho and more, I’m not sure I would’ve believed you. But, as I reflect on five years of Creative Missions trips that is exactly what has happened—hundreds of churches are now in a better strategic place to fulfill their mission, hundreds of pastors have been encouraged, dozens of creative missionaries have a new understanding of their calling, and heaven only knows how many people have been impacted by the gospel all because of the faithfulness of a few.
Accomplished in Boise
This year Creative Missions took us to Boise, Idaho. If my calculations are correct, we provided approximately:
- 10 website designs or redesigns
- 12 logos, branding packages and/or style guides
- 3 new social accounts setup & branded
- 6 videos
- 27 total number of print designs (business cards, letterhead, etc.)
- 14 signs
- 10 coaching, strategy and/or training sessions (social, tech, general communications)
- 5 AVL upgrades or troubleshooting
- 3 photography/photo shoots
- 4 email newsletter designs/redesigns
- 1 stage design
- 2 ProPresenter or presentation system software design/install
- 11 Churches served
- 22 Creative missionaries
If you take a conservative amount of hours worked and multiply it by a conservative freelancer rate, we gave around $45,000 in free labor and services to the churches in the Boise area.
Those stats for this year, like every year of Creative Missions, are pretty incredible. Thank you to our supporters, our donors, our host churches, our missionaries and to Cleve Persinger and his leadership team.
God’s Faithfulness
What always seems to fascinate me about Creative Missions trips, though, is God’s faithfulness.
God always seems to come through right at the exact moment.
God always provides the right city for us to serve—right when it seems that city needs us most.
God is faithful to drop us into the trajectory of a church at the perfect time for them to grow 400%.
God always brings together the right mix of talent and always leads just the right ordering of those talented people onto just the right team mix.
God always provides the right line of code at the last minute in order for us to pull off a new web design for a church.
God always shows up to helps a bunch of attractional church communicators to figure out how to serve missional churches.
God always happens to send a team to provide soul care to a pastor who is on the brink of throwing in the towel.
God always provides the right amount of finances from you, faithful donors and sponsors, to allow us to provide the production, housing, transportation and other fixed costs to make this trip happen (there is still time and need to give!).
What People Are Saying
Perhaps the best way to describe this phenomenon we call Creative Missions is through the words of those most impacted (some from this year and some from the first five years):
“The uniqueness of this ministry and this mission is significant in the body of Christ and we have been blessed by it.” –Matt Hyde, Discovery Church
“What a group of skilled, productive, generous, and fun-loving people. Thank You! We will not be the same.” -Melisa Pearson, Discovery Church
On a call today w/ a pastor pumped about us coming, "I really can't believe this is happening. I didn't think #creativemissions was real!"
— Evan Courtney (@EvanCourtney) May 12, 2015
“You guys are arm lifters. We are like Moses standing at the river’s edge, doing the work and getting so tired. You guys are Aaron and Hur coming up along side us, just as our arms are about to give out and we are about to give up, and you lift our arms so that we can continue the work that God has called us to. You don’t even realize it, but you are arm lifters.” -Pastor in Baltimore
"You guys were a catapult for our church" @Discoveryboise #CreativeMissions
— Joe Porter (@innovatoryphoto) May 22, 2015
“Creative Missions has made church planting awesome here in Alaska,” -Will Cole, True North Church
"Your team is our optometrist. Your bringing clarity to our vision this week." Pastor @DCBoise #CreativeMissions
— Evan Courtney (@EvanCourtney) May 18, 2015
“As a church planter there is always a looming cliff in front of you. Every once in a while, God sends someone like you guys to push the cliff back. Thank you for being cliff pushers!” -Cherie Ritter, Jacobs Well Church
"I join #CreativeMissions every year to help remove obstacles from the gospel." – @jonmrogers
— Tim Gaskins (@timgaskins) May 21, 2015
“This week has been incredible and so much more than I ever expected. God did so much and weaved so many things together that I can’t even begin to count. This week I fell in love with the local church all over again. Jesus is building His Church in Boise and beyond, and I can’t believe I get to be a small part of it” –Jordan Wiseman
Next Five Years
So… we’re five years in. Some doubted and said it wouldn’t last. Some said churches wouldn’t welcome us or wouldn’t be able to sustain the solutions we provide. But God is faithful. He is faithful to finish what he begins. So, here’s to the next five years. Are you ready to join the mission?
Finally, a parting thought from our daily devotions:
“Whatever you do, do it well for the glory of God, and do it somewhere strategic for the mission of God.”
More
- Learn more about who was involved in this year’s Creative Missions trip.
- Check out the stories, photos and videos from this year’s trip.
- Creative Missions is an effort of the Center for Church Communication (our nonprofit parent). Please consider making a donation to continue this great work.
- We wrote the book on Creative Missions. Consider buying a copy to help support our work.
