The arts are slowly making their way back into the church. And one of the places where that is becoming most obvious is in children's ministry. Many congregations aren't satisfied with plain white walls in their classrooms. This trend has caught the attention of the Washington Post. It recently profiled Bruce Barry.
Bruce Barry, a special-effects wizard who designed animatronic gorillas and elephants for Rainforest Cafes and painted backgrounds for Universal Studios, has almost completed this razzle-dazzle children's ministry environment for the new complex at Northland Church in Longwood, Fla. (read more)
While most congregations cannot invest thousands of dollars to hire Barry or other creative artists to razzle-dazzle their kids, other options are available. Creative for Kids offers a variety of thematic patterns for Sunday School design. We here in Sumner are fortunate enough to have several creative,talented individuals, my wife Julie among these, who have added some dazzle to our classrooms. You can see some of what's been done on our website. Though I must add that these murals were among the most controversial things we've done. There exists in our community, like most small midwestern towns I've lived in, a depression-era mentality. This kind of thinkings says you do the bare essential because anything more than that is extravagance. And for those who think this way "extravagance" has no place in the church. I say this to forewarn others who may be considering bringing their imagination to the design of Sunday School rooms. Don't expect everyone to sing your praises. The kids will! But sadly many established church members don't see any value in the arts in the ministry of Christ. Given time, I believe this will change, at least I hope it will.
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