stop the motion.
Last night, our create photography group created this video. The idea behind create is for the youth to be able to use their talents and gifts to “create” something that can be used in the church. That said, you might be seeing a more significant stopmotion project coming soon. Stopmotion is:
Stop-motion (also known as stop-action or frame-by-frame) is an animation technique to make a physically manipulated object appear to move on its own. [WIKIPEDIA]
This first one was kind of fun, and the two 6th graders I had last night enjoyed seeing their project from start to finish in under 30 minutes!
This is a green screen.
I know churches have full-fledged studios, high-tech cameras, lighting gear and a video production staff. We don’t. But we do have:
- 5 spotlights from the old puppet ministry stage
- a stool from the drum set that used to live in the youth room
- some sort of metal stand
- dark see-through black plastic sheet
- 4 sheets of neon green poster board taped to the wall
Put it all together, what do you get? This:
the 85% rule[s]
JM already posted about our time with Doug Murren last week. Another point he made stuck out to me — especially after hearing it twice [I also spent Tuesday with Doug at Fairview at River Club in Fredericksburg, and he told the story in both contexts].
Doug said that a few years back, they studied assimilation/visitor follow-up in two different style churches. One church had a 12-step follow-up process, and the other church did nothing. Doug found that both churches assimilated the same number of visitors. Why? Because 85% of people who visit a church already have a relationship with somebody in that church. When they visit, the assimilation is dependent upon the pre-existing connection. Some stay, others do not.
Last Monday, Kara Powell at Fuller Youth Institute also posted about 85%. She writes that Dr. Christian Smith at the National Study of Youth and Religion recently published a book where he says “that 85% of those 18-23 who have ever made a commitment to God did so before age 14.” That makes me even more excited about LSM at Gayton!
Also last Monday, I stopped in at Ukrop’s for a quick grocery shopping trip. Their Monday sale item was 85% beef. [this really has nothing to do with the other two points, aside from referencing 85%].