churchrelevance.com

After 25 months of the same blog design, I decided it was time for a fresh, new look for Church Relevance. You may have noticed some design changes a few weeks ago, but today officially completes the design overhaul with the addition of some new banner graphics.

So what do you think of the new blog design? Do you like it?

Back in January, I highlighted a short video of the 2007 Christmas service at Fellowship Church (Grapevine, TX). Today, Pace Hartfield uploaded even better videos of the Christmas service as well as a glimpse of how Fellowship Church designed the creative elements.

The Christmas Service

The Creative Video

How They Made the Creative Video

For more details about Fellowship Church’s production process, read Pace’s full explanation on his blog.

Great custom graphic design is ideal. But sometimes time, money, or skill limitations make it necessary to use premade graphics. And even when you have the time, money, and skills, there are still occasions when it is more efficient to not reinvent the wheel and to instead use and build upon a premade resource.

In either case, here are 15 of the best sites offering free church graphics and resources. And if you want to spend some cash, I have also included 6 sites that cost money but are worth considering for premade resources.

Free Church Graphics and Resources

• CreativeMYK.com
  Offers free church graphics including logos, photos, vector art, projector slides, bulletins, sermon graphics, projector slides, templates, and more. The site also includes a social network for Christian artists.
• LifeChurch.tv Open
  Offers free sermon series resources that include message outlines, sermon graphics, videos, and more creative materials created by LifeChurch.tv (Edmond, OK).
• Muddy River Media
  Offers free illustrative videos, motion backgrounds, countdown timers, stock photographs, illustrations, small group resources, and more.
• NewSpring Ministries
  Offers free sermon series resources (e.g., sermon graphics, audio, message outline, & service outline) as well as administrative forms and manuals created by NewSpring Church (Anderson, SC).
• Northside Christian Church Creative Resources
  Offers free logos, posters, and other artwork designed by Northside Christian Church (New Albany, IN).
• Nside Admin
  Offers free administrative documents from North Point Community Church (Alpharetta, GA) on church government, human resources, accounting, facilities, IT, and Web.
• Seacoast All Access
  Offers free sermon series resources that include sermon graphics, motion graphics, audio, video, message notes, and small group questions created by Seacoast Church (Mt. Pleasant, SC).
• Vine Resources
  Offers free sermon series graphics, postcards, countdown videos, and message bumpers created by the college ministry of Southeast Christian Church (Louisville, KY).

Free General Graphics and Resources

• Adobe Exchange
  Offers free downloads to use with Adobe software including brushes, styles, gradients, custom shapes, and patterns for Photoshop.
• BittBox
  A blog that regularly highlights free Photoshop brushes, Flash components, vector graphics, and more.
• Brusheezy
  Offers free Photoshop brushes.
• Flasheezy
  Offers free Flash elements.
• PS Brushes
  Offers free Photoshop brushes.
• Smashing Magazine
  A blog that regularly highlights free graphics, fonts, and more.
• Vecteezy
  Offers free vector graphics.

Church Resources that Cost Money

• Creative Pastors
  Sells sermon series resources that include sermon graphics, video, mind maps, outlines, audio, and more created by Fellowship Church (Grapevine, TX).
• North Point Resources
  Sells logos, DVDs, sermon messages, conference messages, and more created by North Point Community Church (Alpharetta, GA).
• Outreach
  Sells church graphics that include postcards, banners, bulletins, door hangers, invitations, brochures, logos, signage, and more.
• The Church Box
  Sells sermon series resources that include sermon graphics, PowerPoint slides, and audio created by Four Corners Community Church (West Chester, OH).
• WiredChurches.com
  Sells sermon series resources (e.g., outlines, graphics, videos, audio, & scripts) and administrative resources (e.g., forms, documents, & manuals) created by Granger Community Church (Granger, IN).
• WorshipHouse Media
  Sells mini-movies, motions, stills, software, and editables for churches.

For Discussion:
- What are you favorite websites for church resources and why? Be sure to mention whether they are free or cost money.

Fellowship Church (Grapevine, TX) has been a pioneer in sermon branding for years. Not only are their sermon titles and messages creative, but their sermon series graphics are also a great source of inspiration. Here are 36 well-designed sermon series graphics Fellowship Church has created over the past several years. Enjoy!

(1) Wholly Holy & (2) The Big D

(3) Betrayal & (4) Right Christmas

(5) Flavor & (6) Off the Chain

(7) There & (8) The House

(9) Re-Thinking Jesus & (10) iGod

(11) Check Up & (12) Doors

(13) Best Seat in the House & (14) Larger Than Life

(15) The Divine & (16) Comfortable

(17) If the Shoe Fits & (18) Sexual Revolution

(19) Rutbuster & (20) The Me in Mommy

(21) Cantaloupe & (22) Lessons from Hell

(23) Good N’ Angry & (24) Pronoun

(25) White Noise & (26) Love Affair

(27) Authority Issues & (28) Thread

(29) Night Shift & (30) Retro

(31) Multiple Choice & (32) Just Lust

(33) The Games We Play & (34) Forget About It

(35) Crispus Cremus & (36) Praying for Keeps

If you want to be a great graphic designer, study great graphic design. If you want to be a creative preacher, study creative preaching. What you put in comes out.

Pace Hartfield, the worship and creative pastor at Fellowship Church (Grapevine, TX), posted a video of their Easter 2008 service. The projection screens display some great usage of motion graphics.

Be sure to regularly check out Pace Hartfield’s blog for the latest on Fellowship Church’s worship.

CreativeMYK.com now offers more than free photos and graphics for ministries.

This week they launched a Christian artist social network. Graphic designers, photographers, and other visual artists can set up a “Creative Space” to display their portfolios, network with other designers, and potentially get hired by a new client. Artists can also participate in a Discussion forum or Critique forum.

I set up a Creative Space. So if you are a visual artist, sign-up and say “hello.”

With more and more churches launching exceptional websites, it is becoming increasingly difficult to keep my top church websites list to only 75 sites. So to make it easier on myself and give you more eye candy, I am expanding the list to the Top 80 Church Websites.

Ten new church websites made list, and The Life Church (Memphis, TN) recently redesigned their website. Here are the eleven new screen shots. I hope they inspire you.

#1 - Buckhead Church (Atlanta, GA)

#2 - Catalina Church of Midtown (Tucson, AZ)

#3 - City of Grace (Mesa, AZ)

#4 - Cornerstone (Chandler, AZ)

#5 - Crosspointe Church (Cary, NC)

#6 - First Baptist Church (Orlando, FL)

#7 - Kingsfield Church (Irvine, CA)

#8 - Lenexa Christian Center (Lenexa, KS)

#9 - One* (Spokane, WA)

#10 - The Life Church (Memphis, TN)

#11 - Windsor Crossing Community Church (Chesterfield, MO)

For more church web design inspiration, check out the complete list of the Top 80 Church Websites. What other sites do you think should be on the list and why?

Looking for some church facility inspiration for your innovative youth group? Check out these two dimensional sticker lamps created by Italian designer Alicero Signoli.

[via Trend Hunter]