Project Client: Desperation Church || @desperationchurch
Project Type: Kids Ministry Logo Design
Lead Designer: Rachel Baker
Every church and private school should be looking hard at what Desperation Church in Alabama does for their kids ministry right now. This children’s ministry team has adopted one of the most creative approaches to pre-teen ministry we’ve seen in a long time. This idea is so contagious that schools around the nation have adopted the same system in their own context.
Introducing: Desperation ‘Crews’
The idea of a house system is connected to things like boarding schools and even Hogwarts. More recently, the Ron Clark Academy sorted every student and staff member into one of eight houses built around core values. House members earn points, compete, wear team colors and have something creative that makes the school day better. The compradore and sense of belonging is priceless. It’s also been proven to help with attention span and education retention. That would be a big win for a church children’s ministry!
Desperation Church wanted to build four houses that their 600+ kids across their different campuses could rally behind every single week. They brought strong value systems to the design prep meeting and eventually the creative brand concepts for the houses were formed.
Every house got a full brand identity system with shared components of a crest, a monogram, mascot, and a house symbol set. We built repeatable patterns for things like backgrounds and physical banners we imagined being added to the physical kids ministry area. The creative ideas are truly endless here!
Paxora — Peacemaking & Wisdom. The dove in flight and olive branches carry peace, the open Bible carries the wisdom behind it, and the flame makes sure nobody mistakes this house for passive. This is active, Spirit led peacemaking kind of crew.
Valoris — Courage & Leadership. The crowned lion carries courage, the tree of life and staff carry leadership, and a real lesson lands on a kid wearing that lion who's told week after week that they’re part of a house built on bravery. GUSHING!
Altair — Faith & Vision. An eagle mid flight, paired with a ladder, a star, and an acacia tree that represent how faith and vision are about seeing further than what's right in front of you.
Fortis — Service & Endurance. An ox, grounded and strong, next to a yoke, mountains, and an oak tree. How important to teach children that serving others is never supposed to be glamorous. It's steady work and if we do it together, we will endure. We’ve got goosebumps.
“Bright Coal exceeded our expectations! They took the vision we had been carrying for so long and brought it to life in a way that was better than we could have imagined.”
Why You Should Do This
Still not convinced this is for your church? Let’s add a few more wins we feel 100% confident about…
Kids hear us when we say they belong, but to anchor them to a concrete memory like this helps them be able to point to proof. With this creative ministry idea, an 8-year-old will be able to tell you what endurance means. EMOTIONAL.
Another great reason to consider this is because of how it can scale across multiple touch points throughout the entire church. This idea originally started out as a one time thing for a summer outreach event. It was such a success, Desperation Church had to integrate it over to a weekly model. These housing systems can show up in decor, on screens, through social posts and even during events like VBS throughout the year. Leaders also won’t have to invent engagement moments because these houses naturally do it for them.
Why We Know YOU Can Do This
Your church already has the raw materials for this through your core values and built-in culture. Consider this more like a discipleship infrastructure that can be built once, championed every week and remembered for a lifetime.
We’re so jazzed about it, the hardest thing was trying to decide what house we’d want to be apart of. How fast do you want to re-create this for your kid’s ministry or middle-school group? It would be our pleasure to build a few teams, crews, or houses based on your church culture. Let’s get after it today!