Yellowbox Creative

In this season 3 finale, we discuss what it takes to have staying power. On the journey of developing creativity in the local church, we've seen many creatives and church planters come and go. So in this episode, we stop and ask ourselves if we're brightly burning, or burning out. 

Transitions - they are inevitable. But, do they always have to be painful? This week, the team shares some insight on how to curate a healthy transition in ministry. 

Am I in an echo chamber? Where is my inspiration coming from? Am I just recreating work that I see other people doing? We got to ask these questions this week on the podcast and share some of our own ways that we like to stay inspired so that we can do our best to create original and inspiring work rather than simply copying and pasting from what everyone else is doing.

This week we got to discuss the importance of messaging among organizations. How do you take the cultures and values that are known internally among your church and communicate them externally to people who would otherwise not be familiar with it? We use theoretical examples like specific series designs and also include some real examples that we see in different organizations to help answer this question.

This week we got to talk in depth about the importance of storytelling in the church. We are told to tell people's stories of how Jesus changed their life and so we got to talk through some of the practical ways to do so in your organization. In doing so we got to share some of our own processes and systems that we use at Yellowbox to streamline the storytelling process.

This week on the Yellowbox Podcast, the team talks about the importance of humility in your creative processes. We break down the differences of what humility and pride look like in the local church and give some practical solutions for disconnecting your creative from your ego.

This week on the podcast, the team talks about how we can leverage creativity to lead people to carry the vision and DNA of your church. We talk about the concept of the Upper Room and Lower Room of a Jewish household representing how we are presenting our ministry. Listen in as we unpack how to better invite your congregation/audience to fall more in love with your DNA than your creative output.

Creatives: Yes we have a fire extinguisher, but we try not to break the glass.  We can fight fires, but are we created to be firefighters? Check out this episode of the Yellowbox Podcast where Nick and Kevin dig a little deeper on the art of pushing back. Creative work takes time. It's a craft, not an emergency services program.  Check out how to get the best creative output in a healthy creative process. 

So you're gearing up for a launch or relaunch?  It's no surprise that you and your launch team members are excited about your plant. However, that excitement won't translate en masse to the audience you are planting to, which means that you'll need to do the work to find out how to build a bridge between your excitement and their hearts and minds. We would love to help you navigate building that bridge. Our team would love to chat and discuss your ideas for your upcoming launch—no strings attached. We have also prepared a digital downloadable resource as well as a podcast on this topic, available at yellowbox.co/resources. 

So you're gearing up for a launch or relaunch?  It's no surprise that you and your launch team members are excited about your plant. However, that excitement won't translate en masse to the audience you are planting to, which means that you'll need to do the work to find out how to build a bridge between your excitement and their hearts and minds. We would love to help you navigate building that bridge. Our team would love to chat and discuss your ideas for your upcoming launch—no strings attached. We have also prepared a digital downloadable resource as well as a podcast on this topic, available at yellowbox.co/resources. 

On this episode of the podcast, we're talking about what it means to be Created For More. What does it mean to you to be a creative in the church and not just be seen as someone who can accomplish tasks, but also fulfill their God given calling.  This is a pretty common conversation amongst creatives we know, so we brought the whole gang for this one. Check it out 

Welcome back to the Yellowbox Podcast! After a 2 year hiatus we're back to talk about all things creative! But, we can't kick off without going back and reflecting on the affects of Covid-19 on our lives and our organization. So catch up with us here! We're excited to be back and rolling out new episodes each month! 

On this episode of The Yellowbox Podcast Kevin, MJ, and Ale get together to discuss the affects of COVID-19 in the world and in the Body of Christ. Right now we’re all busy exploring what it means to function as the church online and in-person to our neighbors in this time of national crisis. At Yellowbox, we’re keenly aware of the struggles churches are facing as they are forced to adapt quickly. Our team has all been personally involved in assisting our own local churches with updates and projects aimed at moving church forward as options have become limited for meeting in public spaces over the past few days. With this in mind, we have been head down formulating how we can best assist the local church on a larger scale. Check out this episode to hear about the resources we've come out with that we think can help!

Hey! We're back with a special episode. Kevin and Tres got the opportunity to speak at a Youth Creative Night for our friends at local Houston church, Grace Humble, and we wanted to share it with all of you. Check it out!

On this episode we got to sit down with someone really special. Ruben Valdez is the Lead Graphic Designer at a local Houston church, Grace Humble. But, before that we got the honor of having him on the Yellowbox team as an intern. Listen in to hear about his creative process and growth since then. Ruben shares his experiences as a self taught designer, pursuing his passions, and pairing that with how he's been serving the church. Check it out!

On this episode Kevin has a conversation about culture, creativity, and the church's responsibility to make a bigger impact on the world around us. Check it out!

As a creative you are always looking for inspiration and always having ideas for more projects but we need to first identify and help you get done what you're currently working on. You need to know what to say “yes” to and what to say “no” to.On this episode Tres and our dear friend Gavin are are going to show you some essentials in planning as a creative. -How to get more done as a creative. -How to manage all of your projects easier.-How to get it all done and still have a social life.-What tools to use as a creative to manage tasks and projects.And much more!Discover and define your "why" as a creative and learn how to grow stronger in it. If you've got your "why" then let's look at your "how". We want to help you accomplish more and execute the ideas that God has given you. Check it out here!

On this episode of the podcast Kevin and Tres are double dipping into a topic that we've talked about before and even posed the question, "Is it okay to steal from other churches?" Using inspiration from other churches is normal, but we think it's important to know the "why" behind your own inspired execution of someone else's work. Are you in a busy season and reaching for something to plug the holes in a sinking ship? Or, are you broadening your perspective and looking to challenge yourself creatively, building off an idea that you liked? Stealing creative might not be bad, but stealing and not knowing how to use it is criminal. How can you be respectful of work that has been made that is particularly for an audience, a culture, and tone? And how can you see the influence that a church is making and dissect it to be able to make it personal for your own church culture and community? Listen in for some practical next steps and how-to's for creatives to remix work that's been done while still honoring the intention and heart behind the original creation. Check it out!

We're back and starting the new year, no- decade off with a new podcast! This one is special, as we got to finally meet up with our new friend, Josh Mellor. Josh is a multidisciplinary artist and creative living in Manchester with his wife, Estee. His day-job involves working as a film producer at Hope For Justice—a global non-profit organization which aims to end human trafficking and modern slavery— but he is also involved in several side projects, each of which have garnered attention over the past few months. UR, is a clothing company that exists to communicate important messages surrounding self-worth and positive mental health amongst other things. Josh is the brand’s, Art Director and together with Dillon Wilson, UR’s, Creative Director and founder, the pair of them have worked together to forge the beginnings of what seems to be an effective vehicle for the kind of message desperately needed by the youth / creatives of today. Additionally, he’s also curated and built an online community of 17k followers via his IG magazine, Neon Lime. We love Josh and we know you will too! Take a listen to hear Tres and Josh talk about personal experience in the church + creative culture and their thoughts on what creatives should do to prepare themselves for working with a church. Out now on all streaming platforms! Also check out what Josh (@manlikemels) and Dillon (@dillonscottwilson) are up to with UR, (@youarecomma)

This week on the pod, we explore how breaking up your creative planning into seasons can not only balance the process—but also identify strengths and weaknesses in your team. Spotting weaknesses isn’t a bad thing, it presents an awesome opportunity for growth and collaboration! Explore how we dissect the creative process through three month seasons and develop those creative concepts!

We love to highlight creativity in all it’s forms. To celebrate wins, to call out what worked, to compliment great design or editing. But, what do we do when our work isn’t seen? When what we do is behind the scenes, does it still matter? What is it about affirmation and appreciation that satisfies our hunger as creatives?On this episode of the podcast Kevin and Tres present some thought provoking questions on what we do as creatives in the local church, our purpose for creating in the first place, and the advancement of self in the process. Are you reflecting God's light or are you trying to make your own light shine?Check it out!

On this episode Tres and Kevin discuss and identify some major differences between managing and leading people. Through personal experiences and practical steps, they share some really great ways to work on building teams on a strong foundation of leadership, and what it looks like to not only identify leadership qualities in someone, but cultivate those traits and help develop that in someone. The guys share tips to creating healthy processes in your creative teams that will have a lasting effect internally and impact people outside of the four walls of the church.

In this episode, we welcome Yellowbox team members MJ and Alejandro as we discuss the stigma sometimes associated with working for a church. We ask (and answer) some hard questions and explore what it really means to be a creative in the local church.

We're back! We're kicking this season off with details on the CRTV One Day Conference. Kevin and Tres describe what a healthy schedule for creatives in the church looks like and what exactly does it mean to steal in the creative world.

Not every church has a good process for working with their creative team, so how do we make sure our church has one? Aly LaBorde (Associaton of Related Churches) shares how to create (and maintain) healthy and sustainable processes with your creative team.

In this episode, we are live at Team Church 2019 with our friends Brandon and Lindsay Stewart from Leading Second discussing the DNA of great teams.

We’re in a crazy time. We know that social media is necessary for the church in this day and age, but how do we use it correctly? What are the rules? Are there rules? We talk with Social Content Director Gavin Dees (from Deka Social) on three tips and tactics to grow engagement on Instagram.

We love to follow the next big thing, but are we trying to hard to be the next big thing? Is there a place for self-promotion? Kevin and Trés sit down to talk about the dangers leaders face when using the tools of social media.

An attractive culture is built by the people who work there and its leadership. So what kind of leadership culture should we have? Should we have strong leaders or secure leaders? In this two-part series, Trés and Kevin sit down to explain how to be a secure leader in your church or organization.

How can we develop a biblical culture of attracting people to our churches? Kevin and Trés tackle this question head-on by developing 5 important factors of an attractive church culture.

How can your worship team develop in creativity and faithfulness to God? Kevin sits down with Houston-based worship pastors Jan Mitchel (Elevate People) and Justin Cellum (Highpoint) to laugh (and learn) from their team dynamics in their local churches.

“It’s not just what you say, it’s how you say it.”The 2019 Vous Conference was a refreshing time for our staff. In this episode, we reflect on the highlights of the many great things that we learned there.

Houston muralist, designer and musician David Maldonado joins Kevin and Trés to discuss creativity in the church, why you should check your direct message requests, working with the Houston Astros, and how much Trés love Houston.

Who is more excited about the launch of a new church... the launch team, or the community where the church is launching in? In this episode, Kevin and Trés sit down to talk about the importance of a launch campaign, and how church planters can launch a successful campaign in their local area.

In our experience, the reality that a logo alone doesn’t make a brand is not a universally understood truth. The language around this topic is seemingly vague in the church world. We’ve seen countless organizations fail to adopt a full brand identity because of budgetary reasons or lack of knowledge on the subject, only to spend more after the fact to get things back on track. In this episode, we discuss the difference between a logo alone and a full brand identity.

Pride and self-doubt exist not because of a lack of confidence in our competence but as a result of worshipping ourselves. Competence can lead to healthy confidence – however, thinking you’re the only one who can do what you’re confident in– leads to pride. It becomes all about you.In this episode, we explore the crossover from self-doubt to confidence and the ever-present danger of leaning into pride. Read full article.

Far too often, we fail to realize that WE are not OUR IDEAS. Instead of seeing ourselves as humans with a creative gift, we live as if we are the creative gift who just happens to be human. We have restructured our lives to find meaning and value in what we do, rather than who we are created and called to be. In this episode, we explore the unique challenge of creative ownership.

We’re doing a national study on creativity in the local church. What does it look like? Why do we struggle with it? Do we consider ourselves creative in the first place? How can we provide environments beneficial to growth for a church team? We're diving headfirst into these questions and more in this episode of the podcast. (take the survey)

In this episode, we pulled excerpts from a conversation with singer and songwriter, John Mark McMillan on the topic of art from the church versus art for the church. We explore the journey of creating art and music through the lens of our biblical responsibility to influence culture.

In this episode, we discuss the importance and benefits of using a creative brief as a part of your creative process. This brief serves as one element that all healthy creative processes include. If executed correctly, the brief serves as a true north — a clear target your creative team can aim for, and execute on.

Your church culture and creative are more intertwined than you realize. In this episode, we dive into the tension of developing a healthy creative culture in your local church.

Easter is an opportunity, but it has to be seized. So, are you ready? In this episode, we discuss marketing best practices to help your church win as you ramp up for Easter Sunday.