Illustrating the love of God at Oak Park Christian Center's KidZone

We had an amazing time on Friday visiting and sharing with our new friends at Oak Park Christian Center for their summer KidZone event! Pr. Gail Boatright, the children's ministry workers and the Hispanic Women's ministry of Oak Park worked diligently to make this event a true community outreach.

What a blast it was for everyone involved! The attractions offered included a giant slide, an obstacle course, human bumper cars, jousting and laser tag. Add to that great food, upbeat music, incredibly fun and kind volunteers and it's a family-friendly paradise.



CMT Ministries was invited to be the guests for the half-time segment of the event and we've never felt so blessed. We presented our current program You Are Special, featuring storytelling, puppetry, blacklight, sign language, painting and illusions. The families were a wonderful audience, laughing at our jokes, gasping at the surprises and, most importantly, listening quietly when we spoke of Jesus in a sincere and heart-felt moment.



We are deeply grateful to our wonderfully warm host, Pr. Gail, for the invitation, hospitality, and the opportunity to partner in ministry. We look forward to returning on Sunday, July 15 for a follow-up program during the 10:45a service (previously scheduled for Sunday, July 8)!

Reading: Scrap the Fluff

I read a great article by Amanda Cowles from Skadoodles! about scriptwriting that's worth sharing. You can find the original article here: Scripts: Scrap the Fluff.

This article reminded me a lot of what I learned in my college english course with, hands-down, the best English professor ever. Here was one memorable tip for becoming a better writer: "kill it."

Many of us have the tendency to write too much. This isn't just with script-writing, but any sort of communication (I know I do). Get to the point. If it's not necessary, then kill it. (I am in no way promoting violence, just concise writing).

A great tool for knowing when or when not to "kill it" are Amanda's "five necessaries": plot, character, audience, subtlety and resolution. I can't think of a better way to sum up it up than that.

These necessaries keep you grounded on "the point" and guide you to writing stronger material. Plus, if you are into improv, these a great tips to follow for establishing a platform and building off of that.

So sure, some fluff can be fun here and there but make sure the meat of the message is in your sandwich before you add the lettuce, mayo and Kettle Chips.

CMT Ministries' director chosen for MAX Dream Team

We're excited to announce that Gabriel, CMT Ministries' director, was chosen to be a part of the Creative Ministry Dream Team for the Ministry Arts Xtra (MAX) national conference in Grove City, OH. The Dream Team members undergo a thorough application process that includes submitting a personal statement, letter of recommendation and audition video showcasing their skills in multiple creative art forms.

The Dream Team members will come together from all corners of United States to rehearse together during the 4-day conference. They will present a special finale performance, under the direction of Christy Watkins and Amanda Cowles, that will close the conference. We're excited for Gabriel and are sure he will have a fantastic week!

For more information about MAX, please visit the conference sponsor's website, Creative Ministry Solutions.

Free Puppet Pattern: Blacklight Fish

In 2011 I had to quickly create a piece for the children's ministries at Hilltop Community Church to compete with in NCN's Kids Fine Arts Festival. Using a fun idea from a friend of mine, I used the song "Fishers of Men", a parody of "It's Raining Men" (available at www.creativemin.com)

I had to build a few fish puppets in a hurry so made a simple pattern. The pattern for the prototype was freehanded and built in less than an hour. The mouthplate pattern was freehanded after each face was made.



Click to download pattern. You are welcome to share this with others but please give credit and a link back to our website.

Below is a rough set of instructions for making your own fish. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask via the comments. Have fun!

Materials Needed:
‣  1/2 yard of 1/2 inch upholstery foam
‣  Spray adhesive
‣  Contact Cement
‣  Foam board
‣  Fluorescent spraypaint
‣  Black felt
‣  White foamie

Instructions:

Step 1: Pattern

Determine how big of a fish you want to make. Don't be afraid to experiment with sizes for the pattern. On my prototype, the top and bottom of the face and the body fit along the length of one 8.5x11 page. It was a good "standard" size but from there we varied the lengths, widths and shapes of each piece to make each fish unique.



‣  Cut out the pieces you need onto posterboard.
‣  Trace out the pieces onto the upholstery foam with a sharpie. Please note, though you are cutting two of the face/body/etc. so you want to trace the piece on the foam, flip it and then trace the other piece. That way you have two "partner" pieces. Cut them with an Xacto blade.
‣  Spray the pieces with spray adhesive. This will help preserve the foam's softness and allow to dry for one hour.

Step 2: Spray paint

We painted the foam before gluing the pieces together so we could have more fun with the colors.
‣  Paint the pieces of foam on the side that was NOT marked with the sharpie. Give it an even coat and keep a good 12 inches away from the foam so it doesn't "cake" on too thickly in one area.
‣  Allow to dry for at least 24 hours, though 48 hours is best. Be sure the area is well-ventilated!

Step 3: Gluing and Mouthplate

Having let the paint dry for at least 24 hours, the pieces should now be ready for gluing.
‣  Dab contact cement along the pieces with the BLUE edges indicated by the pattern. You only need a light coat on each edge of the piece. When it is dry to the touch, press each piece with its "partner" (so face 1 with face 2, body 1 with body 2, etc.)

Next we need to make a mouthplate:
‣  Your face and chin pieces should now be slightly curved. Use this curvature to trace out a semi-circular mouthplate pattern onto your foamboard. Use the yellow side marked on the pattern to trace out this pattern.
‣  Once you have a semi-circle shape for both the face and chin, place them side by side so they create a circular shape. Place a pencil between the two pieces to get a good feel for spacing and use duct tape to hinge the pieces together (don't forget to remove the pencil!).
‣  You should now have a "mouthplate." Trace out your mouthplate onto the black felt, cutting out two copies. One to line the inside of the mouth and the other for where your hand goes. Use contact cement to glue the felt pieces on each side of the mouthplate. You can also hot glue some elastic onto the felt to keep your fingers and thumb in place.

Now back to gluing:
‣  Glue the face to the body, you should have a long torpedo like shape.
‣  Next, glue the mouthplate along the yellow edges marked in the pattern of the face and chin of your fish. You want the foamboard to be "flush" with the foam so it creates a smooth lip. Your fish puppet's face, body, chin and mouth pieces should now be one unit. You can try the puppet on at this point.



Step 4: The Details

Now for the fins and eyes:
‣  Using the contact cement, glue each pair of fin pieces to each other. You can then dab the edges of the fin to join them to the body like in the photo above.
‣  I used a circle cutter to cut out circles of foamie to create the eyes. For pupils, I cut open the "wiggle eyes" and used the black pupil. I then hot glued them in place on the fish.
‣  A final detail that can help give your puppet a "finished" look is to dab contact cement along the "squared" edges of the puppet. So the body, the chin, and the fins. Once the contact cement is dry to the touch, you can "pinch" the two edges of the foam into each other. This creates a rounded edge that looks much neater.



So there, you made your own fish! Please, be creative and experiment with colors, shapes and sizes and see what you can come up with. Again, feel free to ask any questions in the comment section. I'll do my best to answer them as I do realize it can be difficult to understand some of the steps without pictures. But I hope you enjoy the pattern!

CMT Ministries to tour Central California: Are you in the area?

We are very excited to be planning a weekend tour in the Central California area during mid-August and would love an opportunity to come and be a blessing at your church. So please, take a look at our program, see if it is something that you feel will be a blessing for your community and get in touch with us. We look forward to hearing from you!

"The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." — 1 Samuel 16:7 • Behind the Scenes • Hear Songs • References

About the Program
"Your Are Special" and "Best of All" are based on the books of the same name by Max Lucado. They tell the story of young Wemmick who believes he isn't good enough because of what others say about him. These beautiful stories encourage audiences to look beyond what the world tells them and serve as a reminder that God loves us just the way we are, even though we are flawed!



The 45-minute programs feature storytelling, blacklight, puppetry, sign language, illusions and other creative art forms. They are appropriate for audiences of all ages.

About the Tour
CMT Ministries would love to share these programs through a tour of the Central California area the weekend of August 17 through 19.

We usually require a love offering or honorarium but are stepping out on faith with this tour so are not requiring it for our host. At the minimum, we ask for lodging for our team of about 8 people, either in homes or motels, and an excited audience drawn from your community to share with.

If you are interested in hosting our ministry team, please contact gabriel@CMTminstries.org.

Engaging El Sobrante Christian School students with the Gospel

CMT Ministries finally had the opportunity to visit with their old neighbors at El Sobrante Christian School for a chapel presentation of CMT Ministries' production of "You Are Special." Tbe 30-minute program featured storytelling, blacklight, music, puppetry, painting and illusions.

In the words of vice principal, Jeannine: "During this performance, students were presented with the full Gospel message in an exciting way that related to their lives... All our students loved this presentation! Thoughout the show, students were sitting 'on the edge of their seats' in anticipation... Students talked about the show for days!"

Indeed, the students of El Sobrante Christian were the epitome of a perfect audience. They laughed at the humor, clapped and snapped at the music, woah'ed and wow'ed at the wonder and listened attentively to the message behind it all.



We are very grateful to our hosts, Jeannine and Darren, for inviting us to visit. It goes without saying that we had an amazing time and are very excited that we have been invited to return next school year. Go Eagles!

Celebrating the first anniversary of Iglesia Jesucristo Es El Señor

CMT Ministries joined with Iglesia Jesucristo Es El Señor (translation: Jesus Christ is Lord Church) in Daly City to celebrate their one year anniversary this past Saturday. The JEES church is pastored by Tony and Mabel Galdamez, the parents CMT Ministries' director, and was founded one year ago with a small group in their home one year ago. Since then, the congregation has grown to average 30 people per week, still in their home.

In celebration of their first year, JEES held an outreach event that was filled with worship, testimonies, celebration and fellowship. The CMT Ministry team was invited to participate in the festivities and present their program "You Are Special," as the finale for the event.

Aside from the usual puppetry, blacklight and storytelling, the program also featured the award-winning human video "How He Loves," which illustrates God's love for the world through the life of Jesus. The audience was not only engaged and enamored with the program, but also empowered at the end as they realized God's Love was more than just a tale.

We had a wonderful time presenting for and celebrating with our home church, a rare opportunity, and we look forward to many more celebrations as they continue to reach out to the Latino community in the Peninsula.