A guided way to see, pray, plan, and design in ministry, drawn from perspectives and processes at designedtosee.org. Work a project through it, grow through it, and bring your best thinking to the table.
“Good design is like a river. Coherent in essence. Adaptive in movement. Purposeful in its intent. That the next generation may take hold of what’s true in light of Him.”Charla Dixon
How you see will determine how you ultimately design. Before process, before tools, before trends, here is the framework: the aim, the calling, and what design is actually for.
Visually create: the craft itself: composition, type, image, motion.
Compelling invitations: excellence clears the way to the message and builds curiosity to who is behind it.
To the truth & hope in Christ: the message is the point. Art is not the goal; the beauty in watching Him work is.
In the language of the target: take on the skin of those we reach. Speak their visual language.
& need of the target audience: empathy is human connection, message incarnation.
From an authentic place of who we are: identity can house trends, but trends can't house identity.
Visuals working to deliver the message:
Creativity + Empathy + Aim + Execution
Aim: to inspire, to instruct, to encourage. Empathy: human connection, message incarnation, the language and need of the audience. Hopefully, through Christ, design makes the message clearer and more powerful in presentation: visuals reinforcing truth being spoken while breaking down barriers of misperception, so that lives humbly accept truth planted in them.
God was creative first, not man. He communicated visually all through Scripture:
Bezalel & Oholiab: craft tools used in worship, coming together to build each other up in worship of Christ (Exodus 31:1–11).
Christ speaking from a boat, using water acoustics: creativity not dependent on one way of presenting (Luke 5:1–3).
Parables (Matthew 13:34).
Mary & the alabaster jar (John 12:1–8).
God using the stars to encourage Abraham (Genesis 15:5).
Symbols throughout the Exodus journey (Exodus 12:14).
Nathan's visual story confronting David, reaching the heart where a direct approach would not have worked (2 Samuel 12:1–7).
The pillar of fire in the desert (Exodus 13:21–22). The slain lamb (Exodus 12).
David was one of the most creative, passionate, versatile servants of God. He creatively engaged needs with courage as a servant, and became more skillful in the art of it as he went: harp, songwriting, leadership, architectural vision, speech. God captivated David's heart, drew him out, and sharpened him with lions, brothers, slingshots, kings, friends, caves, sons, His Word, Nathans, intimacy, wonder, and sunrise.
David didn't have a typical portfolio for the positions he held. Mostly he just showed up and was willing to do what no one was doing, even if it was from a different angle. The more complexity, the deeper the simplicity needs to be.
Same place as shepherds. On hillsides, battlefields, caves, thrones, quiet waters, and places on the run…in high and low places…in dark nights and at sunrise…wherever He wants songs to be…where life happens…wherever He plants the seed.
Designing in ministry lives where three circles meet: creativity, processes & efficiency, and ministry & worship. The center, where all three overlap, is the sweet spot.
Design simply tries to help open our eyes…to see the One through whom the river runs. Ready to work a project? Head to the Project Coach.
God wants to do more than use a design. He wants to grow the heart and vision of the designer. These are rhythms for the long road: how to stay in a healthy place, endure the anvil, and keep the calling in view.
Ask these most days. They keep excellence in view while staying mindful of the pitfall of perfectionism.
29 little insights, plus more learnings along the way. Pull one to carry into today.
Tap the lantern. See what surfaces.
Understand the voice you are carrying. Make sure your abiding is growing at a stronger rate than your influence. Where are they today?
“Maintaining passion while submitting to authority…learn to live with the tension. Character comes from this pressure.” It comes down to: do you trust God is not only at the helm but also at work in them (and you)? God put that person in authority in the middle of today's condition, and He put you there. He was sovereign in both. Learn them. Be sharpened by them. Keep planting seeds and cultivate the work and the relationship.
A team practice: every month or two, bring lunch and share what you're learning as it relates to your craft, not project-specific, just space to glean and process together. Pull a question to open the conversation:
Gather the team. Pull a question.
When the Golden Gate Bridge was built in the 1930s, it was common to expect workers to die on a project like that. So the engineers built a safety net under the bridge, revolutionary at the time. Though there were still risks, the added sense of security let workers focus on the job at hand. Some say it increased productivity by 25%.
When grace is there, you are free to grow faster and be fruitful together. You take more risks and work as teammates. It doesn't move you to make your job jumping on nets, but turning your energy toward what we've been called to, while realizing you'll still miss it at times. Naturally, sometimes you still look down at the nets below. Let it remind you of the One who put them in place.
When we behold more of the beauty of who He is and His way with us, we will pursue what is excellent and praiseworthy without the weighted burden of perfectionism. He will do some of His deepest work on the anvil. And another generation will be blessed.
Walk one project through the rhythm: Pray, Plan, Proceed, Process. Answer as you go, your responses save automatically in this browser, then generate a Project Brief you can download, print, or copy into Asana.
We tend to underestimate the power of prayer within our work. Our Father cares about our target audience, team, and mission even more than we do. We may have a thousand ideas rolling in our mind, but it's important to start by seeking Him to help us see and plan our steps.
Organize with intention. Sit with the ministry and mine these questions before you open a single design file. Capture the essentials below.
Trends are not a bad thing or a good thing, just a thing, and perhaps a signal. Saturate in them to learn language, techniques, and culture, but do not seek them to be your idea. When you chase trends, “you aren't looking for ideas, you are looking for shortcuts.” Instead, deepen the pool you draw from:
Develop empathy for the target audience & mission. Ideas can flow from just empathizing with them.
Ideas ultimately come from the Lord. Pray seeking God's heart on this project.
Sometimes taking breaks to play can generate ideas.
Keep your eyes open. Watch the way folks interact and flow through a space.
Forced connections, mind maps, perspective shifts, opposite thought, parallels, metaphors.
Look at your gifts and history, even things that made you weird as a kid.
Find things in the target's world: physical objects, jokes, prized possessions, knowledge.
Explore qualities, assumptions, nuances of the subject matter.
Burden → Immersion → Engagement → Curiosity → Cultural awareness → Connection point → Clarity → Call to action. (Acts 17:16–34)
Then brainstorm in lanes. For a design brainstorm: Concept · Idea · Object · Style. For a communication brainstorm: Context · Cadence · Content · Channels. For a collaborative / experience brainstorm: Series Titles · Creative Framing · Creative Elements · Ministry Moments. Create space for feedback loops.
A destination goal is one you won't know is achieved until it's too late to do anything about it. So set path goals: smaller goals along the way. Dissect the project and create tasks that keep you in rhythm.
Your heart will cry “it's never enough” or “He is enough for me.” Work honoring both kinds of time: Chronos (be wise, diligent, strong with the actual hours) and Kairos (be perceptive, agile, synced up with His way of working in the moments).
Your answers save automatically in this browser. “Print / Save as PDF” opens a clean brief you can save from the print dialog.
Frameworks for design, communication, and collaborative brainstorming. After clarifying the objective and target audience and research, use these frameworks to guide your brainstorming process across different types of projects.
After clarifying the objective and target audience and research, brainstorm around…
What is the core idea or theme driving this project?
What are the creative possibilities that express the concept?
What visual elements, metaphors, or objects could anchor the design?
What aesthetic direction best serves the message and audience?
After clarifying the objective and target audience and research, brainstorm around…
What is the setting and situation the audience is in when they receive this?
When and how often should communication go out? What seasonal or ministry rhythms shape the timing?
What needs to be said? What's the heart of the message?
Where will this be communicated? What platforms and touchpoints?
After clarifying the objective and target audience and research, brainstorm around…
What names capture the heart and direction of the series?
What overarching creative direction ties everything together?
What tangible pieces bring the experience to life? (e.g. installs, songs, guides, resources, etc.)
What intentional spaces can be created for people to respond? (e.g. create space for people to pray, etc.)
Create space for feedback loops as well as ways to debrief and problem solve for future. Ready to put a framework to work? The Project Coach walks these lanes with you and captures your answers into a downloadable brief.
Digital communication & social media: the value of communication channels and why they matter. Communication channels have exploded. Where churches once relied on word of mouth, phone calls, flyers, signs, bulletins, and print newsletters, today's landscape includes websites, texting, mobile apps, push notifications, email, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, Snapchat, QR codes, video/reels, stage screens, virtual classes, LinkedIn, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, live streams, GroupMe, project management tools like Asana and Trello, and more.
See the crowd. Know their need. Connect them with ministries who will care and equip them.
While the core message can remain the same, methods and channels are always changing generation to generation. God creatively used all kinds of channels to declare who He is and His heart for people throughout time: in-person, recordings, developed creative content, tablets, music, live events, parables, sent messengers, scrolls, symbolic art in temple, cloud and fire, different languages, and more. He calls us to do the same.
Communication creates a clear, relevant path for people to engage and be transformed by the message and mission.
To identify the core message, the value to the intended target, and the best channels to engage them. It must be clear, actionable, and inviting so people can know where life is found.
Visually create compelling invitations to the truth and hope of Christ in the language and need of the target audience from an authentic place of who we are.
In a social channel, you can share life, ideas, reactions, insights, and moments in an interactive way that invites folks to connect with and experience you without being in-person. Social platforms provide a sense of belonging, entertainment, education, inspiration, innovation, and influence: creatively cultivating communities unbound by any one location.
Mission, burden, values, identity, priority.
The target audience.
The resource (words, visuals, photo, film, audio) that conveys your message, relevant to who you want to reach, in a compelling way.
The lane through which the message reaches the intended target. It's a river that flows from your community to theirs. It can be print, digital, virtual, or in-person.
The frequency you communicate through any one channel.
Content flows through Channels on a Cadence, like a boat carrying a message down a river on a schedule.
The combination of messages, channels, and timing you use to compel folks to consider action. It's the blueprint.
Example: To help women connect with other women in the Body, we will promote Sisterhood from stage for 2 weeks, share a testimony video in a social channel, advertise in the Creek Connection, share past resources, and advertise a merch drop of the new Sisterhood sweatshirt available at the next event.
Creative content takes many forms: print collateral, digital assets, video, and more.
Any product of the human intellect that the law protects from unauthorized use by others. This could be a recording, music, image, video, etc. You need to ask permission or obtain a license to use it.
Statistics, insights, and measurables you get by collecting data on the way people engage with you. Use it to better understand your target and how you can engage and serve them. Examples: Google Analytics, SproutSocial, FlowCode, Manual tracking.
What we must guard against in communication ministry:
Bring value not distraction. Make room for the ultimate question. Goal is to minister where people are and create lanes to connect.
Define the win. Test small. Pour kerosene where the fire is. Work through the questions the director will ask anyway, beginning where the work begins, then get to 100% ready and download your Meeting Prep to bring to the table.
“Less ‘new initiative, new initiative,’ more ‘what is God doing, and where do we double down?’”
Strategy is downstream of discernment, and discernment is downstream of prayer. Before you name a win, pray over the work.
Name the project, then pick where it honestly is.
“You have to figure out: what's the measure of success? … I think it's gonna look different at different times.”
Determine the metric for success is: is our church seeking these? Are they wanting them? Are they looking for them?
Is there a less expensive investment we can make before we make the expensive investment?
Let's primarily allocate resources toward where there is momentum.
“What's a win for today?”
Let's not build things that we have to manufacture hype and keep alive. Let's service the things coming alive and strengthen them.
Before you walk in, get to 100% ready. Check off the prep, fill in your pitch card, rehearse the six questions, then download your Meeting Prep.
“Father, this work is Yours before it's ours. Give me clarity to say what's true, humility to hear what I've missed, and open hands with the outcome. If this is of You, let it catch, and if it isn't, give me the grace to let it go. Whatever happens in that room, let it serve Your church.”
How do we think of Generative AI as artists in creative ministry? It's a paradigm shift, and it's important to consider why and how we use a new technology before embracing it wholeheartedly. Remember: the nature of the battles we face are spiritual, not technological.
We should always ask: “What power is being sought after, and what power is being transferred?” Is it ultimately leading us and others to pursue, reflect, and praise God, or to create deception and replace Him to create our own identity? Does this lead toward or detract from human flourishing? How does this impact and reflect our human spiritual condition?
Help synthesize research, explore counterpoints, compile diverse avenues to explore during prep.
Explore unique fusions, cross fusions, rare elements across visual platforms.
Ethically choose not to copy live artists' styles because of the impact on artists. Pray before using tools.
Repackage existing content that is already ministering to folks, in creative ways.
By using AI, you begin to see its possibilities and limitations, sharpening how we dig deeper.
Authenticity: we remember better when we create. Parable rooted in deep context and meaning. Dwelling in the substance of awe, a sense of beholding. The Spirit of God at work through spiritual gifts and the worship process. Cultivating hearts toward connection with God, authentic warmth. We communicate “I see you” vs. “I read your stats.” It innately requires faith: self gets expressed vs. just iteration of algorithms.
Before engaging generative AI on a project, work these nine questions. Then generate a discernment brief you can keep, share, or bring to your team.
How can Scripture help us process using generative AI in ministry? Who we follow for power, influence, and guidance matters, even with AI. What do you want AI to be (vs. do) for you?
Pharaoh's magicians mimicked signs seeking to invalidate the authority God gave Moses and Aaron. It wasn't until the magicians couldn't replicate what only God could make that they acknowledged the finger of God (Exodus 8:18–19).
Is AI evil? Not always. Sometimes it's simply a sign or a tool. AI is not magic, but it is powerful in its ability to give us capabilities in an accelerated way. But using any tech as license to control people, gain power, be our life source, rival God, and become an excuse not to seek or surrender to God's leadership is wicked. Be discerning.
While God was giving Moses instructions for worship, the people convinced Aaron to provide a different “god.” They gave their hearts with full abandon to something that was no god at all, enslaving themselves all over again (Exodus 32:1–4). The people wanted to make a golden calf; God was preparing them to make a golden ark that would hold the symbols of His faithfulness and point toward the One who would save them (Exodus 37:1–9).
So whether it's AI, the Adobe Suite, sculpting, or metalworking, God cares what the art represents. If we make it a “god” to hold full sway over our hearts, we've missed the point. God isn't against materials and tools. He looks at the heart behind our creative pursuits.
God called artists. The first thing noted about Bezalel was that he was called by name and filled with the Spirit of God (Exodus 31:1–5). God gave him ability, intelligence, knowledge, craftsmanship, versatility in different materials, inspiration to teach, and put him with a team of artists whom God stirred and gave skill.
What artists do matters. How and why they do what they do matters even more. There's more at work in art than AI.
As ministers, we can't pursue innovation like AI if we don't value God's Word, roles, process, and presence more than attention, power, or our own impulse.
God uses innovation, but His Word and Spirit are primary.
Remain engaged with God whatever the ministry tool, since He is the One who called us and helps us see. He holds the strategy.
Whatever the technology or design lesson, remember our calling as the Body of Christ: gather & worship, teach & coach, equip & serve, devotion, share, care & generosity, shepherd, protect, unity, reflect Christ. We must use our resources and spiritual gifts in concert with one another to build up the Body and worship the Lord for His glory. All tools should be aimed and measured in that way.
Real questions ministry creatives wrestle with, answered from the perspectives at designedtosee.org. Tap a question to open it.
To visually create compelling invitations to the truth and hope in Christ, in the language and need of the target audience, from an authentic place of who we are. Graphics enhance and frame the message, take on the skin of those we reach while communicating from an authentic place of who we are. We communicate the nature of God and His timeless message through our unique wiring to the hearts and minds of those we reach.
And remember: the ministry of what we do is not to make our name great. It's to care for those who need the message and cultivate their heart toward Him. The art is not the goal. The beauty in watching Him work is.
Excellence honors God and inspires people, but the answer isn't perfectionism. Perfectionism strips us of joy and the ability to accept reality and grow. It deprives us of the experience of His grace and the gift of deeper humility. When perfectionism is owning you, you keep excellence at arm's length: you procrastinate, live stressed, strain relationships, burn out, and honestly, miss seeing beauty. Your heart cries “it's never enough” instead of “He is enough for me.”
Excellence is motivated by love, does and is pleased with its best, takes risks, is open to feedback, accepts failure and learns from it. Pursuing excellence reflects a heart that has embraced the grace received freely in Jesus's perfect sacrifice. Two questions to ask most days: Today, what would perfectionism look like? What would excellence look like?
Trends are not a bad thing or a good thing, just a thing, and perhaps a signal. You can saturate in trends to learn language, techniques, styles, and interpret a culture, but do not seek them to be your idea. When you chase trends, “you aren't looking for ideas, you are looking for shortcuts.” If the trend doesn't serve the idea or heart of what's needing to be communicated, it's not worth chasing no matter how much it resonates. Identity can house trends, but trends can't house identity.
Instead, deepen the pool you draw from: empathy, prayer, play, observation, brainstorming, your own experience, archaeology in the target's world, and research. And study Paul in Athens (Acts 17:16–34): burden, immersion, engagement, curiosity, cultural awareness, connection point, clarity, call to action.
This is the anvil. In areas where you're not passionate, it's easier to submit; in areas you care about and are invested in, it becomes more difficult. Submission to authority is no respecter of age, experience, spiritual maturity, or competence. It comes down to: do you trust God is not only at the helm but also at work in them (and you)? You have to trust God enough to let the boss make the hard calls, especially as it impacts you, and stay engaged. Part of the mission is the growth of the leader.
Remember it's possible to micromanage up as much as be micromanaged down. At the end of the day, God put that person in authority in the middle of today's condition, and He put you there. He was sovereign in both. Learn them. Be sharpened by them. Ask questions because you care about their success. Keep planting seeds and cultivate the work and the relationship. “Iron sharpens iron.” (Proverbs 27:17)
Run the checkpoints.
Concept: does the graphic communicate what the ministry, series, or event is about with clarity and tone? Given the time parameters, did it accomplish its communication objective? Technical: kerning, formatting, grid, press-ready specs, hierarchy, grammar. Target: does it connect with the specific target, and is it current to this generation? Cohesion: does the identity feel cohesive across the collateral, and where it deviates from the branding, is there good reasoning? Abide: did each person in the process prayerfully seek the Lord to learn what He desires for this project? Finally, perspective: what did I enjoy, what was a struggle, what did I learn, where do I still need to grow?
It's important to consider why and how we use a new technology before embracing it wholeheartedly. Always ask: what power is being sought after, and what power is being transferred? Is it leading us and others to pursue, reflect, and praise God, or to create deception and replace Him? AI can serve in synthesis, brainstorming, repurposing, and digging deeper. But it can't be a solution or substitute for laziness, love, worship, wrestling and abiding with the Lord, wise counsel, relationships, or faith. It has no soul, no faith, no unique fingerprint, and it doesn't have the Holy Spirit. It doesn't comprehend what happens in the pause: what is generated in people when they wait on the Lord.
Don't be passive in using it. Be thoughtful, strategic, prayerful. Work the nine questions in the AI Discernment section before you engage it on a project.
Prayer is not a good luck charm but a context to engage our Father, who cares about our target audience, team, and mission even more than we do. Praying can help us become more empathetic to what moves His heart. Start the day: pray, then plan, then proceed, and process at the end to glean things for next time.
Practical ideas: draw concentric circles of your target audience and pray for them. Pray for a seat: look at an open seat before an event and pray for whoever will sit there. Pick a passing car and pray for its passengers. Pray for someone you know who needs the message you're designing. Find a verse for the ministry you're undergirding and use it as a prayer prompt every time you open the project. And pray with others: it's a team sport.
Instead of viewing time through a calculated spreadsheet, develop and cultivate rhythms. Take personal assessment of ratios of where your time goes. Know your wiring and leverage it. Build workflow that accounts for your manager's expectations and leads to flourishing around you. Accept realistic limits: humans must rest, eat, recharge, love their families. Don't despise limits; they force priorities and put you in touch with your weakness and His strength.
Understand both kinds of time: Chronos (the actual hours: where we need to be wise, diligent, strong) and Kairos (the appointed moments: where we need to be perceptive, agile, synced up with His way of working). Set path goals along the way to your destination goals. And remember: rest solves many problems before they start. So does creating margin.
Not skill first: how they see. What God has done in their heart shapes how they see, which becomes evident through what they create. How they see will determine how they ultimately design. Look at their heart for sheep and how they handle lions, not just their ability to draw animals (1 Samuel 17, John 10). A growing love for sheep motivates creatives to increase in the skills needed to fight for the flock, versus making a platform for themselves or finding identity in the craft.
Look at what they rely on. Tools are great and God uses them, but they don't produce courage, provide creativity to solve from different angles, or determine what to prioritize. You have to rely on God in planning and in real time. And look at how they play on a team: David did not fulfill all God planned for his life in isolation. In a world needing to know the heart of God expressed along enemy lines, look for Davids.
1 · Know what money is NOT…and IS. It is not our validation, identity, master, ticket to freedom, etc. It is a tool in the hand of God that we steward.
2 · Start with the baseline. We have a better reference point than the world. We start with the baseline: “The Lord is Our Provision.” So whether we lack or have much, it all belongs to Him. We seek to be content in Him and not use money for what it was never made to be. If we don't see it that way, we will squander it or lack faith with it. It will become a trap keeping us from His heart for us. Watch how God stewards wealth. Make decisions that multiply toward what God values (Matthew 25:14–30). And remember even with loss, we look at it with a heart of gain (Philippians 3:7–11).
God provides what we need to accomplish His Will. He is also creative & generous. So trust that He is going to guide us as we seek Him. Know the character of what you want your budget to reflect before you spend a dime (Prov 22:1). Money is a river not a reservoir.
3 · Some ways folks try to budget…
4 · Which method is wise in light of our baseline? Vision. In budget world, you always need to be evaluating resources in hand, priorities, timing, and possible new resources and adjust for loss…but we don't lose the vision.
5 · Questions to ask:
6 · Sidenote for overall church budget. Margin: build a contingency budget to be used in emergencies or to take advantage of opportunities. Giving: in the main budget and personal budget, we think of ways to give toward things that matter. Coming up with our ministry department budget, we may not have a giving line item, but we can always be thinking how to be generous in other ways.
7 · Operating mindset: stewardship. In looking for opportunities it's always a dance between focusing on a planned path and openness for pivots. But everything still connects with the vision and character. It takes faith, wisdom, research, discernment and deep understanding of the mission. It takes PRAYER AND ABIDING to do it well. Good stewards are diligent, wise, generous, fair and abiding with the Lord.
Categories to consider: Collaboration · Training · Equipment · Investment · Ranges · Force-Multipliers
Discern when an act of worship has become an idol of worship: your heart is always what God is after (see Isaiah 44). Abide, abide, abide. If you cut through the job, stance, vision, and mission and can't find sensitivity to the Lord's truthful voice, you've missed the calling. Make sure your abiding is growing at a stronger rate than your influence.
The golden calf and the golden ark were both crafted objects: the difference was the heart behind them and what the art represented. God isn't against materials and tools. He looks at the heart behind our creative pursuits.
Define the win. Test small. Pour kerosene where the fire is.
Before the room: pray over it first, define the win of the meeting, curate to your top two, get your numbers ready, pre-read your audience, anticipate objections.
In the room: Lead with the win, don't bury the ask under the show-and-tell. Show, then narrate your thinking. Bring a recommendation plus one credible alternative. Make an explicit ask. And name your problems: stuckness surfaced is stuckness that can be worked through.
The whole guided tool is in the Meeting Prep section, ready to fill in and download before your next meeting.
When perfectionism is consuming us, we withdraw from drawing near to what's truly perfect. We keep striving to try to earn our spot, and we miss seeing the beauty of what is excellent in His eyes.
Better thinking: I embrace reality (no one is perfect). I press on. I belong: Christ made me His own. I forget what's behind: no regrets, no shame. (Philippians 3:12)
And remember the net of grace. When grace is there, you are free to grow faster and be fruitful together, while realizing you'll still miss it at times. Tall trees aren't better than seeds; they're just in a different stage, drawing from the same source. So quit comparing. Keep growing.