Learn how to get your ideas heard.
You must serve in creative ministry.
Have you ever wondered...
UGH...
I remember leaving yet another planning meeting feeling unheard and overwhelmed. The statistics I shared didn’t matter. The strategies I suggested were dismissed.
The “asks” didn’t stop; ministry leaders kept wanting more.
I was struggling just to maintain my workload. There was no way to get ahead.
“Maybe I should start working through lunch?”
No matter how much “extra” time I found, something unplanned would take that time (and more).
I had plenty of ideas on how to fix this.
The problem was that no one was listening to them.
Maybe you can relate.
The more I had on my plate, the less patience I had.
Leaving work beat down and dejected was becoming the norm. It was even stealing joy from my time with my family.
I had to find a way out of this.
Maybe it’s time to leave. A new church will be different, right?
After months of searching I finally found somewhere new.
PHEW!
I could feel myself starting to breath again. I can start fresh.
Then came the curveball.
The day before we pulled out of our driveway to leave, health problems popped up in my family.
We couldn’t leave.
I asked for my old job back.
This time I didn’t have any ideas. I just needed to provide for my family.
The only thing I was certain of was this: if I couldn’t get leadership to hear me, I wouldn’t last.
If you would have told me that the next three years of ministry would be my most impactful, I wouldn’t have believed you.
But that’s what happened.
I did a lot of soul-searching over those three years to figure out what changed.
I realized that leadership wasn’t the problem. I was.
Coming back gave me the opportunity to dispel the myths that were making my ideas un-hearable to leadership.
Introducing
Learn how to get your ideas heard.
When a full group (4-7 people) signs up together, each student receives 20% off the normal cost of $997 per seat. Whether your entire creative team wants to go through the Healthy Creative Ministry Cohort together, or you want to join other creatives you already know, reach out via the button below.
The Healthy Creative Ministry Cohort is a 7-week, mentor-led cohort designed to equip those serving in creative ministry in the local church for long term success. You will leave this cohort with the language, tools, and strategies you need to build a healthy creative ministry, get heard by leadership, and find the margin you need to stop working through your lunch break.
It’s not an easy button. You need to do the hard (and often humbling work) of growing. Be open to growth and new perspectives.
It’s not a call to give up your craft. The church is better when you are good at what you do. A healthy creative ministry starts when you bridge the gap between your creative gifts and leadership.
It’s not a solo quest. Community is a major piece of lasting in ministry. This cohort is designed to build community around our shared pursuit of healthy creative ministry practices. You’ll leave with a group.
It’s not hand holding. This cohort is focused on teaching you to build the foundational elements of a healthy creative ministry and you will be equipped to represent the values of creative ministry more effectively to leadership.
It’s not on-demand video. Each week is a live video conference call, teaching, conversations, and homework designed to help you navigate the specifics of your ministry context.
7 weeks of cohort gatherings (Every other week for 6 weeks, one month break, final gathering). After the cohort concludes, you will also a one-on-one coaching session to talk through healthy steps for your ministry.
In each, session you’ll learn proven strategies that will help transform the health of your creative ministry. You'll also have access to The Healthy Communications Ministry Blueprint on demand course for tactical support.
Each session includes practical assignments that will take the concepts of healthy creative ministry and turn them into the practice of healthy creative ministry.
You’ll be equipped with new tools and mindset shifts that will help you navigate the pressures of creative ministry like a pro.
It’s too easy to watch a video and do nothing with what you’ve learned. Regular check-ins as a group helps turn ideas into action.
Creative ministry is lonely when you try to do it alone. Each cohort is designed to be small enough for meaningful relationships to form.
The Healthy Communications Ministry Blueprint course is now included as part of your cohort.
This is your step-by-step guide to building a healthy communications ministry from scratch. You'll be guided through the four areas every healthy communications ministry needs to be successful.
The cohort with Matt Curtis was exactly what I was looking for to get my Comms to the next level, and build a healthy creative team. The cohort was full of information and we had great conversations. Matt was able to give me practical examples in many situations. I was in a moment of chaos before I joined the cohort and am happy to say that I have gained not only the tools I needed, but I learned how to use them. Thank you, Matt!
Matt sees beyond the job to the individual. At a time when I was questioning my ability and calling in my life, Matt was able to walk me through my strengths and weaknesses to make me a better leader. I will always be indebted to Matt for seeing leadership potential in me before I saw it in myself.
Matt is a Church Comm and Creative guru. I really believe it. He is so efficient and effective in his outsource help to churches and very flexible and understanding of the pace of working with church leaders. On the side of creative teams and culture Matt has deep insights that have formed and shaped the process of intake, management, and execution for our creative team at High Desert Church. He is amazing at finding problems in a system and offering a myriad of solutions. If you need a creative team turned healthy or help as a stop gap for a season I couldn’t recommend Matt enough.
• Introductions
• Setting goals for the cohort
• Philippians 4 exercise
• Prayer
• Tools to self management
• Creating a Personal Development Plan
• Developing a Healthy Perspective
• Act Like there is a Backstory
• Identity and Emotion
• Prioritizing Mission
• Clarifying purpose
• Theological reminders
• The Foundation of Our Ministry
• Building Transparent Systems
• Proactive Visibility
• Where Systems Protect Health
• Be Human in your Intake
• Build Culturally Compatible Systems
• Developing Your Skillset
• Developing Other Creatives
• Developing Non-Creatives
• Being Developed Through Creative Community
• The Importance of your Walk with God
• The Role of Faith in Work
• Important but Not Mandatory
• Seeing God in the Ordinary
• Non-Work Creativity
• How to Rest
• Monitoring Consumption
All meetings are live online with your mentor and your small group of brothers and sisters in Christ serving in creative ministry. You will need a reliable internet connection, a camera, and a mic/headset in order to participate. Meetings times will be determined per cohort.
Set aside 90 minutes for each session. Session assignments are intended to be focused around the application of the ideas discussed in each cohort, so they should take no more than one additional hour. However, the more focused you are at implementing the principles we cover, the quicker you’ll see progress.
If you are a creative serving your church and find yourself saying these things, this cohort is for you.
• “Why does leadership keep saying no to my creative ideas?”
• “Why do we keep letting last minute projects sabotage strategy?”
• “My boss isn’t creative and doesn’t understand me.”
• “I’m not sure I can last much longer serving in creative ministry.”
If you are open to the idea that you can improve the health of your creative ministry even if you aren’t in charge, this cohort will help you make the changes you need to last (and THRIVE) in creative ministry.
Nope! A healthy creative ministry isn’t actually about all of your ideas being approved. It’s about seeing how creativity and strategy can help accomplish the mission of the church. This cohort is as much about helping you change your perspective as it is getting a “yes” from leadership.
Founder of Lunchtime Heroes
Matt Curtis has been using creativity for ministry since 2002. After two years promoting missions and 16 years on church staff—in roles ranging from graphic designer to Creative Minister—Matt shifted from serving one church to equipping many.
In 2022, Matt launched Lunchtime Heroes to help churches effectively leverage creativity for ministry. Through branding, design, coaching, and consulting, Lunchtime Heroes has partnered with churches to build healthy and effective creative ministries across the country.
Outside of ministry work, Matt enjoys content creation, BBQ, roasting (and drinking) coffee, and gaming with friends.