CASE STUDY: SERMON SERIES DESIGN

Who: City Church, Charleston, SC

What: 28-Week Sermon Series on the Book of Genesis

When: September 2015 to April 2016

Context: The downtown Charleston campus of St. Andrew's Church, City Church meets at the Music Farm, a bar/music hall and draws a widely diverse set of individuals, young families, singles, homeless, empty nesters, and students from the neighboring College of Charleston.

God Creates: Genesis 1 (Copy)

God Creates: Genesis 1

Created for Relationship: Genesis 2 (Copy)

Created for Relationship: Genesis 2

The Fall: Genesis 3:1-7 (Copy)

The Fall: Genesis 3:1-7

The Confrontation: Genesis 3:8-13 (Copy)

The Confrontation: Genesis 3:8-13

The Cost: Genesis 3:14-24 (Copy)

The Cost: Genesis 3:14-24

What Great Cost (Cain and Abel): Genesis 4:1-16 (Copy)

What Great Cost (Cain and Abel): Genesis 4:1-16

The Flood: Genesis 6:11-7:5 (Copy)

The Flood: Genesis 6:11-7:5

The Covenant: Genesis 8:1-9:17 (Copy)

The Covenant: Genesis 8:1-9:17

A Name for Ourselves (Babel): Genesis 11:1-9 (Copy)

A Name for Ourselves (Babel): Genesis 11:1-9

A Name for You: Genesis 12:1-9 (Copy)

A Name for You: Genesis 12:1-9

Melchizedek, the King of Peace: Genesis 14:17-24 (Copy)

Melchizedek, the King of Peace: Genesis 14:17-24

A New Covenant: Genesis 15, 17:1-14 (Copy)

A New Covenant: Genesis 15, 17:1-14

Shortcutting Faith: Genesis 16 (Copy)

Shortcutting Faith: Genesis 16

The Promised Child: Genesis 21 (Copy)

The Promised Child: Genesis 21

The Lord Will Provide: Genesis 22 (Copy)

The Lord Will Provide: Genesis 22

Jesus and the Church at the Well: Genesis 24 (Copy)

Jesus and the Church at the Well: Genesis 24

Chosen in Sin?: Genesis 25:19-34 (Copy)

Chosen in Sin?: Genesis 25:19-34

Jacob's Ladder: Genesis 28:10-22 (Copy)

Jacob's Ladder: Genesis 28:10-22

Deceiver Deceived: Genesis 29 (Copy)

Deceiver Deceived: Genesis 29

Wrestles with God: Genesis 32:22-32 (Copy)

Wrestles with God: Genesis 32:22-32

Joseph the Dreamer: Genesis 37:1-11 (Copy)

Joseph the Dreamer: Genesis 37:1-11

Joseph the Slave: Genesis 37:12-36 (Copy)

Joseph the Slave: Genesis 37:12-36

Descending to the Dead / Faith Brought Low: Genesis 39 (Copy)

Descending to the Dead / Faith Brought Low: Genesis 39

Dreams from the Pit: Genesis 40 (Copy)

Dreams from the Pit: Genesis 40

Joseph Raised: Genesis 41:1-40 (Copy)

Joseph Raised: Genesis 41:1-40

Restoration in Egypt: Genesis 42-45 (Copy)

Restoration in Egypt: Genesis 42-45

Famine and Provision: Genesis 46-49 (Copy)

Famine and Provision: Genesis 46-49

What You Meant for Evil (Palm Sunday): Genesis 50:15-26 (Copy)

What You Meant for Evil (Palm Sunday): Genesis 50:15-26

The pastor of City Church, in considering the diversity and transiency of the City Church congregation, drew a hand-sketched, Candyland-style drawing and asked, “Can we do something like this to help us track where we are in the series? And what if we move a game piece along a path so we can see where we are in the big picture?”

Why it Worked: The strengths of this approach are the whimsy, the informality, the symbolism, the subtlety of fore-shadowing and the obvious symbolic references, and the color and brightness of the solution. The challenge in a long-running series is keeping visuals interesting and fresh, keeping in line with the calendar, acknowledging liturgical seasons (in this case Christmas and Lent) and visually communicating the information to be conveyed. The layout provided consistency and recognition but allowed for variation in tone and mood. This design wouldn't work everywhere, but it worked in this context.