My name is Mel, the founder of StoryMakers and here is a bit of our story…

Ten years ago, I began to develop children’s content because it was difficult to find resources that contained the Gospel, inspired creativity, and engaged children from a social-emotional space. It seemed that much of Sunday School materials had been reduced simply to moralism packaged in cartoons or worksheets. So, I imagined the possibility of creating a new way to teach the faith to children, an approach that considered the whole child and their church experience.

What I discovered over the last decade was that when children were invited to play, create, and retell stories of the Bible for themselves, the essence of the stories really stuck. And not only were children understanding God’s story, they were having fun too! So, in 2018 my team launched a FRESH approach, StoryMakers NYC. We wanted to produce new content that inspired a deeper Christian faith which would not just get them through an hour on Sundays, but could carry them through their entire lives.

We knew our approach had to come through stories…but not just any stories, the old stories found in the Bible. For we know that faith comes through hearing…and what better way to hear God’s story then by acting them out and illustrating redemptive narratives though the imagination. Our team also wanted to spark creativity through new visuals and invite the whole family to dive in.

Together…our team created a new approach through Zines. The Zines hold the entire adventure in one space so that churches/families are no longer tossing away worksheets and children could jump right back into the story with ease(even if they missed church). I also had SIMPLIFICATION in mind for parents and volunteers. We created grown-up guides that were simple enough for a volunteer to read on the train from Brooklyn into Manhattan and fill confident when walking into the classroom.

My hope and dream is that God’s word is tucked into the hearts of our children, families are able to build stronger connections though each adventure, and StoryMakers have fun/positive church memories to recall upon as they grow in life.

In His Mercy,

Mel