HOW TO START A PUPPET MINISTRY
So, you want to start a puppet ministry but you're not sure where to start. Start here! Starting a puppet ministry is a lot easier than you may think. We've created this quick and easy guide so you can get your puppet ministry off to an awesome start, save money and avoid common mistakes.
Should Children And Teens Be Used In Ministry?
Written Skits Versus Recorded Skits. Which Is Better?
How Many Puppets Do I Need To Begin?
What Types Of Puppets Are Best?
Puppets Are Expensive, How Can We Save Money?
Where Do I Begin?
Start in prayer. God has placed a desire in your heart to start a puppet ministry. He knows you can do it. He will prepare you and equip you. You are in the right place. It can seem overwhelming when you first start out, but puppets are lots of fun, and you will be surprised on how easy and simple it really is. So, just take a deep breath and let us join together in prayer and ask God to make this puppet ministry all HE wants it to be!Dear Jesus, we pray for supernatural wisdom, vision, and power regarding this ministry. We lift every aspect of it up to you and ask that you show us your will regarding every detail. Help us to put you first in all areas of our life and ministry so that everything that we do will glorify your name. We pray that your hand will be upon this ministry and our lives. We ask that you will bless us in our spirit, mind, health, and finances beyond imagination. We pray when people see us that they will see a testament of your love, power, mercy, faithfulness, and grace. In Jesus precious name we pray, amen
How Many People Do I Need?
You can start a successful puppet ministry with just you and God! Although, chances are, you'll probably want to build it up and watch it grow over time, the fact is that you can get started with just one puppeteer. That's how I started decades ago, and several of my original puppet skits that only require one puppet are available on this site for you to use. Using a puppet to teach a Bible verse allows you to be repetitive in an entertaining and memorable way that will have the children remembering their verse by the end of the service. That's what it's all about! The goal is to plant God's word into the hearts of young people and puppets are an awesome tool to do just that!
Of course, you'll want your puppet ministry to grow, but you have to start somewhere. Once you show everyone how much fun it is, you'll have no trouble gaining volunteers. BACK TO TOP
Should Children And Teens Be Used In Ministry?
YES! No doubt or question about it. I've seen many puppet ministries that only use adults to put on a show for the children, and that's nice and entertaining, but it is also a huge missed opportunity to allow young people to explore and discover their own gifts and talents while learning God's word. Think about it, they will not only be learning the word of God as they prepare for the show, but they will also be learning valuable skills and building relationships.
More than likely, not everyone will want to be a puppeteer, but maybe they will be interested in tech or operating the lights or sounds. You'll want to spread the word. Who's going to advertise? Social media? Prop making? Skit writing? Stage hands? There's a job for everyone!
Give everyone a chance to volunteer where they want to be. If everyone wants to be a puppeteer then rotate the jobs so everyone has a chance. You can even assign leadership roles as you observe who is showing up and learning their Bible verses and material each week. BACK TO TOP
Written Skits Versus Recorded Skits. Which Is Better?
We're not saying there isn't a place for both. We know there are a lot of recorded skits available on the market that much time and creativity has went into. If you're just looking to put on a show with minimal time and effort then recorded skits can be a good option for you. However, if you're really wanting to have a puppet ministry where young people are being used in ministry, then allow them to use their own voice and speak the word of God out of their own mouths. Written skits allow them to develop their own characters, create fun voices and learn God's word as they present it and teach it in a creative way. Written skits give young writers a way to experience and express their craft. When you purchase written skits, it gives you the freedom to change anything you want or need to change. You might want use a different Bible version than the written skit or change the names of the characters. There may be something you want to add or take out and recorded skits will not give you the same type of freedom that written skits provide. BACK TO TOPHow Many Puppets Do I Need To Begin?
Although there isn't any strict rule when it comes to this question, we recommend starting with 4-6 puppets. This allows you to introduce different characters and personalities. It also allows you to have puppets immediately available for use when you get your first new recruits. The biggest reason we recommend this number is not only does the puppet skits available in our curriculum require at least 4 puppets, most other puppet skits available will require 4 or more puppets as well. BACK TO TOPWhat Types Of Puppets Are Best?
We offer 3 main types of high quality, professional people puppets at Puppet Ministry Puppets. When choosing your puppets, consider the size of your audience and also the size and experience level of your puppeteers. We'll start with our largest puppets and move down to our smallest size. We will list the pros and cons of each puppet to help you make the best choice for your ministry.30" FULL/HALF BODY PRO PUPPETS XL: Our FULL/HALF BODY PRO PUPPETS XL are designed for professional use with large audiences and can be used with or without a stage. Puppet legs quickly detach and attach securely with industrial strength snaps. Since these puppets are extremely large, being able to detach the legs makes for easier use behind the stage. Puppets are 30" with legs attached and 16" with legs removed. Their heads, mouths, hands and bodies are all oversized so your audience way in the back can enjoy their movement and expression. You'll appreciate the top of the line quality and craftsmanship that goes into each puppet. With easy to operate mouths designed for comfort, quality fabrics, smooth lining and attention to every seam and detail, each adorable puppet character is made to last a lifetime.
Pros: Perfect for large audiences. Removable legs. Large features. Other comparable puppets can cost $300 or more while our full price is set at $84.99 and discounted to only $73.94 when you purchase 4 or more puppets. Discounts are automatically applied at Puppet Ministry Puppets when you add 4 or more puppets to your cart.
Cons: Although these are some of the biggest and most beautiful professional people puppets on the market, their large size can make it challenging for smaller puppeteers to handle. For their size, they are a lightweight puppet, but novice puppeteers often need to build up their muscles while getting acclimated to holding their arms above their heads for long periods of time.
Pros: Perfect for large audiences. Although the puppets are large, the legs are intentionally short so they don't get in the way if you're using the puppet behind the stage. As with all of our people puppets, they can be used with or without a stage. They are a wonderful choice for smaller puppeteers and beginners as well as more experienced puppeteers with larger hands. This is our favorite choice for a puppet that fits well with all puppeteers, audiences, hand sizes and budgets. Other comparable puppets can cost $200 or more while our full price is set at $59.99 and discounted to only $52.19 when you purchase 4 or more puppets. Discounts are automatically applied at Puppet Ministry Puppets when you add 4 or more puppets to your cart.
Cons: None.
HAND PUPPETS AND GLOVE PUPPETS: Our hand puppets are top quality and highly durable. Hand puppets are perfect for smaller audiences and pretend play. They are made with all the high quality craftsmanship and materials as our larger puppets and are great for beginner puppeteers. Mouths and hands are movable and controlled by inserting your hand through the bottom of the puppet like a glove. Insert your pinky and thumb into the slots on the inside the body of the puppet to operate the hands of puppet. Recommended for ages 3 years & up.
Pros: Economical. Perfect for story telling and up-close audiences. Easy for small hands to hold and operate. Requires less coordination. Takes up less space which makes them good for travel and small spaces. Great for pretend play and imaginative fun. Our puppet teams will often purchase the hand puppet characters for "take-home" puppets so puppeteers can practice their timing with mouth movements, but they will use a larger puppet in the show.
Cons: Although these puppets are designed to fit most adult hands, they may be too small for larger hands. They can be too small for large audiences. Their hands are operable but movements are limited. When using with a stage, there is not a lot of arm coverage so it is quite easy to lift the puppet too high and expose your arm. BACK TO TOP
Puppets Are Expensive, How Can We Save Money?
There are several ways to save money at Puppet Ministry Puppets. You will automatically save when you purchase 4 or more puppets and we also offer a Value Sets and Discounts collection. This collection includes the same great puppets featured on the rest of our site, but bundled together to save you money. You can even build your own bundle and choose the puppets you want to include in your sets.Consider having a fundraiser. Churches have had much success with puppet adoptions where one person or several people will pay for the purchase of a puppet. Having a bake sale after church is another fundraising idea that can be fun and effective. One of our favorite fundraisers is the "Sponsor A Young Minister" fundraiser. We've created a free template you can use for this fundraiser. Click here for the free easy-to-print-pdf. You can print it on regular paper or cardstock and give one or more to each child or teenager. It's very easy and self explanatory. All of these fundraisers cost nothing to implement and you keep all of the profits and don't have to worry about keeping track of orders or delivering products. Let's face it, people aren't buying over-priced products from children because they want the items being sold, they are doing it to help the children.
You've got this! Your ministry is already off to a great start. Keep going! You can do ALL things through Christ!
