Coloring Posters

How to Display Your 24″x36″ Coloring Posters

Display Coloring Posters Since last November, we’ve had over 1,100 orders of our large coloring posters, with almost half of those coming from our Lenten Coloring Posters, which was the first time we switched to a smaller size of poster (from the 48″x36″ posters we had for Advent). As so many people have used the coloring posters and have created beautiful art with them, one of the questions we receive from time to time is, “What now? How do I display coloring posters?”

I’ve heard of a variety of uses for them. Some churches have lined a hallway with them, while others have placed them around their worship space. Some have placed them on windows and doors, while others have mounted them on foam boards and used them as pieces of liturgical art on the chancel. It’s been fun to see how people have creatively found ways to share the experience with everyone in their congregations.

Recently, I saw a photo that Kevin Eckert shared on the Illustrated Ministry Facebook page. It was a beautifully framed Lenten Coloring Poster (see above). Kevin is the Director of Children & Youth Ministries at St. John United Church of Christ in Freeport, Illinois (coincidentally, my mother grew up in Freeport, IL as well), and I asked him if he would be willing to share some about his experience with our coloring posters, and more specifically, how he decided to display them in his church.

I’ve been so pleased with the quality of our Illustrated Earth Coloring Posters, and I am looking forward to coloring one of them here at home, framing it and hanging it the same way that Kevin shares in this brief interview. Kevin shares some very practical ideas below, and I hope that if you’ve been wondering what to do with your finished posters, this might inspire you and give you some ideas for your own home or faith community.

Interview with Kevin Eckert: How to Display Coloring Posters

Illustrated Ministry (ICM): Tell us a little about how you used the coloring posters at your church.

Kevin: We transitioned to a kid’s worship format a few years ago and I’m constantly looking for new ways to keep the kids engaged with the stories we have to share with them each week. I started to color with the kids about a year ago and quite honestly struggled to find pictures that related to the scriptures we were exploring. I was introduced to your curriculum and posters as a new option. I loved the poster format and the kids love it as well. I read the scripture and expanded on the themes as the kids colored. We asked the kids questions that relate to the theme and encourage the kids to share what they have learned with their families. I then displayed the finished art work.

ICM: Who came up with the idea of displaying the finished posters?

Kevin: I was looking at hanging the posters in a way that celebrated the work that the kids did. I had tried a few things and then when it was time to repaint the hallway I knew I would display the kid’s art in that space. I call it our “Art Gallery of Faith.” I wanted it to look more modern and beautiful.

ICM: Can you share with us a bit of a step-by-step process for how you got the posters framed and hung? Were the lights already there on your hallway or did you buy those specifically for the posters as well? Can you share with us a list of supplies you used?

Kevin: I did a bit of research and ended up purchasing frames and wireless LED lighting from Amazon.com. We mounted the frames and the lights to cinderblock walls so we also used basic wall anchor hardware we had on hand. Below are some direct links to the supplies we used to create this gallery:

ICM: How have people at the church responded to seeing the displayed coloring posters?

Kevin: They love it. Each week we do a new poster and it gets added to the collection. Once we fill the gallery walls I will begin to retire the oldest poster with the most recent art. I have received a lot of positive feedback from adults as well as the kids. They really enjoying seeing the art work being displayed in such a special way.

I hope this is helpful as you think about how you may want to display those beautifully-colored posters you have in your office, but just aren’t quite sure what you’re supposed to do with them. I can’t wait to try this out and I hope you’ll consider this as a way to honor the gifts of all those who contribute to coloring your posters. And what a special way for the children of the church to see their work honored and valued and incorporated into the church.

I’m guessing that there are some other creative ideas out there – and we’d love to hear form you. How have you displayed your coloring posters? Please share any of your own creative ideas – as we’d love to feature them on our site as well.

I’d also like to put a plug in for the Illustrated Ministry Community Facebook Group. I haven’t been as active in it as I had initially planned, but I’m going to be working on that in the next few months. The Facebook Group is a great place to gather with other people who are using Illustrated Ministry materials and hear from them how they are planning on using them. Just recently, a few churches shared in the group that they have taken the scriptures from our Illustrated Earth curriculum and used them as their summer theme for worship and preaching. I’m looking forward to listening to some of the sermons that will shared as podcasts. If you are interested in joining the group (which does, I should add, sometimes get special promos and offer codes), you just need to go here and request to join.

How Churches Plan to Use the Illustrated Earth Coloring Posters & Curriculum

Adam Walker Cleaveland Leave a Comment

Earlier this week, we began accepting pre-orders for our Illustrated Earth Coloring Posters. Since then, we’ve had almost 50 churches pre-order their posters for this summer. Since we had so many early-adopters, we figured that many of them must have had some specific ideas of how they would use the posters and we wanted to share their ideas with all of you.

Below are just a few of the responses we received from churches and we’re excited to see how people are already dreaming up ways to use these posters that we didn’t even think about. And we especially love the intergenerational focus of some of these ideas.

Hopefully these ideas might inspire you to try out the curriculum and coloring posters this summer. If you have other ideas – we’d love for you to share them in the comments section below. And if you haven’t pre-ordered your posters yet, you can do so here.

JesusBaptism — An example of a colored version of our coloring poster of the Baptism of Jesus

Colorful Reminders of God-colors

We are so excited to use our Illustrated Earth Coloring Posters this summer. Our summer theme is “Celebrating God-colors” taken from The Message translation of Matthew 5:14, “You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world.” The Illustrated Earth curriculum fits perfectly with our theme.

We will be using the curriculum and the coloring posters in an intergenerational Bible study on Sunday mornings. Our children, youth, and adults will gather together to learn from the Bible and each other. As we have shared our plans, it’s clear that our adults are as excited about the giant coloring posters as the children are!

Each Sunday as we finish, the poster will be hung in our foyer, so that by the end of the summer, bright and colorful reminders of the God-colors found in creation, Scripture, and each other will be everywhere as we enter our sanctuary.

Melissa Scott
Associate Pastor
Colonial Avenue Baptist Church – Roanoke, VA

Intergenerational Sunday School

In the past, our church has cancelled children’s Sunday School in the summer. This was in part to give our teachers a break, but we also didn’t have very many young families that would attend Sunday School in the summer. This past year, however, we have a class of young adults that have children and they want to keep meeting all summer long! Which means we need something for their children as well.

In addition to the coloring posters, we will be using the An Illustrated Earth curriculum as well, which will allow for children to engage with the stories on a deeper level. We plan on letting the whole church family know that we are offering this, and look forward to having some others join us, making this an intergenerational event. We are excited about this creative option for Sunday School that will allow children and adults alike to explore their creative sides together.

Kristen Koger
Pastoral Resident
Tabernacle Baptist Church – Richmond, VA

Using Posters in Many Different Ways

We first used Adam’s coloring pages at Advent, with children, youth, and adults (at a Session meeting couldn’t wait to get coloring!). We also used the Family Advent packet and the wandering Wise Men were a hit!

Then we ordered the Lent drawings with the intention of using them, but we went with a theme for Lent that didn’t incorporate the drawings. No problem! We bought the digital files so we have them to use whenever we need them. I went on a weekend retreat with a friend and brought copies of the drawings for us to color as part of our relaxation. She ended up coloring “Believe” and turned it into a Confirmation gift for her confirmands (you may have seen the picture from Trinity Presbyterian Church in Butler, PA). Inspiration!

We just pre-ordered the summer packet. To be honest, I don’t know how we’ll use them yet, but I know that we will. It may be for quiet time in Vacation Bible School, a summer night with youth, personal time on Senior High Mission Trip, or group coloring on a Sunday morning. Adam’s work is always inspirational, meaningful, and fun!

Rev. Meg Rift
Director of Christian Educational Ministries
Fair Oaks Presbyterian Church – Oak Park, IL

A colored version of one of our coloring posters

Coloring on the Beach

I am very excited to introduce your water stories series to the children I teach at our 8am summer beach service as well as to the children who come to our 10am service. We will share our finished creations with you when we’re done.

Rosemary Lamie
First Congregational Church of Greenwich – Old Greenwich, CT

Coloring at Camp

Hi amazing Illustrated Ministry Team! Thank you for the contribution your work is making to the wider good and to the big work of nurturing children’s faith and spirituality. It is a joy to be able to draw on your gifts to deepen our ministry here in the United Churches of Langley, and in Camp Spirit.

The Illustrated Earth posters will be a part of our support for children and families through the summer this year. We have been holding mid week, multi-age worship times in past summers. I picture the colouring posters being a feature of those gatherings as one of our stations.

During camp at Camp Spirit, we have a time of quieter engagement in a variety of spiritual practises for children kindergarten through grade 6 – and their leaders; the Illustrated Earth posters will be a wonderful option for contemplative practice for campers. Thanks again for all you are doing!

Allison Rennie
United Churches of Langley – Langley, British Columbia, Canada

Combined Classes

In the summer, we combine our pre-K and K-1 children’s church classes and I plan to use your Illustrated Earth curriculum and coloring posters in that setting.

Jill Winter
Director of Children’s Ministries
Centenary United Methodist Church – Danville, KY

Illustrated Earth Coloring Posters Available to Order

Adam Walker Cleaveland 7 Comments

Below you can learn more about our Illustrated Earth Coloring Posters, but you can also find out more information, see more photos and purchase the posters by clicking here.

We are excited for you to see our new Illustrated Earth Coloring Posters. For this series of posters, each of the posters illustrates a story from the Bible, coming from both the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament. Below is a list of the stories that these posters cover:

Module 1: Water Stories

Week 1: Genesis 1:6-10: Separation of the Water (download a sample lesson from the accompanying curriculum, An Illustrated Earth: Celebrating God’s Creation)
Week 2: Exodus 14:15-31: Parting of the Red Sea
Week 3: Matthew 3:13-17: Baptism of Jesus
Week 4: Mark 4:35-41: Calming of the Storm

Module 2: Food & Plant Stories

Week 1: Exodus 16: Manna & Quail
Week 2: Mark 6:31-44: Feeding of the 5,000
Week 3: Leviticus 25:1-7: Rest for the Land
Week 4: Mark 4:1-9: Parable of the Sower

Module 3: Animal Stories

Week 1: Genesis 1:20-25: Creation of Animals
Week 2: Numbers 22:22-35: Balaam and the Lord’s Messenger
Week 3: Jonah 1-4: Jonah and the Big Fish
Week 4: Luke 15:1-7: Parable of the Lost Sheep

Illustrated Earth Coloring Posters — Some children coloring the Module 1: Week 2 poster of the Parting of the Red Sea.

While these posters will continue to have our signature style and design that people have come to love and appreciate from our Advent & Lenten Coloring Posters, you will also be able to find more specific elements of the story within each of the designs. We are excited about illustrating Bible stories in these creative coloring poster designs.

You can see the twelve poster illustrations below:

Creation - Separating the Waters — Creation: Separation of the Water

With so many elements of the story found in each large 3′ x 2′ coloring poster, children will be able to sit around a table, color the poster, talk about the story and discuss what they wonder about it. And these are certainly not only for children. These coloring posters work great for intergenerational events and programs that churches might schedule as they seek to find more ways to bring generations together.

Poster Details

Here are important details about the Illustrated Earth Coloring Posters.

There are 12 posters in the complete set, although you can purchase Modules 1, 2 or 3 separately if you wish (as long as supplies last).
The posters are 3′ x 2′ (36″ x 24″) and are printed out on 32lb bright white paper. If you have used our posters in the past, watch this video (which includes a cameo appearance by our founder’s 4-yr old son) to learn more about this new paper we’re using.
You can order just the physical posters, the digital files or both the digital files and physical posters.
We use UPS to ship the posters, and they are shipped in a strong cardboard poster tube. Note: UPS does NOT ship to PO Boxes – they need a physical address).

Ideas for Using Our Illustrated Earth Coloring Posters

There are many ways to use our Illustrated Earth Coloring Posters – and you all probably have even more creative ideas than these – but here are a few that come to mind:

Sunday School: Use the posters along with our Illustrated Earth curriculum. Along with the curriculum, these large coloring posters as a no prep to low prep Sunday School option, and your kids will love getting to color the large posters!
As an activity for children during worship: This works especially well during the summer, if you don’t have Sunday School, having these posters on a table or on the floor for children during the service, would be a fun way to keep them engaged in the service.
As an activity during VBS: Maybe you’ve already planned your summer VBS program – but you’re looking for another activity to fill some of the time and add some variety to your curriculum? The posters would be a great option for that.
Intergenerational Family Nights: Get families and other church members together for a fun evening. Start with coloring the posters around tables and talking about the stories, enjoy a meal together, and then end the evening by roasting marshmallows outside for some S’mores!