I’ve always wanted to create a video course. Writing for teens is my favorite–and yet. So many of them love images, videos, a human voice, an animated interactive experience.
A video course felt like a good way to dish up the content. And, as I started to figure out the process, it felt pretty easy. Most of the work would be creating the scripts and deciding how to turn a book into a video course.
Also, how could I translate my favorite parts of the book onto a screen? I watched other video Bible studies, and I looked back to the other Bible studies I had recorded.
Here’s what I knew: young women needed the message in Shine. I didn’t want the book to feel unreachable to them. The chapters in this study focus on fitting in, forgiving those who hurt you, why does it make a difference if you believe in God or not, and how to deal with the fear in our society.
Once my friend, Melissa, said she’d help, I felt confident this would be a success. Not only is Melissa creative, excellent with design details, and a mom to two, dear, teen girls. She’s also married to a filmmaker who has the right equipment to make a video look good.
And so, we met, and chatted, and texted about the way we wanted the video to look. We were most interested in providing a simple, inviting canvas to highlight the messages in Shine.
We totally accomplished that. Filming all 7 videos took all day, but it was really fun. I loaded the scripts into a teleprompter app and Melissa ran the camera and made sure everything looked great. Once we had the videos, I added the worksheets and created introductions and spaces for discussion.
I’m so proud of the finished product. Not only will this share the message of hope with teen girls, it will do it in a new way.
Please check out the Shine Video Course. I hope it’s an invitation to a new conversation. I hope these videos spark new discussions and understanding for those who need it.
