Capture the Imagination, Capture the Heart

I have spent the better part of my life exploring creative ways to share God’s love with others. It started with dramas and stage plays because I sincerely believe that if you can capture the imagination, you can capture the heart.

This journey led me to serve as a Creative in children’s ministry for over a decade. I did a lot in that time to capture that same imagination, that wonder, that thing that allows me to say to a child, “God’s amazing; he loves you; he wants you to know him.” I created a curriculum, dreamed up environments, and I designed events large and small.

Did I entertain the kids? You better believe it. They laughed, they cried, they booed. Did I do it for entertainment’s sake? Not for a moment. I did it because it engaged children, and when they were engaged, they were listening, listening to God’s truth, and learning about his love for them.

I then joined an international children’s evangelism ministry, reaching children in unique ways all over the world. There I learned about user experience research, design thinking, and workshopping all around the idea of better understanding how and why children thought the way they did. I wanted to understand what drew them in so that I could capture the imagination and point them to Christ.

Now, I am in a space I believe has a huge potential to create positive experiences for a child’s faith journey — gaming. Experts like Ian Bogost, Jane McGonigal, and others point to the value of games to develop positive experiences.

It’s also where children are choosing to spend their time. GenZ prefers to spend their leisure time playing games more than engaging in any other medium. Children in the United States currently spend an average of 34 minutes per day playing games.

Imagine a world where a child can have an experience with God in the games they play. Imagine the impact of a child seeing characters in their game live out their faith in authentic ways. Imagine impacting a generation and potentially generations beyond for Christ by meeting them where they spend the most time.

Capture the Imagination, Capture the Heart.

A narrative designer, storyteller, problem solver, and workshop facilitator, Jason spent the last 20 years serving multiple creative ministry roles, from drama and video production to children’s ministry and curricula to innovation and digital design.