“To be trusted is a greater compliment than being loved.” George MacDonald
Bill Elliff and I met in 1983 when he was pastor of Trinity Baptist Church in Norman, Oklahoma. My first project for the church was Feeding the 5,000, a capital improvement campaign to provide space for the rapidly growing congregation. The campaign culminated with Loaves & Fish Day when offerings and financial pledges were given to the church.
The next year, the church celebrated its 50th anniversary. It was declared a year of jubilee and ran concurrently with the ongoing Feeding the 5,000 emphasis. A logo, brochure and invitations were designed for the historic occasion. Following a big birthday party on September 30, the church launched a church growth campaign based on a theme adopted in 1981 called in-touch. I redesigned the in-touch logo and created billboards and a process for discovering, contacting and following-up on prospective members. The one-month emphasis culminated with a high attendance Sunday on November 4. The church continued to use the in-touch materials.
During the rest of the 1980s, Bill enlisted me for other Trinity projects, including a new outreach theme in 1986 and a new church logo in 1989. Bill would leave the church shortly after to spend several years in evangelism.
In 1995, while pastor of First Baptist Church of Little Rock, Bill asked me to design a new logo for the church plus a logotype incorporating the mission statement he had used at Trinity - A Caring Fellowship. I also designed logos, a brochure and other materials for an emphasis called Discipleship Pathway.
In 1983, a building program was launched called Feeding the 5,000 with a high attendance day, Loaves & Fish Day, when church members brought their contributions and pledges.
1984 was the 50th anniversary of Trinity. The entire year was packed with special activities under the theme Fiftieth Anniversary Jubilee. A brochure, invitation to a church-wide dinner on the grounds and other promotional materials were created.
As part of the year of jubilee, a church growth campaign called in-touch was created and implemented in anticipation of the additional space provided by the Feeding the 5,000 building program.
In 1986, a new church theme was adopted titled A Caring Fellowship. Icons were designed for the materials created to promote the new theme.
In 1989, a new church logo was designed around the mission statement: By His Spirit - Through His Word.
In 1995, a new logo was designed for First Baptist Church Little Rock. Bill adopted the same theme he had used at Trinity in 1986.
In 1995-96, logos, a brochure and other materials were designed to promote spiritual growth in the church. It included six steps of maturity and was called Discipleship Pathway. Two color treatments were created for the principal logo, one used on printed materials and the other used on audio-visual applications.
In 1998, Bill started and was pastor of The Summit Church. He currently serves its five locations in central Arkansas as Founding and National Engage Pastor as well as the Pastor/Church Director for OneCry! A Nationwide Call for Spiritual Awakening. His display of continuing trust and the work we did together early in my career opened many doors to future clients, including his brother Tom.
Clients and projects acquired through the influence of Bill Elliff
Union Baptist Association / Southern Hills Baptist Church
Joe Sherrer was the Minister of Education at Trinity Norman just prior to the time I designed the Feeding the 5,000 campaign. After he left Trinity, until 1986, he was Director of Education/Promotion for Union Baptist Association in Norman, Oklahoma. In 1985, Joe hosted my Church Publicity Workshop for the association, introducing me to dozens of ministers in the area. From 1990-2000, Joe was Minister of Education at Southern Hills Baptist Church in Oklahoma City. Throughout the decade, I worked with Joe designing numerous logos and brochures for the church.
First Southern Baptist Church, Del City (reboot)
From the early to mid-1980s, I designed many projects for First Southern Baptist Church when Bill Bryan was on staff. (Bill is #3 on my list, so check him out.) In late August 1991, when my family moved from Shawnee to Oklahoma City, we joined First Southern, and I became acquainted with its pastor, Tom Elliff. He was aware of the projects I had done for his brother Bill at Trinity, so he wasted little time in putting me to work. My first project for Tom was designing the book, America on the Edge, published in 1992. For the next two decades, First Southern would be one of my primary clients, and Tom still remains one of my most ardent champions. For that reason, he’s #11 on the list of 12 who trusted. (Soon to be posted.)
