As we have traveled the world over the past 15 years we have done a variety of creative outreaches and one of our favorite and most effective campaigns we have done is the Dream Campaign. It is one of the best tools we have found to generate deep conversations with total strangers in a very short amount of time. It is a great way to create a dialogue with people, as opposed to simply a monologue, which unfortunately is what street evangelism can often tend to be.
The Dream Campaign is an artistic “street photo booth” where participants are asked to write down their dream on a sheet of paper and then a photographer takes their picture which is published to your Facebook page or website. The simple question of “What is your dream?” will quickly lead to in-depth conversations. It is very easy to transition this conversation into one about purpose and how God is the author of our dreams. On the reverse side of the “My Dream Is:______” paper is an article reinforcing the conversations that should be taking place at the event.
We created the Dream Campaign in 2009 for our annual Mystery Mission Trip. Knowing that traditional “drama in the streets” would not work; We began looking for a non-cliche way in which to provide ministry outlets for their upcoming trip to Europe. It was from this that the Dream Campaign was born. Since it’s inception, the Dream Campaign has taken place in Rome, Paris, London, Panama, Haiti, South Africa, Ecuador, Thailand, Cambodia, Mexico, and the United States.
Host your own Dream Campaign
How it works:
The Campaign is simple; simply go somewhere where there is a lot of people and ask them to take part in an art campaign and write down their dream, then take a photo of them holding their dream. This “street photo booth” will dually allow you to create a buzz among people walking by and to tell the story of this outreach to your local congregation at the conclusion of the outreach. On the back of the “Dream Sheet” is a short inspiring message which encourages people to live their dreams and has a short prayer that they can pray to begin to get to know the one who gave them their dream. Provided are two versions of this text, a short version for a youth oriented audience and a more in-depth text for adults.
This outreach works great at fairs and festivals, at sight-seeing landmarks, youth shelters and even in your local congregation.
Supplies needed:
Print off dream campaign sheets (They are double-sided)
Very thick markers (thin sharpies and ink pens or pencils do not work very well for pictures) We have found that dry-erase markers work best because they don't beed through and are visible when you take the picture.
Clipboard to assist people in writing out their dream.
Digital cameras
One photographer per group of 3-4 people
Set up:
Location: You will want to set up the campaign in a location that provides a high traffic of people and you will want to keep all of your people within close proximity of each other. The idea is to create a buzz and a stir where ever you are.
We have found it best to section people off into groups of three or four for the campaign.
+Two outgoing people to create a stir and ask people to take part in the art campaign.
+ One photographer per group
+ One person who talks to people when they are filling out their Dream Sheet.
Sample Script to intrduce the concept to your group:
Below is a sample script that you can use to introduce and train the concept of the Dream Campaign to your group:
"Today you will participate in a campaign that has been done around the world called the Dream Campaign. Through this campaign you will encourage people to step out and live their dream. We will be traveling to: _____________ where we will ask people if they want be be part of our “Art Campaign”. (Hold up Dream Campaign flyer) Using these “My Dream is” signs we will ask people to write down their dream and we will take their picture in front of the famous landmark. On the back of these signs is an inspirational message that encourages people to step out and live their dreams.
A few things to take note of:
- We will be in groups. Each group will have several people who “talk” and one who takes pictures.
- You must approach people boldly and with a big smile on your face. Ask them if they want to be part of our art campaign.
- While they are waiting in line to have their picture taken use this time to encourage them in stepping out in their dream. From there, it's easy to transition the conversation towards God by encouraging people to get to know the one who gave them their dream. EX: "We travel all over the world trying to encourage people to step out and follow their dreams. We believe that all of us were created with a dream, something that only we can accomplish. There are so many people who want to discourage people from living their dream. They tell you things like, 'Pull your head out of the clouds, be practical, get a grip.' We want to be a voice that speaks in the world and encourages people and to tell them that their dreams are possible..."
keep in touch
We hope that you like this campaign. Below you can see galleries from some of our Dream Campaigns from around the world. We would love to see photos of your campaign as well. We have a hashtag, #dreamcampaign that you can tag any of the media that you post so that we can add it to our Global Dream Campaign Galleries.
It is our passion to serve the global church. Our organization is constantly looking for new and innovative ways to inspire others to live the life God created them to live. If there is any way that we can help you, or if you have any questions, please email us at: info@gointernational.tv
