Casting a New Vision for Young Adult Ministry
The 635 Brand and Experience Design
The Diocese of Dallas is home to thousands of Catholic young adults, but many struggle to find a sense of belonging in a community. Casting a vision for a more active and integrated Dallas, the Office of Youth, Young Adult, Campus Ministries created the 635, a unique event to unify Catholic young adults across the diocese, producing a model for young adult ministry that could be replicated on the local level. The 635 is a monthly, diocesan-wide event that exists to penetrate the closed gates of our hearts, breathe life into our community and awaken within us a passion to see the Kingdom realized in Dallas.
Strategy
A mission as large as this needed more than beautiful design and captivating videos. In order to truly unite the young adult community, the 635 team needed a strategic communications plan that could guide this project through the journey ahead.
The first step was to talk with leaders who were already successfully ministering to the young adult community. Sherwood Fellows was invited to partner with the diocese to facilitate a Sprint with a quorum of key stakeholders. The purpose of this Sprint was to communicate clearly and concretely the Why of the 635. Once this sprint was finished, Sherwood Fellows created a strategy document that could be used as a reference for all future marketing efforts.
Video & Design
We believe that video and design are about expressing identity. For the Church of Dallas, we express that identity as one that is unified, self-sacrificing and on fire for faith – much like the Church in the Book of Acts. We knew that our video and design would be the first place to invite that identity to flourish.
Our video and design speaks the revolutionary language of the brand and movement of The 635, and aims to capture the feeling of the “upper room.” We also produced a variety of captivating print and digital marketing materials, including a series of short films based on the Book of Acts, a film series on the death of Fr. Maximilian Kolbe, and a short documentary about a group of friends struggling with envy and comparison.
Producing Results
Armed with new creative tools and a communications strategy, the diocese was able to better rally support for the event, and bring diverse groups into a single unified community. The 635 is creating a new model for Catholic young adult ministry while supporting ministers and young adults in their journey of faith and continued discipleship.
