Cody Thomas

In my previous post, I talked about some new perspectives on my understanding of a “call to full-time ministry” and, more specifically, my own call to ministry. (For context, you should definitely read that post before diving into this one.)

So, where does this leave me now? Where am I at and where am I going?

So far, this refocusing journey has culminated in me making a few big decisions/goals.

1. Launching my own freelance design company. Actually, I have already been doing freelance design work for about a year now as a self-employment job. It is my goal this year to launch a media/design studio as an official LLC. I’m open to do graphic design and web design/strategy work for any business, but I really want to focus on partnering with churches in order to help them advance the Gospel wherever they are. Pastors, if you are interested in hearing more about me partnering with your church to do design work (sermon series branding, print media, etc.) and/or web design and strategy, just shoot me a quick email to get the conversation started.
2. Getting a legit degree in web design & new media. I’ve been doing graphic design for some time now, and learning web design quickly. However, I want to continue that learning process in the right way. In February, I will begin a Master of Fine Arts degree in Web Design and New Media at the Academy of Art University. (If you don’t know what “new media” means, click here.) The school is in San Francisco, but I will be doing my entire degree through their online school. I will be doing the degree part-time (only 2-3 courses per semester) and I should finish the degree in about four years.
3. Hoping to work on a church staff someday. Although this isn’t a decision in my life right now, it is still something that I hope could be on the horizon someday. I still have a strong passion for the local church and I feel that God has called me to serve in a church staff capacity. I see myself serving in a hybrid position, somewhere between a “Pastor of Technology & Media” and a “Church Communications Director (CCD)”. The first is more focused on the technical side of media and communications (the person doing all the graphic/web/video design) while the second is more of a strategist position, overseeing all communications from the church (overseeing a team that does graphic/print/web/video design) while exploring better communications methods and strategies for the church. Every comm. director position is different depending on the needs of the church and the skills of that particular person. It’s hard to find one person that excels at all forms of design/communications (graphic, web and video) while also being a great leader of volunteers and a strategist/idea generator. I definitely have more thoughts and ideas about all of that. I’ll have to save them for other posts.

So that’s where I’m at. And that’s where I’m heading. I can’t wait!