Clowning

Here's the places I shop, resources I have, and the things I've seen concerning Gospel Clowning.

One of the first extra things I did after beginning my children's ministry in 1997 was to attend a clown school put on by my local clown club and city parks and recreation department. It was a good class, but at the time, I didn't get really get bitten by the clown bug. Years later, I decided to try and introduce Gospel clowning as a clown ministry at my church and after two attempts I realized I just didn't know what I was doing. So, I got hooked up with The Clown Arounds, my local clown alley and have been clowning around with them ever since. Currently, I am the club or alley's president and continue to learn grow all the time.

The easiest was to become a clown, is to hang out with clowns. So joining a local clown alley (club) is my first suggestion. You can read all you want, but until you see it being done and get the gentle guidance from some experienced clown, it's just a difficult task. If you can find a local club, there are state, national and international organizations that should be of help to you.

Spending Time with the Pro's

Check out Ralph Dewey's site for great materials, balloons, pumps, clowning material and more (you've got to see the "Jesus" balloon sculpture on his site!) I attended a Gospel Ballooning lecture by Ralph Dewey in October 0f 2004. Give the man a couple of balloons and watch out! It was a fun couple of hours learning how to make some of his simpler balloon creations. Spiderman, an angel, a howling ghost and so much more. If you haven't gotten any of his booklets, and you want to take your ballooning or clowning to the next level, check out his selection.

I got to spend about five hours at the shoes of Brenda "Flower the Clown" Marshall. It was such a great experience. My alley brought her in to host a clown training session. She gave us some great tips, ideas and idea makers concerning parades, skits and birthday parties. She's got some great stories and plenty of experience. Her love for the Lord really comes through in her ministry to others through clowning.