05.03.10 
Students create children's television show in Preaching to Children class

By Southeastern University

While others are simply taking tests during finals week, students in one Southeastern class will watch a rough version of a children's TV show that they produced, and which may be headed for national distribution.

The show, tentatively titled Don't Run with Scissors, is a comedy sketch TV show for children. The show, a semester-long project for Southeastern's Preaching to Children class, is about children learning to make their own choices and realizing that every choice has a consequence.

Students who took Preaching to Children will watch a rough cut of the pilot show on May 4, said Crysti Porter, the adjunct professor who teaches the class. Preaching to Children is a College of Christian Ministries and Religion course that teaches students how to effectively minister to children through media and storytelling.

This year, students worked together to write, produce, edit, and create the show. The pilot will be sent to the Christian Television Network (CTN) in Clearwater, Florida, this summer where it will be reviewed for national broadcasting, possibly in the late summer or fall, Porter said.

Porter, who produces Christian video curricula for children, was inspired to create the show after being approached by CTN representatives who needed more children's shows for their afternoon lineup. Porter said she saw an opportunity to not only teach effective communication, but also to teach a valuable lesson in video production.

"No matter what job, ministry, or calling they have, (students) can use video in any field," she said.

The show will be a Saturday Night Live-type of sketch comedy show with short scenes, music videos, and special effects; a host will open and close each episode. One episode will be filmed each semester that the course is offered. It will feature different actors, writers, and producers on each episode.

"We're crazy-pumped about it," Porter said. "It's exciting to have something that hopefully and prayerfully will touch lives."