FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions
(or at least ones we know the answers to)

Can you tell us a bit about yourselves?
Certainly. If you want to check the source of these materials, we commend you on that effort. Chameleon Stripe is a fundamental, non-denominational organization formed by Aaron and Lisa Hollingshead. This ministry was started with the desire to help youth leaders and youth volunteers use stories from the Bible to help students understand there is nothing they go through that they can't find the answer to in the Word of God. To help them see that, we believe activities and movie clips help them learn visually and through action, which make the learning process much more memorable. If you'd like to know a little more about us personally click here.

Our Statement of Faith. The words Chameleon Stripe represent the two focal points of our ministry. A chameleon is an animal that can adapt to any situation without changing what it is. That's a lot like youth ministry. Leaders must continually adapt an unchanging message so that an ever-changing audience can understand it, without ever compromising the message itself. Stripe refers to Isaiah 53:5, where the prophet comforts us in the knowledge that we are healed by Jesus’ stripes, or wounds. That is the core of the message that we teach our students. When Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice on the cross, he won the victory over death for us, and by grace through faith promises us healing and the gift of eternal life.

Doctrinally we echo the words of the Apostle's Creed, and in addition we believe in the infallibility of Scripture and all that it teaches and proclaims. We believe that as Christians our worldview is to be completely Biblically based and evangelically minded.

Do we receive the actual movie clips with the CD order?
Unfortunately, no. You know that screen that shows up at the beginning of each video you watch, with that FBI logo at the top? It says we can't make copies of anything. And we're going to bet that those movie companies (especially Disney) have pretty good lawyers that police that kind of stuff fairly closely. That being said, most of the movies we use are popular enough you probably wouldn't have to look too far in your church body to find them, keeping you from spending money at the video store.

What are the legalities of showing videos at church?
All the movies we recommend do have copyright laws. For licensing rights and information, the best place to go to is www.cvli.org, which is Christian Video Licensing International. A church with an average attendance of 500 or less can get an annual license to show any of these clips on an unlimited basis for as low as $180 per year. Fees and applications can be found there.

Why use movie clips in Sunday School or Youth Group?
We believe that integrating a student's world outside of church and their experience in church is important. Showing movie clips or including other elements of their world help them understand how little separation there is between the lessons and stories in the Bible and the things they experience today. Jesus did the same thing when he spoke in parables. He taught the lessons he wanted people to learn by relating it to everyday things in their own life, like the way plants grow in different soils, finding a lost sheep or helping a person on the side of the road. The final reason we believe in this type of study is that it is a proven method to engage students in conversation and discussion. Students will clearly speak more openly about things they like and have interest in. That's why we strive to use only movie illustrations that are either current or classic movies that today's youth would know and most likely have seen.

How do you choose your clips?
All of our clips are taken directly from watching the movies and looking for analogies to Biblical stories and lessons. We never use R-Rated movies, because we don't want students to not be able to watch the movie at home that you're showing them at church. A few of the clips do have a slight amount of language. We use the "Bible" method for any bad language. If the language originally came from the Bible, i.e. hell, God or damn, we allow it in small amounts. All other swear words will keep a clip from being used. The exception to that is if someone swears by saying 'Jesus Christ' we will not use that. Some of the clips are from movies with more mature subject matters than others, but we stay exclusively with movies that were made for teens or teens have rated favorably.

Why are your movie clips so long?
Simple. From experience. We make sure all the clips are between 5 - 10 minutes long, for two reasons. First, many teachers and leaders are volunteers or new to this type of ministry, and this gives them a good solid chunk of time where the students are concentrated and more likely to be focused. Second, While many full time youth leaders can tend to be long winded, we've found it's easier to give a longer clip that can be shortened if necessary.

You're located in Loveland, CO. Are you affiliated with Group Publishing?
No, although we love them as people, as an organization, and the breakfast burritos they sell in their coffee shop. It's just a coincidence that we're in the same city.