Hey Pickles!
Are you thinking about starting a "solo" puppet ministry or a "troupe" ministry through your church?
Our church has a large puppet ministry averaging 60 puppeteers ranging in age from 10 - 55. They have it broken down by age:
Elementary
Jr/Sr high
Adults
Skit troupe
In addition to doing regular "bits" during services and children's church, they do 2 productions a year. Each Christmas they put on a Puppet Dinner Theatre. Each spring they host a "spring musical." They sometimes do roadtrips to outlying communities.
I have many puppets, but I don't use them very often in my ministry work. Only because we have such a GREAT puppet troupe. I use them in my safety work.
There are several workshops that travel each year all over the country and put on economical training events. Visit both:
One Way Street - Puppets and Creative Ministry Resources
Puppet Productions: Your source for all things puppets!
One Way Street puts on a full week camp each summer in Kankakee, IL (just south of Chicago). It's called "International Puppetry Festival."
Location It's AWESOME! I attended once several years ago and would love to return someday. It's not just about puppets either. There are classes on everything!
One of my favorite places to purchase puppets is:
AXTELL*EXPRESSIONS*Official Site - Puppets & Magic |Puppets
They're a little pricey but worth it!
All of the above have newsletters you can sign up for and also receive their sales.
Good luck!
Sparky
LAFS For Life
ACTSClownMinistry.org
ACTS Entertainment
MySpace.com - Sparky - 99 - Female - DES MOINES, Iowa - www.myspace.com/sparkylafs