Churches do it both ways from totally thematic to not at all. One thing I have noticed is that the "Naming of the Rooms," for whatever reason, seems to be a BIG hurdle. Once that is done, things seem to move along at a faster pace. "Naming and Theming" seems to give everyone a unified focus and creates enthusiasm and vision for what will be. But if you are stuck, maybe you need to leave it for awhile and make some different decisions (if you haven't done this yet) -- such as which workshops you want to have, what space you will put them in, age groupings, your curriculum sources, lists of potential teachers, shepherds, carpenters, seamstresses, painters, and other talented folks, job descriptions, etc.

When we began planning, we had several members of our team browse this site (much smaller at that time!). We each wrote down theme and room ideas that we especially liked and thought would work for us. We even printed out pictures to share from the website and from churches we had visited. Then we came back together and discussed our lists, added our own thoughts and before you know it, we had named our rooms and come up with our theme. Two people on our committee did the lion's share of the work with this, but the group all participated.

I personally like the idea of a theme, but I think that it shouldn't be a stumbling block to moving ahead with rotation. If you can't name them something special, then just call them Art, Drama, Games, Movies, etc. Paint and decorate according to the activity that will take place in the room or with generic Bible characters or scenes, timelines, maps, Bible Books, etc. and don't worry about it. We have used our Bible map walls, our timeline (still in progress) and our Bible Books wall a great deal in many of our rotations, as well as for other activities. So, that's something you might want to include. We have also discovered that Rotation is a lot like owning a house -- you will never be completely done. (hope that doesn't burst any bubbles!) You will always want to add something new, or paint something different. But that is a GOOD thing and will keep your ministry fresh and exciting for everyone.

It can be overwhelming to begin and that can paralyze you and your group. Make a list of things to do, pick a starting place and start... then you'll gather momentum as you accomplish the things on your list.

Blessings,
Jaymie

P.S. Don't forget to PRAY!!!