For years our team has used an open-air flipchart to help draw a crowd. Sometimes it’s purely an unused backdrop to visually show passersby that the speaker isn’t merely ranting on top of a soapbox but is rather doing an interactive presentation—giving people more confidence to pause and listen. Other times, we use each page as an illustrative tool. In this download you’ll find the files to print the chart locally. Two options are included: the multi-page version is more comprehensive and goes through the gospel and common objections; the one-page version quickly shatters the ice and leaves room for more dialogue. (Often when the longer version is used, not all of the pages are utilized. After using it for a while, you’ll find which pages you’re more inclined to use.)

Below are a few items we suggest to help you put together your own open-air kit:

• Flipchart file. We recommend printing at 2′ x 3′ on vinyl, which you can have done at Evangel-Print.com or a local printshop. We also glued a 3′ x 2’ metal plate (from Home Depot) to the bottom back to weigh it down so it doesn’t contort and twist in the wind. For glue, we recommend E-6000 Industrial Strength Adhesive. We also added a strip of white duct tape to the small plate after it dried.
• Flipchart stand. Use a normal hole puncher to attach the vinyl flipchart to the stand.
• Chalk. To create a “crowd line,” tie about 13 feet of rope to any “sidewalk chalk” to help you draw an arc. We used this rope, but any rope will do.
• Step stool. We recommend an extra sturdy “tool case” sort, as opposed to the fold-up options.
• Portable amp. For areas that allow amplification, this amp has been our favorite.
• Open-Air Trivia Book. This works great to help draw a crowd.
• Giant Money and Million Dollar Bill tracts. These make for good gifts when people answer trivia questions correctly (or even incorrectly), and you can also have someone give them out to those walking away. (Nothing beats giving out real dollar bills for trivia.)