82 – Drawing the Church we long to become

A weekly blog of Creative Ideas for Leading Worship

Drawing the Church we long to become

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Try this simple, visual way to help a congregation move from talking about welcome to imagining it together.

(You could also use this interactive technique to explore other ideas and issues with the congregation.)

Before the service, roll out a long sheet of newsprint, brown paper, or builder’s paper along the centre aisle. Tape down the edges or place weights along the edges, e.g. hymnbooks. Have markers, crayons, or thick pencils available at several points. You may want to write a simple heading at the top: What does a truly welcoming community look like?

At an appropriate point in the service, invite people to leave their pews or sears and add one “room” or “feature” to the shared blueprint. They might draw a large table, an open door, a garden, a quiet room, a kitchen, a ramp, a circle of chairs, a children’s corner, a place for tears, a place for laughter, or a window looking out to the neighbourhood.

The drawings don’t need to be artistic. In fact, simple is better. The point is to let the congregation see that community is something we envisage and build together.

This works well with readings about hospitality, the body of Christ, the early church, or the household of God. It can also connect powerfully with conversations about mission, inclusion, disability access, cultural welcome, or intergenerational worship.

Theologically, this action shifts people from being observers to becoming co-creators. Church isn’t a performance watched from pews. It is a living household shaped by grace, courage, imagination, and shared responsibility.

At the end, ask four people to pick up the rolled-out paper and move to the sanctuary holding up the completed “blueprint” for all to see.

You might say:

“This isn’t just a drawing. It is a prayer. It is a glimpse of the community God is still building among us.”

Then ask the harder question: which parts of this blueprint are we ready to make real?

Ngā mihi
Philip