One Pentecost weekend, I found myself sitting in the church foyer for hours.
Our church began hosting an annual art show a few years ago – and I was in charge of it this time around. We ask artists in our church family to share Holy-Spirit-inspired artworks. Year-round we display art in one hallway and change it out quarterly, but Pentecost is one beautiful opportunity to share with the entire congregation even if they don’t walk down the usual art hallway!
I chose to spend the time during all our weekend services to do a quiet Bible Journaling demonstration; one of my Journaling Bibles was displayed in the exhibit, and I knew our members would wonder what it’s all about. This was an opportunity I didn’t want to miss to share the joy of creative worship! It was a lovely chance to sit and listen to the worship songs, as well as hear our pastor’s sermon on repeat…and spend hours with the Lord and my pencils. I prayed for the right people to visit while I worked, and had lovely conversations with them, and was able to invite them to join in the Bible journaling adventure so many of us have found to be a great blessing to our journey with Jesus!
Demonstration Tips
When given the chance to demonstrate Bible journaling in an “official” way – or just by quietly working in a place where others can see the creation – it’s helpful to keep a few things in mind as non-artists are considering whether or not
- Be prepared to share why the imagery was chosen: what in the Scripture inspired it? What has the Lord spoken that led to that? Those who don’t understand what we’re doing will grasp how Jesus speaks to our hearts, and that is an excellent entryway to show what the real meat of Bible journaling is.
- When demonstrating, work on imagery or a technique that is one that most people can picture themselves achieving – flames like these shown above are quite reasonable by that standard.
- Choose imagery that can be worked on while talking with visitors to the demonstration – a repetitive item that is being colored can be done simultaneously while you share your perspective on creative worship.
- Add one or two elements that are a little bit on the “wow” side – come prepared with them complete already, as in the banners and dove that were already sketched in so no one had to watch while they were drawn and re-drawn.
- Select imagery that can be created with limited supplies; bringing an iris cart filled with the entire craft room could scare folks away, seeing they can’t invest that much!
- If you have a journal with notes about the verse, or if you’d already worked up a sample of the imagery in a sketchbook, bring that so people can see the process – and the fact that you can practice!
Above all, don’t be afraid. People love to watch artists at work – regardless of the level of expertise. Practice the image first, so you’re confident in what you’ll be creating. The Bible Journaling Made Simple Workbook is a great book for doing just that – and can be brought to the demonstration, making it more accessible for those watching.