Ann is seeking to bring life in her community through encouraging others to be innovative and creative in sharing the hope of the Bible.

She runs regular Creative Christianity sessions with her church and community and finds that Lifewords resources lend themselves well to practising this creativity:

It struck me that the Little Books lend themselves so well to creative Christianity. Sessions involving verse writing, reflection and journaling can easily be tailored around each of the Little Books, they each have so much to say.

The most recent Creative Christianity session was centred on the book of Philippians. Ann shared copies of Little Book of Joy and made small packs with verses of Scripture to encourage creative reflection. Over the next few months, Ann plans to create cards with Bible verses written on them, following the same themes as are covered in the Little Book series.

At the heart of these sessions is a passion for helping others experience Scripture in deeply personal and creative ways. The workshops emphasise accessibility over perfection. People are welcomed and encouraged to come as they are. Ann continues:

Ann shares: "We don't always recognise the creative gifts and talents that God has blessed us with. We may not consider ourselves to be 'artistic' or we may have experienced discouragements in this area in the past (I know I have). And the wonderful truth is that none of this matters, no one is going to 'mark' our creative offerings, no-one is going to judge what we are doing or how we are doing it."

She continues: "In our group we don't strive for perfection or 'Instagram worthy' images, rather we aim to come before the Lord with childlike faith and see where he leads us as we ponder over his words. This being for his glory and to enhance our individual personal relationship with him."

Participants often share how much they value the time spent in peaceful creativity: "The individual creativity that emerges from these afternoons never ceases to amaze me. It's encouraging to hear how much people appreciate having a couple of hours for themselves, during their busy week, to focus on the Lord, in a quiet and reflective atmosphere. They find creating something aligned with their faith to be very peaceful and relaxing. "

Ann's vision for these workshops is both simple and impactful, and could be replicated in many church contexts with minimal preparation. She explains why creativity is so important to her:

God is the ultimate Creator and we, being his children, seek to follow in his footsteps, so being creative with and for him is something to be encouraged and celebrated, not to mention how very good it is for our spiritual and mental health.

At Lifewords, we are excited by the opportunity to share the Bible and bring life to others in creative and context-specific ways, and we would love to partner with you is this creative journey.