One method of teaching that I like to do from time to time is a pilgrimage question.
For example, recently, my lesson was on the Church. I asked class members to put a dot on one end of their paper that represented their birthdate, then another dot at the opposite end of the paper to represent “now.” Then, I asked them to create a pilgrimage map with highs representing a time they were close/involved/supported by church and lows representing the opposite.
Then, I asked them to share as much of their pilgrimage story as they would like to share.
We had an awesome time of sharing. Two class members, we discovered, were not involved in church at all until their adult years. Two members were raised by ministers, so were in church every week from the time they were born until high school graduation. The relationship with church in college years varied as well.
I have done this with questions about a person’s overall spiritual life, but this targeted question seemed less intimidating, so we had free sharing that give us insight to one another’s spiritual journey.
Try it!
