The 9 Arts of Spiritual Conversations
We know that you want your church to be salt and light in your community, especially in all the challenges we are currently facing. That’s why we developed the 9 Arts of Spiritual Conversations, simple practices that move Christians into action. And now the most foundational Arts are available in 4-Session Packs!
These nine practices help us relate with people the way Jesus did.
You can think of the 9 Arts in groups of three:
- Getting Ready: Noticing, Praying, Listening
- Getting Started: Asking Questions, Loving, Welcoming
- Keeping It Going: Facilitating, Serving Together, Sharing
Getting Ready
NOTICING
Being aware of those around you and paying close attention to what God might be doing in their lives.
PRAYING
Asking God to work in the lives of people you meet and to show you what he wants you to do to bless them.
LISTENING
Demonstrating genuine interest and empathy as you interact with others without offering unsolicited opinions.
Getting Started
ASKING QUESTIONS
Seeking to understand more than to be understood and letting genuine curiosity take the lead.
LOVING
Letting your relationship with God overflow to people around you so that you see them with his eyes.
WELCOMING
Valuing the presence of people and helping them feel that they belong.
Keeping It Going
FACILITATING
Leading a discussion in a group setting so that everyone makes discoveries and feels honored, respected, and heard.
SERVING TOGETHER
Gathering people to work for a common cause and helping them know God and each other better through the shared experience.
SHARING
Learning others’ stories, relating your faith story, and expressing God’s story of forgiveness through Jesus in a way that is respectful and meaningful.
Give the Gospels a fresh look and notice how intentional Jesus was with individuals he encountered. In fact, he developed a reputation for spending time with outsiders. Preaching and proclamation were significant in his ministry, yet he spent the vast majority of his time on the road with twelve men who were slowly coming to understand who Jesus was. They were taught, but they also caught how Jesus made disciples.
They learned from him how to engage spiritual seekers and walk with them on the discipleship journey. So can Christians in the 21st century. So can churches.
So can you.
Your Church and the 9 Arts
With the 9 Arts of Spiritual Conversations, your church can grow in evangelism and discipleship at the same time. The 9 Arts of Spiritual Conversations, by Mary Schaller and John Crilly, is a book that will help you understand what these practices are all about.
SMALL GROUP CURRICULUM
The 9 Arts Primer is curriculum that your small groups or Sunday school classes can use to practice the 9 Arts. It has 9 sessions (1 for each art).
The 9 Arts Complete Guide is intensive curriculum for deeper growth. It has 36 sessions (4 for each art, including everything in the primer). Choose the handy print version or purchase the 9 Arts Complete Guide Licensed PDF so you can print what you need to fit your unique schedule and attendance.
Your small group or class can also start out with a 9 Arts 4-Session Pack, and go deep for four weeks into the Art of Noticing, the Art of Listening, or the Art of Asking Questions!
Check out the full line of 9 Arts small group curriculum from Q Place.
SERMON KIT
As a pastor, you can cast vision for engaging in these practices that build relationships as Jesus did by preaching a sermon series on the 9 Arts of Spiritual Conversations.
In the 9 Arts Sermon Kit we have provided sermon outlines and ideas, graphics, videos, and three full sermon series from other pastors that you can reference as you build your own sermons. Check out the 9 Arts Sermon Kit.
The 9 Arts and Q Place
Encouraging Christians and churches to engage in the 9 Arts is an important part of the ministry of Q Place.
Q Place is a ministry that helps Christians start small groups for spiritual seekers—so that many more people in our culture can interact with questions about God and the Bible in a supportive environment. (In the 9 Arts, it’s the Art of Facilitating!)
We would love to see many more Christians walking the way of Jesus—practicing all 9 Arts—and inviting people around them into small groups where they can find God as revealed in the Bible.