What Would You Put on the T-Shirt?
A workshop on inviting people into what we've actually found
This workshop is about recovering a simpler instinct: invitation. Not recruitment. Not correction. Just — I found something good here. You might too.
Think about how you actually came to St. John's. Someone probably didn't hand you a pamphlet. They were just a real person, living their life, and at some point they said "you know, my church..." — and it didn't feel like a pitch. It felt like being let in on something.
That's the only kind of faith sharing that works. This is practice doing it.
Structure
- Warm-up — 10 minutes "What would you put on a T-shirt about St. John's?" No wrong answers. Go fast. Don't edit yourself. Everything gets collected.
- The real question — 20 minutes "What brought you here, and what keeps you here?" Not theology. Not doctrine. Your story. What were you looking for? What did you find? What surprised you? And: who was the person who made it feel like an invitation rather than a recruitment — and what did they do?
- Finding the thread — 15 minutes Look at what we've collected. What keeps showing up? What's the honest version of "this is us"?
- From conversation to communication — 10 minutes How do we say this out loud — to a friend, a neighbor, someone who's given up on church? What's the one sentence you'd actually say?
- Wrap-up — 5 minutes Next steps: Libby takes the language from the evening and begins sketching visual concepts — possible swag, social graphics, messaging — to bring back to the community.
A note on toneWe're not recruiting. We're not correcting anyone. We're talking about what we've received, what we're part of, and why it matters. That's the only kind of faith sharing that doesn't make people want to run — and it's the kind that actually works.
St. John's Montclair | Zoom | March 25, evening | ~60 minutes
Facilitated by Libby Clarke