GRAPHING WITH GOD

Purpose: To have honest reflection about where they have been with God and to give perspective on where they are at now.

1. Have everyone draw the vertical and horizontal lines of a graph on a piece of paper.
   1. -On the top of the vertical line, write “Intimate”.
   2. -On the bottom of the vertical line, write “Distant”.
   3. -On the horizontal line, from the left to the right mark a line for every year from birth until the present, and label each mark (ex. 13 yrs old, 14 yrs old, 15 yrs old).
2. Take about 15 to 20 minutes to let everyone reflect and fill in their graph.
   1. -Have them draw a dot per year for how distant or close they felt to God.
3. -For whichever dot is closest to the top (most intimate to God), ask them to be ready to share about why they felt closest to God (where they were, what was going on, what they were doing, etc.).
4. After everyone is finished, have each person share for a few minutes their most intimate time with God.

I would highly suggest that whomever is guiding this activity have already created a graph of him or herself as an example and to give a small testimony of the key moments when he or she was closest and most distant, for the purpose of clarity and to help create a vulnerable atmosphere.

Possible question to discuss:

-Are there elements within that moment of time when you felt closest to God that you can rebuild in your life now?

Submitted by Christelle Karnowski and the Kansas Youth Ministry