Before you read

a Faith-Grounded Design Thinking process for Advent

 
 

OK, we’ve had our retreat. But what do you actually look for when reading our Listening Small Group Notes as a disciple of Christ and a design thinker?

 
 

Mindset

  • Unconditional love

  • Inclusivity

  • Empathy

  • Creative optimism

  • Openness to being surprised by new perspectives, and adjusting observations, conclusions, hunches, and models to include all perspectives

In Practice

  • Faith Foundations: Strive to see each of our participants and facilitators from the perspective of Christ’s love

  • Design Thinking: Your effort to empathize with each person in these notes will be the key to discovering insights that will help you generate ideas in the next stage

Look For

  • God at work and the movement of the Holy Spirit

  • The signs of the Church

  • Where people are ready to grow in following Jesus

  • Use empathy to discern what fundamental needs people are seeking, experiencing, or expressing at Advent

  • Constraints, patterns, connections, contradictions, and outliers

  • All of these things are like “clues” (i.e.) that can inspire new ideas for ministry, outreach, spatial, and financial innovations

*We understand that empathy and Christ-like love are hard. It’s okay to fall short sometimes. There is grace for that. Do your best. Pray on it. Ask God for help. Feel free to reach out to Pastor Danielle, Kevin, or one of your team members for guidance or support. Take breaks. Pray again. Honor your best. Thank you for being on this journey of discipleship with us.

 
 

Watch this (1 min):

What is Empathy in Design Thinking?