Picture this. I'm working through a Bible study with a young girl from church. We are talking about the STEP Bible Study Method and how it's helping us breakdown parts of Scripture. Then she says, "I find reading the Bible on my own really hard, but whenever I walk through the park, I feel like God is walking with me. Why don't I feel that strong connection when I'm alone reading my Bible?"

What she was alluding to was Spiritual Pathways. Which are different ways people connect to God. I quickly drew an explanation of it in my notebook to show her. Using the 7 Spiritual Pathways we talked about different ways people connect to God and feel His presence. I told her about how I feel the closest to God when I am near or on the water. Also when I am able to spend a moment of solitude reading my Bible and praying. But I have a friend who feels closest to God when reading liturgies (pre-written prayers). Another uses essential oils during her Bible studies to help her remember what she's learned. Whenever she smells that oil, she feels connected and close to God.

This young girl felt like being in nature was when she felt closest to God. So that following week, we set up our discipleship meeting on a picnic table in the park. We talked about our study, of course, but also about the changing colours of the leaves, the laughter from the families at the playground, and the sound of the wind whistling past us. She said she could focus better outside and felt God in the wind. For her, it was what she needed in that moment.

That's where our Spiritual Pathways Discipleship resource came from. The need for vocabulary explaining these ways to connect with God. We worked through the mid-support one together. We each tried a new pathway on our own and then together. At the end of 7 weeks we each decided which was our favourite then worked through the personal reflection questions together. It was important to show that even though you may lean to one more than the other, it's still nice to try and experience one's you're not used to.

So how can you use this resource? Honestly, any way you want. You can use it as a one-off lesson, a weekly discipleship tool, or an add on to an activity you already have planned. The handouts explain what Spiritual Pathways are using the same (although more colourful and prettier) diagram I drew a while ago. They show there are lots of different ways to connect to God, but they all achieve the same goal; connection and enjoying God's presence. There's more pages explaining what each of the Spiritual Pathways are, examples of how people use these pathways, and more information about them. At the end, there's a personal reflection with questions about their thoughts and perspective on the pathways.

To improve accessibility, there are 3 different support levels:

High Support: Includes all of the information, but with a symbol supported and Dyslexia friendly font. The personal reflection page has been adapted to make space for written, drawn, and chosen responses. Rather than open-ended written responses.

Mid Support: Includes all of the information, but with a Dyslexia friendly font. The personal reflection page has space for the answers to be either written or drawn.

Low Support: Includes all of the information, but use the "inter" font. The personal reflection page has space for written answers.

We've seen this resource used in youth groups, Sunday school classes, small groups, and 1-to-1 discipleship meetings. It's an open-ended resource that can be used in many different scenarios. We hope that it helps you teach others about Spiritual Pathways. Especially in a way that's more accessible.