Walk Thru the Bible
This weekend, I had the pleasure of attending a training conference from Walk Thru the Bible, which is a Christian teaching ministry that helps people understand the important themes and people of the Bible and how it all flows together. Their courses combine basic verbal teaching with hand movements for each point, known as kinesthetic or tactile learning. For those who find learning easier when using hand or body gestures, it’s a great way to understand and remember concepts.
Our teachers, Tony and Chris Gibbs, were as knowledgeable as they were friendly and fun. For this conference, they took us through the New Testament, beginning with the intertestamental period (the 400 years between the end of the Old Testament and the beginning of the New Testament) to Revelation. They also have an Old Testament training course, which my church will be hosting in September. They also attended our Sunday services to give us a preview of what we will learn in the New Testament training later this year.
What I liked most about this training was that it was theology (which I love) but not a lecture where you are sitting there taking notes. Don’t get me wrong; I also enjoy those types of classes. But to be honest, I sometimes get tired and start to nod off, even if I am enjoying the content. This is one of the reasons why I take notes on the Sunday sermon. It helps me concentrate on what is being said and provides activity for my hands to help keep me awake.
But in this training, we were encouraged not to take notes because Tony would talk for a few minutes, giving us new gestures as he went. Then we would get up and do the new gestures and review the gestures that we had learned previously. This helped us remember the content better and kept us moving, so we remained actively engaged. It was also easy for even a Bible beginner to understand (it was theology that was not rocket surgery, lol).
So if your church is looking for a new way to teach biblical literacy or does a conference every year and is looking for ideas, I highly recommend you check out this ministry and consider the opportunity. It is a fun way to learn about scripture and fellowship with others in your congregation.