A New Way to Engage with Sermons When Your Brain Won’t Sit Still
A New Way to Engage with Sermons When Your Brain Won’t Sit Still
By Bev Jessup
Bev Jessup is a retired speech and language therapist turned creative discipleship advocate, with more than three decades of experience supporting diverse communication and learning needs. Today, she is pioneering a new approach to spiritual formation — one that integrates neuroscience, creativity and Scripture to ensure that every kind of mind can encounter God meaningfully. Her initiative, Creative Sermon Notes™, is helping teenagers and adults who struggle with conventional forms of worship engage deeply with Scripture through visual learning, colour, movement and personal reflection.
What began as a personal strategy to stay attentive during sermons has now grown into a discipleship movement with profound implications for churches worldwide.
What inspired you to create Creative Sermon Notes?
For most of my professional life, I helped people communicate and learn in ways that matched how their brains function. That experience made me increasingly aware that churches often expect only one cognitive style — sit still, listen quietly, absorb everything.
That simply doesn’t reflect the neurological diversity God designed.
My own brain was the first clue. If I didn’t draw or write visually during sermons, my attention scattered. But when I added colour, shapes, and small sketches, I wasn’t distracted — I was more focused. Scripture became alive, memorable, relational.
I realised:
Creativity isn’t a retreat from worship.
It is a form of worship.
I wanted to find a way to help others experience that same connection with God.
You recently taught this method to teenagers in your church. What happened?
Initially, I expected resistance: tiredness, boredom, maybe even frustration. Teenagers today face constant sensory and emotional overload — exams, social pressures, digital stimulation.
Yet when we listened to Proverbs 1:1–7 and they began capturing key messages visually, everything changed. They identified themes like wisdom, temptation, influence and integrity — but in their own words and symbols.
One wrote:
“Self-help is a lie.”
“Money isn’t success.”
Another placed Proverbs 1:7 — “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge” — at the centre of her page, surrounded by patterns representing the competing voices of culture.
They didn’t disengage.
They leaned in.
It became discipleship in real time, not passive consumption.
Why does this work so well from a neuroscience perspective?
The brain remembers what it processes actively, not what it merely hears. Creative Sermon Notes activate three core cognitive mechanisms:
1️⃣ Active Encoding
By choosing what to highlight, teenagers were transforming information into personal meaning — a process cognitive scientists call elaboration.
2️⃣ Dual-Coding Theory
Research by Allan Paivio shows that combining words with visuals creates two memory pathways instead of one. Colour and imagery become anchors the hippocampus loves to store.
3️⃣ Mind-Mapping Principles
The work of Tony Buzan demonstrated that colourful, non-linear note-taking improves comprehension and recall. Curved branches and symbolic icons reflect the brain’s natural networks — not the rigid lines of traditional notes.
Faith isn’t meant to be forgotten by Monday.
This approach helps Scripture stick.
This seems especially relevant for neurodivergent minds. What did you observe?
In our session, I mentioned that I have an ADHD-wired brain. One boy looked up with relief and said quietly, “I’ve got that too.”
That moment mattered.
It told him:
He isn’t broken
He isn’t alone
His brain isn’t disqualified from God
There is a way he CAN engage spiritually
Too often, teens conclude that because they struggle with stillness, they struggle with faith. They assume silence equals spirituality — and movement means immaturity.
But a restless mind doesn’t block God.
Sometimes it is more aware of Him.
“God doesn’t only speak to quiet minds.
He speaks to every mind — including the ones that move.”
Creativity gave that boy belonging — and once someone belongs, they can learn.
How does Scripture itself support this creative approach?
Proverbs 1:2 describes its purpose:
“…to know wisdom and instruction, to perceive the words of understanding.”
Perceiving is an active verb.
Wisdom requires engagement.
Later in verse 5:
“A wise person will hear and increase in learning…”
Increase — not merely receive.
Growth implies participation.
The Bible invites curiosity, reflection and response — all of which creativity facilitates.
What do you hope this movement will accomplish in the wider Church?
I want every believer — especially young people — to know:
Your brain belongs in church.
Your creativity is sanctioned by God.
Your way of paying attention is valid and valued.
This isn’t about entertainment.
This is discipleship innovation.
If we continue expecting neurodivergent minds to conform to one narrow worship style, we will keep losing them. And we cannot afford to lose the very minds that often see God’s world differently, passionately and prophetically.
My vision is to equip churches globally with tools that honour cognitive diversity —
so every person can develop a living, resilient faith.
What message do you want to give neurodivergent Christians?
If you struggle to sit still in church, that doesn’t mean anything is wrong with you.
It means your brain engages differently — and God created your brain.
He delights in the way you think, notice, and create.
Your creativity is not a distraction.
It is part of your discipleship.
ADHD doesn’t make faith harder.
It makes faith more curious.
There is room for you in the Kingdom — exactly as you are.
How can people learn more or get involved?
I’ll be sharing more Creative Sermon Notes sessions, practical guides, and visual learning tools through my platform. I’d love to connect with anyone who wants to explore this approach — parents, teens, pastors or simply believers with active minds.
📺 Watch the livestream featuring teen examples above
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Final Reflection
What if the Church’s future depends not on teaching people to sit still…
but on helping every mind, every wiring, every child of God
hear His voice clearly — maybe for the first time?
✨ FREE RESOURCES
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👉 Next Steps
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