08/25/2026
Ever since I first heard of graphic recording, I thought, “I could do that.” And I really wanted to try.
Yesterday, I got my first chance.
Destin Methodist Church was looking for someone to illustrate their vision for the church. And they chose me to illustrate it. Live! How cool is that?
Michele, the leader in charge of the project, hired me for what she called a “visioning brainstorming event,” which sounded right up my alley. I love brainstorming, I excel at drawing live, and, interestingly enough, I discovered there’s a prophetic angle to that gift I hadn’t fully realized before.
So let me explain.
I’ve been drawing caricatures live for nearly 30 years. In that time, I’ve worked just about every kind of event imaginable, including a celebration of life. Yes, a funeral!
And sometimes, when someone sits in my chair, I hear the word “artist.”
I ask if they’re an artist, and they always are. Sometimes they don’t think they count because they aren’t professionals, but as I tell them: If you make art, that makes you an artist!
I believe that’s a word of knowledge from God. So I already knew He sometimes speaks to me that way.
But last night, when I showed up to draw for the church’s vision meeting, I really had no idea what to expect.
I was prayed up, and so was everyone there.
About 30 church leaders were packed into one room, seated around four different tables. Easels with drawing pads were set up around the room. Finding the place was no easy feat because the church was HUGE, but when I finally arrived, Michele greeted me with a long hug.
Ah. I’m in the right place.
Then I met Pastor Allen, who introduced himself simply as Allen, and I KNEW I was in the right place.
These were people seeking God.
They opened in prayer, and Michele explained that everyone had been praying beforehand. Each person had already filled out a packet, and the whole process was thoughtfully organized.
While the groups worked on their first round of ideas, Michele gave me two assignments.
The first was to illustrate the church’s motto:
Worship passionately. Love extravagantly. Witness boldly. Grow intentionally.
The second was to illustrate their four types of services: traditional, contemporary, online, and, get this, a BEACH service.
She started explaining why they have a beach service, and I told her, “That’s awesome. You’re getting the church out there to people who might never go inside a church.”
She smiled and stopped explaining.
She could tell I GOT it.
For the first drawing, I prayed and saw a cross. Then I realized a cross could divide the page into four quadrants, one for each part of the church’s motto.
I remembered that Methodist churches often use a cross with a flame beside it, so I looked it up, took a screenshot, and started drawing.
But as I began drawing the flame, I thought I heard something about less flame.
I wasn’t sure what that meant, so I used my lightest marker and kept going.
A little later, Michele approached me.
“We have a request,” she said. “Our church has been thinking of withdrawing from the United Methodists, and…”
Before she could finish, I said, “No flame.”
She smiled.
Yes. No flame.
The Lord had already told me. I just hadn’t understood what I was hearing yet.
I redid the drawing without the flame and added the four parts of the motto to the quadrants. But then I realized something else.
There were four parts to the motto.
And there were four services.
They could fit together.
So I revised the drawing AGAIN, placing one service and one part of the motto in each quadrant. Then, in the middle of the cross, I drew Jesus with a heart.
Jesus at the center of it all.
I believe that was inspired.
A volunteer brought me another request: Could I draw something representing diversity?
I drew a rainbow with people of different ethnicities gathered beneath it. Capturing ethnicity has always been important to me in my caricatures because people are proud of who they are, and it matters when you’re trying to create a true likeness.
As the evening continued, people started coming directly to me from different tables.
“Can you draw this?”
“What about this idea?”
Some requests were easy. Some took a little more thought.
One group wanted an image representing growth and people in the church choosing where they would serve. Immediately, I saw a beanstalk, like Jack and the Beanstalk, covered in leaves and fruit.
Oranges, of course. We were in Florida.
I taped together three sheets of my large 18-by-12-inch paper and started drawing. As I worked my way up the beanstalk, the ideas kept coming. I used the church directory to put the names of actual ministries on the leaves.
But when I reached the top, I felt I should leave some of the leaves blank.
Those could be filled in later with the new ministries they’re hopefully going to discover.
Speaking of that, while I was praying, I thought I heard a specific word for this church. I’m not going to reveal it yet because I want to see whether anyone else comes up with it.
I also saw a picture and drew it ahead of time.
So we shall see.
Toward the end of the evening, I walked around and looked at the boards from each table. Their pictures and notes were arranged into columns: what we’re doing now, where we want to be, and how to bridge the gap.
Michele said bridging that gap was the most important part.
As I studied everything, I started seeing a pattern.
Across all the groups, there was a concern for individual spiritual growth AND a desire to reach out into the community.
One drawing seemed to sum it all up: three hands.
One hand reaching out: REACH.
One hand holding a Bible: TEACH.
One hand pointing outward: SEND.
Reach. Teach. Send.
It also goes right along with what I believe I’m seeing for this church and its five-year plan.
But we aren’t finished yet.
On Wednesday, I get to go back and help complete the process as these church leaders work together to shape a vision for the next five years.
And somehow, one outsider gets to help them see it.
Me.
Prayers for them, please!
And thank you for reading.
If you lead a church or nonprofit, I offer special rates for live art. Visual storytelling and graphic recording may be new additions to what I do, but bringing ideas to life right before your eyes certainly isn’t.
I would love to help your team brainstorm visually and turn your vision into something everyone can see.
I also do flattering live caricatures that folks love - and I’m super fast at it.
A rare benefit of ADHD. 😭😆
Learn more at www.caricaturesbykathy.com.
