Each year, the In Trust Center provides Resource Grants to support schools with matching funds for special projects. This story, by Karen Stiller, is part of a series highlighting initiatives made possible through these grants. Learn more about the Resource Grants program here.

LEGO^® Play Builds Creative Discovery at Azusa Pacific University

When was the last time you ran your hands through a pile of LEGO^® bricks on a table in front of you and began dreaming about what you would build? Do you remember that satisfying click of a red block locking into a blue as you brought your vision for a tall tower to life?

For members of churches and ministry teams who have attended retreat-like sessions at the Center for Vocational Ministry at Azusa Pacific University, LEGO^® play is a recent memory, not a distant childhood one.

Freddy Rivas, director of the Faith and Service Initiative at the Center and an adjunct professor in the Department of Practical Theology at the university, is one of several trained facilitators who lead teams in sessions featuring LEGO SERIOUS PLAY^®. Developed by LEGO^® and released for public use, SERIOUS PLAY^® is a methodology designed to help teams gain insights, improve communication skills, collaborate, and share their stories, dreams and solutions to challenges they face.

LEGO SERIOUS PLAY^® is play, yes – but it’s also a powerful tool in the hands of participants guided by trained facilitators. Rivas is one of the facilitators, along with other members of his team, thanks to an In Trust Resource Grant that funded the training. The grant also helped the team host its first two gatherings, welcoming ministry leaders and pastors for a day of reflection on the challenges they face in ministry.

“LEGO SERIOUS PLAY^® was already part of our university culture,” says Rivas. “The School of Business offers certifications for LEGO SERIOUS PLAY^®, and that’s where the idea started. We thought, ‘What if we used LEGO SERIOUS PLAY® for ministry leaders, to support them and help them with discernment?’”

The methodology is simple, explains Rivas: “You build. You share. You reflect. It starts with a question. You respond by building something with LEGO^®. You reflect on what you've built, and what you're processing, and then you share.”

The experimental sessions proved dynamic and effective. In one session, a team was processing the departure of a beloved ministry leader who had been an important part of their community.

“It became a very vibrant, transparent space for the leaders," says Rivas. "Building with the blocks taps into different thoughts and ideas they haven’t always articulated. What they're feeling and experiencing shows in the models they build.”

The team explored topics like their vision and mission, how remaining team members see their roles, and how they contribute to the team both during and after the transition.

“As ministry leaders, you do a task or ministry, and then often move on to the next. This provided a space for them to pause, reflect, and think,” says Rivas. “It naturally became a time of encouragement as the team members shared their models. One person would share, and another would affirm them or acknowledge their gifts.

In one case, a team member grew emotional and expressed that the transition of losing that leader was a huge loss for them. “It was neat to see the team rally around that person," says Rivas. "The challenge, the question, the build, the reflection, and the caring gave a structure for them to share their feelings.”

The use of LEGO^® isn't a free-for-all, although the work is always creative. There is a built-in process with different stages involving increasingly complex and more complex sets of LEGO^® available to the builders. As the kits grow, so do the depth and complexity of the questions. Eventually, the group, now relaxed and engaged, is presented with full trays of loose LEGO® pieces.

The conversation continues to deepen and flow more naturally.

In one session with church leaders, a participant built a road with barricades that represented obstacles to engaging more fully in spiritual disciplines.

“It was an eye-opening moment where the leader could articulate these challenges, like busyness and distraction, in front of the team,” says Rivas. “Then I return and offer more questions to facilitate deeper discussion, like ‘What can you do to facilitate spiritual disciplines?’”

The model the church leader built sparked vulnerable sharing and constructive thinking around possible solutions.

Rivas encourages participants to photograph each creation they make, to memorialize both the insights gained through the building of their models and the time they spent together.

The groups who have visited the Center so far have loved LEGO SERIOUS PLAY^® and the discoveries it sparks. “Every time, they’ve successfully met their goals,” says Rivas. “The feedback has been, ‘Thank you for providing this space. We enjoyed it.’

The experience, he adds, is intentionally approachable. "As the facilitator, my task is not to give you the answer. The answers will come from what you generate and build. I merely create the space. And it’s fun. You can really meet a wide range of needs, depending on what the different leaders want to reflect on. It’s been very successful.”