COMIC-BOOK illustrations are being used by Exeter diocese to help people to understand and explain their faith.

The illustrations have been created for a course, Grassroots, and feature images of Devon. Their creator, Jon Curtis, a lay discipleship adviser for the diocese, said that it was about “contextualising people’s discipleship journeys in Devon . . . making it a completely legitimate calling.”

Illustrated by Si Smith, the comic images feature urban and rural settings, including Brixham Harbour, Totnes, Bideford, Plymouth City Centre, Lundy, and Dartmoor.

Mr Curtis, who grew up in Devon, said: “Jesus spent much of his life showing his friends and those he met stepping stones so that they might understand a bit more about who he was, and where they could find the Kingdom he talked about so often. We can also use these steps, like so many people before us have done.

“Devon can quite often be overlooked in lots of different ways; so we asked Si to base all of his 70 illustrations for this project on our people and places. This is a project designed specifically for us in Devon.”

The illustrations are part of resources that are available as a magazine, an audiobook, a PowerPoint presentation, a PDF file, and in video format. They are designed to be used individually, in a group, as part of a church series, or in a combination of all three. They were launched at a diocesan clergy conference in November.

Mr Curtis said that the project was about “freeing up” Christians in Devon, so that they could explain their faith more easily. He said: “I know people who are terrified of being asked opinions [about Christianity].”
 

Further information is available on the diocese of Exeter’s website.