What is Creative Arts?
You might be thinking, “Art… in the church?” We seem to have forgotten that we were formed by, and serve the God who is the Author of creativity. “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). Some of the greatest composers and artists in western classical histories such as Bach, Handel, Michelangelo, and Rembrandt created masterpieces that tell of the grand story that God unfolds for us in His written Word. Unfortunately due to the Fall, people stopped glorifying God and began to worship and serve that which was created instead of the Creator, God.
Creative mediums are a powerful way for messages to be disseminated into the culture. As the number of distorted messages culture communicates grows, there is even more of a need for artists who are committed to both investing their gifts to serve the church, as well as pointing a fallen world to the unsurpassable glory of God. We believe that if we are not actively incorporating the arts into the worshipping life of our church body, we are missing out on a major opportunity to draw people into the story of God. We believe that incorporating the arts into the worshipping life of our church involves more than just music, although music is a powerful means by which we express praise and worship to God. We envision a place for artists to minister through a variety of creative disciplines, as well as to other artists outside of the church walls.
How Are We Going To Do This?
We are praying for and believe that God is going to call people to serve with and invest in this ministry, and we desire that you serve in this ministry out of a sense of calling. The world does not need more artists, but disciples of Jesus who happen to be artists, and are passionate about making Him famous. This in no way cheapens or downplays the role of the artist in society. In fact, we believe that as artists we will have our greatest impact and create our best works of art when we are passionately pursuing Jesus and committed to being on His mission. This idea of calling is also something that we see in the Scriptures. For example, when God gave instructions to Moses to build the Tabernacle (which was a place that was to be set apart as a meeting place of God and man), we see that God called skilled craftsmen and artists to the work:
The Lord said to Moses, “See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft. And behold, I have appointed with him Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. And I have given to all able men ability, that they may make all that I have commanded you. Exodus 31:1-6
In the Scripture above you might have noticed that God called and empowered artists from many different areas of artistic discipline. We do not want to limit God. We are praying and believe that if God wants us to do something, He will call and bring artists with different skill sets to accomplish what He wants to do.
Feeling Called?
Click the button below to learn more about serving in this area of ministry and start the process of getting involved!