How to use Art in Community Building
Note each pack begins with ten top tips to put into practice in this period of waiting for the lockdown to stop. We live in difficult times due to Covid19 and each pack has tips on how to prepare for the ministry of your choice in this period of waiting.
Aim : There are no clear statistics as to how many people are artistic but many would say it would range from between 20% to as high as 70%. Whatever the actual figure it’s a large proportion of your community. Tapping into that creative energy and helping you to build an artistic community is the aim of this pack.
If you have creative people in your church who would love to develop an artistic community then this is the pack for you. Jenny and her team have created an artistic community within The Gate which has filled the church with new life and energy and has broadened our appeal. The pack will take a dedicated individual or team through a step by step approach to creating an artistic ministry within their church or beyond.
Jenny is willing to host weekends, to equip individuals or teams in how to
bring and develop the gift in a local church. If you are interested click here to signup and register your interest
Jenny’s Story:
I am by profession a nursery school teacher. I spent the first 25 years of my relationship with God believing I could not hear Him speak to me. One night in 2010 I awoke and 
saw a vivid picture in front of my eyes. It was followed by a Bible reference in Amos. The next morning when woke up and recalled the incident, I began to ask God what to do with what I had seen. I was not prepared to stand up in front of the congregation to share what I had seen, fearing people’s judgement. The picture remained in my mind and after a while, I understood God wanted me to turn the image in my mind into a physical picture. God showed me how to capture the image using the skills I was confident in and the completed picture, in fabric, not paint, gave me the courage to speak to the congregation.
God, however, was not content to leave me at that point, as whenever you step into God’s will, He has an endpoint further away than the one you have envisioned. Creating pictures in private, making mistakes alone, God providing solutions with no one watching was fun, but He challenged me one Sunday by sending two people I respected and loved, with exactly the same message;
“God wants you to paint a picture at the front of church!”
It was my personal ‘step out of the boat and walk on water’ moment. Was I prepared to trust God, would He provide me with all I needed to create what He asked in front of a congregation? Could I walk in the freedom Jesus had bought for me and be who God had created me to be, without fear of man? My initial reaction was, “I am not a painter, and I am not going to do anything at the front of church!” But God listens to our hearts as much as our words, so together we began a journey of small steps towards painting at the front of the church. Each step was a challenge for me. Each step broke links in the chains of fear that held me. Until the picture was painted at the front of church:
Creating with God as part of worship is exciting. I have painted pictures beyond my natural abilities, pictures that before would have caused me to fear, such as portraits and self-portraits, because I have obeyed God, heard His words, accepted that He would provide the necessary skills to complete His vision and stepped up to the canvas. Each time laying down my agenda, trying only to please God and taking no notice of the voice in my head saying “this is too tricky”. God has always been faithful. His Spirit fills and upgrades my skills to meet the demands.
Painting pictures at the front of the church was not the end of God’s plan for me; many more creative acts have followed the initial breakthrough. God wants us to be streams of living water, always moving forward with Him. As each challenge is overcome, we will be faced with a new one, but God’s challenges always draw out an increasing expression of our true selves. My journey is as yet incomplete, but I can share what I have learned along the way thus far.
Jenny Whitfield
Signup Now: Click here to signup and register your interest. Once you sign up you will get access to the pack and online coaching.