Art & Ministry
Art as a 'spiritual ministry' is all about looking at things more deeply. Artists who contribute their spiritual gifts and skills to help people in the church and the wider community try to help us all better relate to God, social concerns, and motivate us to act - to serve, to care, to love...
We believe that God is the original master artist and who gave us the gift of creativity.
Many individuals and religious organizations would like to become more fluent in the use of the arts to communicate truths about God more effectively–a truly worthy goal. God designed the arts to help jump over barriers, slip past our intellect, and penetrate our hearts and souls.
Through art, we’ve seen people be pulled into conversations they wouldn’t normally have had in the church.
The following are links to some Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) and selected tools for artists to explore and use:
Art of Illusion - A 3D modelling and rendering studio.
Blender - A 3D content creation suite.
GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) - Free and open source alternative to Photoshop.
Krita - A full-featured, open source sketching and painting application for digital artists.
Libre Office - A free and open source software suite of office applications similar to MS Office.
Open Movie Editor - Designed for basic movie making capabilities.
Scribus - An open source desktop publishing system with and extensive graphics tools.
Synfig Studio – A 2D animation software solution for creating film-quality animation.
TuxPaint – An award-winning drawing program for children ages 3 to12.
There are many other Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) tools available for artists. See Best Free Painting Software 2020 by TechRadar.
* Google Search: So many interesting articles on God and Art
** Some selected articles on the Arts & Ministry you might want to read include How to Start an Arts Ministry in Your Church and Building Community Through Arts Ministry
Artists played a critical role in the early history of the Church—their work evoking longing and enhancing worship for many years. However, the Protestant Reformation in the 16th Century and the Enlightenment in the 17th and 18th centuries led to suspicion of emotional and sensual experiences. During this time, the Church came to associate art with idolatry and irrational thinking and thus distanced itself from most forms of artistic expression. In doing so, we lost a powerful means of transformation. - Visual & Creative Arts as Ministry
