As Christians, and as humans, when we see beautiful things, we tend to turn our attention to the God Who created or inspired them. We see beauty in the stars, in flowers, anywhere in nature, and it spurs us to glorify God. We see excellence in art and thank the God who inspired the artist.
We understand that beauty matters. Yet visual appeal within the walls of a church can be met with suspicion. “Could the money have been spent elsewhere?” someone asks. “Doesn’t valuing art or design make us superficial?”
While it’s possible to raise any good thing above the place God gave it, we are also empowered to treat the gifts of God as gifts, and to enjoy them in wisdom.
The visual arts in their rightful setting can be a way to worship the giver Himself, in Spirit and in truth. And we can use any of His good gifts, including visual art, to communicate His truth to other people.
A Heritage of Inspired Creativity
The passage most commonly referenced regarding the visual arts in a church setting is Exodus 35, which records God both commanding and empowering skilled craftspeople to create a beautiful Tabernacle where God would meet with His people.
The people of Israel contributed materials, like gold objects, acacia wood, or goat’s hair, and artistic labor. Women spun yarn and linen for the fabric components, and God inspired a man named Bezalel “to devise artistic designs” and “for work in every skilled craft.” The Lord inspired both that man and another, Oholiab, to teach every sort of artistic work needed to fulfill the design He chose for this place.
The result was not a blank white Tabernacle, but a beautiful place that was full of both color and meaning, as the Spirit of God directed. It would have communicated to His people something about Who He is whenever they saw it, including when they took it down and put it back up during their wanderings. He included His people in the process both of building it and regularly re-building it.
The truth is, our wonderful, creative God made us in His image (cf. Genesis 1:17). He is creative, and He made us to create, too. J.R.R. Tolkien, author of The Lord of the Rings, used the term “sub-creators” to refer to the creation that, in turn, creates.
When we create with Him, we also bring glory to Him. And that comes in many forms.
For Worship, Hope, and Evangelism
We expect to see a songwriter or musician glorify God through musical worship, even leading other people into worship. The visual artists of all kinds can glorify God in a similar way.
A painting, drawing, sculpture, or other form of art may be an illustration, or a way to share a testimony, or an Ebenezer (a “stone of help” that can remind someone of God’s faithfulness over time).
The act of creating something can be a means of direct worship, or a way to pray.
The arts can be used to inspire truth-based hope in a church body, and to remind us to consider “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable,” to think on “any excellence” or “anything worthy of praise” (Philippians 4:8, ESV).
The visual arts are a valuable means of communication, both within and beyond the church walls. Whenever Christians work in honesty and excellence, whenever we create something in beauty and in truth, we have an opportunity to point to Him who made such.
Images and videos tend to seize our imaginations. In a world that uses images and videos to generate fear or to sell objects, it’s worth giving Godly artists a space to speak truth to our imaginations, to help people imagine what is hopeful and true.
The visual arts can speak in ways that differ from a sermon or a book. God made us to be more than reason alone; we are whole humans, and art speaks to our hearts. A person can use reason dishonestly, as a way to hide from the truth of God. Art bypasses the intellect to hit the heart.
Artists filled with the Holy Spirit have the opportunity to use this tool for good, to communicate truth to those who might not hear it in a linguistic or even musical form.
Our aim is never to manipulate, but to communicate the truth of the gospel through any Godly means available—to, in some sense, “become all things to all people, that by all means [we] might save some.” (1 Corinthians 9:22, ESV)
How to Embrace the Arts in the Church
At a practical level, then, what may the visual arts look like in the modern church? To state the obvious, be creative!
A place to start might be the website and graphics, which serve as a “digital front door” for the church. Even a church that doesn’t have a lot of visual artists probably has a website, a social media presence, or even a paper bulletin to let people within the church know about events. The graphics, fonts, and other visuals tell people at least as much as the words do about a particular church or church event. Seek digital artists who can tell the story you want to tell in a space you already have.
As for traditional arts, if a church has any wall space, adding a permanent or rotating art gallery to a public part of the building can be a great place to begin. It doesn’t have to be large, and it doesn’t have to be directly in the sanctuary. Even a single commissioned painting can connect with visitors and members, pointing them to the hope of Christ. Or, if you have lots of wall space, a well-designed mural can draw people’s eyes upward and invite them into joy or contemplation.
Having an artist paint live during worship or a sermon can add another way to connect to how God may be speaking. Or, set up an art station where members of the congregation may create their own drawings and paintings somewhere that won’t be distracting to the rest of the congregation. Either of these can be tried during a special night of worship or during normal Sunday service, as the Spirit leads.
Community art projects or a ministry for artists can be a great way to start engaging the congregation and reaching out beyond the walls of the church with the gospel.
As the Apostle Paul wrote to the Colossians, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord” (Col. 3:23, ESV).
Follow the Lord’s leading, and start with what, and who, you have. Let people make creative roads forward, and let artists aim for excellence.
As the Christian artist creates, not copying the world but working to “sing a new song” through any medium the Spirit inspires us to use, sometimes unexpected things happen. Sometimes it gets a little messy. It probably won’t be perfect, but we aim to do our best with what we have.
As the late author Stephen Covey put it, “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.” We don’t worship excellence, beauty, or art, just as we do not reject them.
We worship God, and as we seek to honor Him with our lives, we value excellence, beauty, and art in their rightful place within His Kingdom. We’ll use whatever tools and skills He gives us to bring His gospel of hope wherever it’s needed, whether to the unchurched or afresh to fellow believers.
About the Author
“I’m Rae Botsford End, a writer, editor, and artist. I particularly enjoy writing, reading, and editing speculative fiction, including science fiction, fantasy, and a special blend of both. I’ve written technical white papers through Tech Briefs Media Group, articles for SpaceFlight Insider, including an article on EFT-1 and an interview with Rocket Lab’s Peter Beck, and a short story, Ba’byl. For more, see my works page!
As for visual arts, I primarily draw, paint, and help lead the arts ministry at Indy Vineyard Church. For info on the Indy Vineyard Arts Community, check out IVAC’s page on IVC’s website.
I live in Indianapolis with my beloved husband, Ed, near a lot of good friends. I keep plants alive indoors and outdoors, and I’m learning piano and Korean. I enjoy reading C.S. Lewis, Lewis Carroll, J.R.R. Tolkien, Isaac Asimov, and Jules Verne. I enjoy watching Star Trek in all its iterations.”
