Best Practices in Ministry is an annual free conference held every February in Phoenix, Arizona. It's a wonderful opportunity to learn, worship, connect, and make new friends!
A few from the Visual Faith® Ministry community had a mini-reunion February 13-15 at this event and we made new friends, too! We met up with Karl Fay and Jordan Boessling, who were leading an Art and Faith sectional. They did a phenomenal job and reminded us that everyone is a creator made by the Creator and that this type of ministry is happening in a variety of ways all across the country!
A few of the slides that explain the "Why visual arts?" for the presenters.
Here are some thoughts from the VFM practitioners who attended the sectional:
"One of my biggest take-aways from the session was the connection for sharing the faith with children - from Jordan's murals on the walls of the children's education areas of his church and beyond to Karl's similar work and inclusion of his own as well as other children in the creation of his "visual faith." Their passion for the mission, for sharing faith through art with the intent to help others turn their thoughts towards God and His truth, aligns so closely with our Visual Faith® Ministry mission. Our audience often tends to be women and so when I saw that Karl and Jordan were teaming up, I was excited to hear what they would be sharing. I truly believe that visual faith practices can benefit both men and women." - Pat Maier
"Sitting in the BP session with these two artists who happen to be guys and ministry professionals, I was truly surprised by their passion for using art to bring people to Christ. I’m not sure why that surprised me. I guess I falsely believed pastors preached with words — not art. Ha! Not true! These guys shared so many stories and pictures of their murals and paintings and projects that tell the story of God’s love and mercy in Christ. What a blessing to hear their stories and desire to connect with others who are doing the same thing in uniquely creative ways. I’m so thankful my little bubble of misunderstanding was popped! "- Beth Foreman
(L: Beth Foreman, Pat. Maier and Eden Keefe at the sectional; R: Pat receives the opportunity to talk about Visual Faith® Ministry at the end of Karl and Jordan's sectional.)
"Jordan and Karl’s presentation broadened my understanding of art in the church.Visual images tell stories so effectively to children and adults and I think we should encourage our congregations to look for ways to incorporate art and visual faith practices. The community we have built online is mainly women. I would like to see a visual faith network grow to include men, women, teens, and children. Maybe we could create resources or event kits for churches to host hands-on events that are multigenerational. - Debbie Yocky Â
Check out the recording of the whole presentation HERE. Karl and Jordan didn't just want to share with those in the room, but they wanted to make the content available to all!
Pat concluded: "A final blessing was to realize their heart for collaboration and bringing others in. Our creator God has blessed us all with creativity - to join together with an invitation for others to join in will be an honor and a privilege!"
Karl and Jordan were so generous with their time and talents before, during and after this sectional and want to continue to make space for artists and creative opportunities not just within the walls of a church, but as outreach in the community, too!
What if a visual faith network existed? What would this look like?
As collaborators, we wanted to utilize our blog to help you get to know Karl and Jordan a little better! Look for upcoming posts where you can learn more about these practitioners!
Are you a visual faith/arts practitioner engaging in creative opportunities within your church or community? We want to hear from you!