“Consider the birds—do you think they worry about their existence? They don’t plant or reap or store up food, yet your heavenly Father provides them each with food. Aren’t you much more valuable to your Father than they? So, which one of you by worrying could add anything to your life?"
God has been reminding me of the bountiful harvest. He has planted, watered, and tended to many seeds in my heart since saying "yes!" to creative missions. In this season, He is inviting me to harvest what He and I have sown. This print has been a reminder, to not worry about what is next, but to reap the harvest, to drink the wine that I've laboured over. God has been faithful to provide and He will do it again.
For the last three months I have been discipling young artists. We've been walking the creative journey together, discovering our artists voice and style, practicing co-creating with the Holy Spirit, and strengthening habits and disciplines for sustainable creativity. I've been able to pass on the principles, tools, and wisdom I have picked up along the way in my own journey. I suppose that's discipleship in it's simplest form - multiplying. I've been doing this for a while now, but God has revealed more than I expected in this last season. My heart has really grown for the Christian artists - to see them be equipped with tools and principles that refine and sustain their creative living, so they can impact the culture and world around them. Afterall, artists have been the frontrunner for cultural shifts and movements since the beginning of time, for good and for bad. I want to be a part of the shift that changes the world for the Glory of God.
I've had a taste of it here in Ã…lesund. I've seen young artists, timid to share their work, become bold and confident creators who embrace all the moments of creating - the failure, the frustration, and the masterpiece. At the end of March I hosted "The Art of Notice: a creative exhibition" where the Creative Discipleship Training students had an opportunity to exhibit their work. We had guests from our YWAM family there to celebrate and even some strangers wander in. One of my students had just finished her piece that morning - a labour of love to say the least. She has wrestled with it for weeks and faces a lot of obstacles like health and wrist pain. But she pressed in because the weight of the message God has given her to share through her work was worth it. During the exhibition she was overwhelmed with emotion has one person after another stood in front of her piece and felt the shift. Something in them moved. And then the artist was moved and we all cried a little.
In the last years I've seen so much breakthrough in creative outlets. Dance, music, photography, storytelling, painting, sculpting, collaborating, experimenting, and playing. God is the CREATOR and we are made in His image, so it's our very DNA to create. We just make something!
What has been happing in the mission?
practicing hearing God's voice & co-creating with the Holy Spirit
creative workshops; seeing young people reignite the childlike spirit God has given them
Celebrations of the Nations; a taste of heaven where many nations, tribes, and tongues gathered together and celebrated the beauty and richness of our countries
Leading the Media team and discovering how to use media; design, photography, video, social media for God's glory
supporting the creative community around me and the fun projects they are working on: my friends have started The Poetry Collective and hosting workshops at a local cafe
As I head into the last leg of the race, we have sent 4 outreach teams out to share the Good News of Jesus. They are serving in England and Scotland, Sweden and the Faroe Islands, Japan, and Papua New Guinea. During the off season, we are working on some projects on the campus and stepping back to build up resources. As the media leader, I am overseeing some website develop and different creative projects. I will also help establish a Prayer Room and reset the creative spaces in preparation for more discipleship!
Please keep the outreach teams in your prayers. Please pray for peace and comfort as I head into the last months of my time here. I look forward to connecting with many of you in Canada this summer
Peace and love