By Shockley Flick
Steve and Rhonda, Darlies and Shannon, and Susy and Roger are active in ministry here at East 91st Street Christian Church because of our orchestra.
Janet, T.J., Erica, and Stephanie are here because of our dance ministry.
Todd and Lisa, Chet, Jennifer, and Lisa attend because of our fine arts school.
John and Adrienne have been attending for a year and play in the Restoration Brass ensemble.
Our contemporary services use a fine rock band and creative graphics and attract more than 2,000 people each Sunday morning. Some who attend have little or no church background or know little about Jesus. Baptisms happen in those services almost weekly.
ATTRACT AND INVOLVE
I heard Bob Russell say evangelism these days involves people inviting other people to church. And that happens when Christians are excited about their church and what happens there, excited about their friends at church, excited about the teaching they receive from the pulpit, and excited about opportunities to use their areas of giftedness to praise God and bless others.
The arts are an excellent way to both attract and involve people, and the arts at any church should be a reason people are excited about their congregation.
Sunday morning services are like the front doors to our churches. Visitors will feel welcomed and drawn in largely by the artistic elements they experience when they visit. The landscaping, building upkeep, and cleanliness of the restrooms form first impressions of how a congregation feels about its “home” and how they welcome newcomers to it. In the service, visitors watch the band, choir, drama, and dance, and make judgments not only on the quality of the presentation, but also on the authenticity.
I visited a church of 300 in James-town, Kentucky, a couple of years ago that had decorated its platform with thematic elements to complement the message. The extra time and care to make the sanctuary more inviting and beautiful, and the thought that went into supporting the sermon series, left me with the impression that these believers want to draw people in and are passionate about the message they are sharing. Like them, we can display passion for our message through the way we present it.
SOMETHING SIGNIFICANT
Providing people with opportunities to express their faith and minister to the Lord and his people through the arts gives them a sense of doing something significant for the kingdom. At the North American Christian Convention a few years ago, Bill Hybels spoke about the importance of a congregation having a vision. He suggested each congregation have some kingdom-building, eternally worthwhile project to sink their teeth into, something that would cost them time, energy, and sweat. He said when he visited key leaders nearing the end of their lives and under hospice care, they often thanked him for allowing them to participate in some great project that helped people know Christ.
We have two brothers here at East 91st, Tony and Craig, who have used their resources (and their companies” resources), and put in hours of planning and worrying to design, plan, gather materials, recruit, and construct some of our most ambitious outreach productions:
“¢ “Bethlehem Village,” a two-story structure with seven storytelling areas, which has been used by more than 1,000 volunteers to welcome 36,000 people to our campus over a three-year period.
“¢ “The Lights of Bethlehem,” a light show with narration and music that tells the nativity story, used in our Christmas spectacular for three years
“¢ An elaborate fountain, built in the atrium just outside our sanctuary, used to illustrate our “Overflow” sermon series
“¢ A 22-foot tall rocket ship, equipped with lights and smoke, used for a Vacation Bible School.
Some 25 years ago, while attending Eastside Christian Church in Fullerton, California, I was involved in the production of The Music Man. Several strong friendships were established during rehearsals. To this day, some of those people are still among my closest friends.
People make connections during such productions because they spend so much time working together toward noble goals. People build relationship and community during such times. What better way to satisfy our need to belong than to participate in a kingdom activity that is meaningful and lifts up the name of Jesus?
Through large and small productions, art exhibits, preschool programs, and junior and senior high concerts, people are afforded nonthreatening opportunities to invite others to their church to see their child, mom, dad, brother, or grandchild perform or participate. In doing so, people come and see the story of love and sacrifice at Easter, the gift of God at Christmas, and provide opportunities for further conversation.
MAJOR OUTREACH
For the past several years, Tim, a local Nazarene music minister friend of mine, has led a Broadway-style Christmas production that is a major outreach event for his church. He shared these two stories with me about this “bringer” event.
My friend was eating at a very crowded Subway restaurant one day and so he shared a table with a gentleman who asked if he liked his sandwich. As it turned out, the man was the husband of the woman who worked at the restaurant.
Tim mentioned he was wrapping up rehearsals for Sights and Sounds of Christmas, and invited the couple to attend. As a result, the couple came to church, became believers, were baptized, and became involved in ministry. (As a side note, when my friend goes into Subway he occasionally gets a free cookie.)
Another year, Tim”s wife, Laurie, was wearing a scarf the choir was using for Sights and Sounds of Christmas. Her bank teller liked it so much she asked where Laurie got it. After some conversation, Laurie gave tickets to the teller, who brought her husband to the program, and then to church. Eventually their whole family and parents came, and all gave their lives to Jesus.
Plainfield Christian Church, just outside of Indianapolis, has opened its building for a local high school to present concerts. Church leaders also invited the high school choir to sing at a church function. Leaders want their church to be a place people in the community will come when they are in need of help and are tender to the gospel.
Some churches use a concert series to attract nonbelieving adults. This year, East 91st has begun a concert series called Sounds of Faith, which is geared to a more traditional audience, those who might feel more comfortable at our classic service. We hope to provide yet another opportunity for our people to invite non-Christians to experience quality concerts and exceptional artists in a nonthreatening environment.
The arts are just one of many ways churches today are reaching out to touch lives for the cause of Christ. So many believers love to use their artistic talents for ministry, to praise and honor the artist of all creation. That excites them. It makes them love the church. And that makes them want to invite others to be a part of something worthwhile; to start conversations that will lead to life change and faith in Christ.
Shockley Flick serves as minister of music and worship with East 91st Street Christian Church in Indianapolis, Indiana.
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