welcome to the wonderful world of arts & youth ministry

January 6, 2006

one of my biggest questions upon entering youth ministry was how it related to my passion for arts ministry. i used to think that were polar opposites, but now i find that they are two sides of the same coin. i wrote a paper on this topic for my foundations class last term. it encapsulates a lot of my thoughts about arts ministry and why i see it as so powerful and so important.

if you're interested in reading it, you can download the paper here or read it in this entry.

Welcome to the Wonderful World of Arts & Youth Ministry
by Leo Chan

It's Sunday morning. Meet Brian. He's a fifteen year-old who just got dumped by his girlfriend. He's in the pits. Brian is totally devastated. He feels so abandoned. He's certainly in no mood to listen to the word of God today. He hates how Christians are so afraid to let their true emotions show in church. He mopes around and eventually finds his way to a seat in the church auditorium. The lights dim. It's pitch black. A hush of silence falls over the auditorium. A light hits the stage, revealing a young a male teen. He begins to speak. He's frustrated. He shares how difficult his life has been after his girlfriend dumped him. He shares all his raw thoughts and emotions. He yells at God for not caring. Then, a song starts to play in the background. It's loud, it's angry. It carries all the emotion that the boy is feeling. But then it takes an unexpected twist. The music softens. The actor walks to his bed and picks up a Bible and begins to read it. The lyrics of the song talk about how God is ever-present in all circumstances. Meanwhile, Brian cannot believe this is all happening. He thinks to himself, that's me up there! He's surprised at the authenticity and realness of the drama. He begins sensing the loving presence of God Almighty. His heart is ready to hear the word of God. And to think, all of this happened before the pastor came up to talk.
      It's Sunday evening. Meet Christine. She's a sixteen year-old who just got dumped by her boyfriend. She's feeling terrible about it and is in desperate need of encouragement. She goes to church looking for it. The topic tonight is on dating and relationships. She finds a seat near the back and sits down. She doesn't want to be noticed. She's been crying all day. The lights dim. The worship team takes the stage and starts to sing songs about the love of God and how He is ever-present in all circumstances. Despite her desire to, Christine just can't sing these songs tonight. They just aren't resonating with her. After four songs, the pastor comes up to deliver his message. He talks about how the ups and downs of dating and about breaking up. He talks about it how it's not the end of the world and that God is right there in the midst of it. The service ends. Christine still feels just as bad as she did when she first walked into the church. Sure, the message was applicable, but the words seemed to bounce off her tonight. In her heart of hearts, all Christine wanted was to be identified with and then encouraged.
     What is the difference between the first and the second story? Do you see it? Do you feel it? One harnesses the incredible potential of the arts, the other mirrors what you might typically see on a Sunday morning. Is one better or more effective than the other? Not necessarily. There is a time and a place for everything. But a case is definitely made for the potential that a flourishing arts ministry can provide to reach our congregants, especially young people.
      If we are serious about challenging our young people to radically surrender their lives to Christ, we must commit time, excellence and creativity. We must give our young people the best environments to come to understand these wonderful truths. I believe the best environment is through the arts. In the foreword of An Hour on Sunday by Nancy Beach, Bill Hybels writes that Nancy's heartbeat is that, "unless and until all artists in the church get into the game, the church will never reach its redemptive potential" (p. 10).
     This paper will look at the reasons to use of arts ministry in order to reach young people more effectively. It will be split into three major sections: styles of learning, getting into the lives of youth and the arts.

Styles of learning
To begin our discussion, we will start with one basic question: how do people learn? This section will be kept brief, for it is only a stepping-stone to where we are going later. The key idea here is that we are all different and as a result, we learn differently. To highlight this, we will take a look at learning through the lens of multiple intelligences (MI) theory. MI theory is now a well-respected theory in educational systems and is taught in classrooms today.
     Thomas Armstrong (1994) gives key four ideas in MI theory. First, every person possesses seven intelligences. These include: linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligence. Second, most people can develop each of the intelligences to an adequate level of competency. Third, the different intelligences interact with each other in complex ways. Fourth, there are many different ways to be intelligent within each type.
     Here's a brief description of each of the intelligence types:

Linguistic
Linguistic intelligence is, "the capacity to use words effectively, whether orally or in writing. This intelligence includes the ability to manipulate the syntax or structure of language, the phonology or sounds of language, the semantics or meanings of language" (Armstrong, 1994, p. 2).

Logical-mathematical
Logical-mathematical intelligence is, "the capacity to use numbers effectively and reason well. This intelligence includes sensitivity to logical patterns and relationships, statements and propositions, functions, and other related abstractions" (Armstrong, 1994, p. 2).

Spatial
Spatial intelligence is, "the ability to perceive the visual-spatial world accurately and to perform transformations upon those perceptions. This intelligence involves sensitivity to color, line, shape, form, space, and the relationship that exists between these elements" (Armstrong, 1994, p. 2).

Bodily-kinesthetic
Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence is, "expertise in using one's whole body to express idea and feelings and facility in using one's hand to produce or transform things. This intelligence includes specific physical skills such as coordination, balance, dexterity, strength" (Armstrong, 1994, p. 3).

Musical
Musical intelligence is, "the capacity to perceive, discriminate, transform, and express musical forms. This intelligence includes sensitivity to the rhythm, pitch or melody, and timbre or tone color of a musical piece" (Armstrong, 1994, p. 3).

Interpersonal
Interpersonal intelligence is, "the ability to perceive and make distinctions in the moods, intentions, motivations, and feelings of other people. This can include sensitivity to facial expressions, voices, and gestures" (Armstrong, 1994, p. 3).

Intrapersonal
Intrapersonal intelligence is, "self knowledge and the ability to act adaptively on the basis of that knowledge. This intelligence includes having an accurate picture of oneself; awareness of inner moods, intentions, motivations, temperaments, and desires" (Armstrong, 1994, p. 3).
     Did you notice how different each intelligence type is? Some of these descriptions may seem wordy, but the point of all this is to say that everyone is wired differently, and as such, they learn differently. We must wrap our hearts around this. God did not create all of us in the same way. He created us with diversity, not so that we could hide or ignore it, but so that we could acknowledge it and celebrate it. It is in our diversity that we see unity in Christ, for it is our diversity that makes up the church body (see 1 Cor 12:12-27). Dan Kimball writes in The Emerging Church, "we cannot assume that everyone is going to learn, relate, and think the same way ? we need to approach the emerging generations with new eyes and with different ways of going about ministry" (2004, p. 63).
      It would be worthwhile for any minister to do further reading on MI because there is certainly much to be gained from such an endeavour. In the appendix, there are some helpful tables to get you started in MI. They list the different neurological areas that the intelligences tap, some ideas on learning styles and practical examples of showing how one topic can be modified for different learning styles.
      Now that we know that people learn in different ways, let's take a look at what happens in our churches. If you take a look at a typical Sunday in most churches, you'll probably find the same thing. The worship service begins with songs or Scripture followed by a sermon and then a closing song or prayer. I've grown up in this kind of service order my whole life. Every church I went to employed it.
      Do you see the potential problem with a service order like this? Through the lens of MI, we see that services like this only tap a few of the many types of intelligences. Considering how this happens on a week-to-week, month-to-month, year-to-year basis, we are isolating other members from a richer experience. As a church, we must be careful about the way we structure our services to make sure this does not happen.
      It should be mentioned that it is impossible to be all things to all people. In other words, it would be difficult to target all seven intelligences in one service. However, we should vary the ways we minister to our congregants in order to best serve them. I believe variation comes through a thriving arts ministry. More on this will be discussed later on.

Getting into the lives of youth
This section will be an exploration of the lives of youth. Like the prior section, this too will be kept brief. In order to best reach our youth through our weekly services, we must first learn about them. The key idea here is that youth desire experiences.

It's all about the experience
      Today's youth are growing up in a culture immersed in television, MTV, performances (theatrical/dance/concerts), music, and movies. If you aren't convinced of this, walk by a group of youth after a weekend and eavesdrop on their conversation. They are most likely talking about a movie they saw, the latest new episode of _________ (fill in the name of the latest and greatest show) or some new CD they've purchased.
      At the core of each of these, lies the element of experience. Experience is high on the priority list for youths today. For example, take the rave scene. Youth subject themselves to many potential dangers (i.e. rape, drugs, alcohol) when they go. The Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission (AADAC) performed a three-year study to understand youths and raves. In their report, they concluded that, "the most important aspects of the rave scene ? were the music and the vibe. Participants described raving as an intense physical experience, largely because of the music experience" (AADAC, 2004, p. 1). Moshers mosh for the exact same reasons. Despite the potential of getting hurt in the mosh pit, youth love the experience of it. Patricia Hersch, a writer who lived among youth for several years, gives an account of this,

Joan emerges from the Pit breathless and laughing her highpitched laugh, her clothes out of kilter? "It's fun," she enthuses, because "anything goes" ? one nearby girl gushes, "I like being with lots of people really crowded and pushed together." (1998, p. 208)

It is all about the experience. Dawson McAllister, an expert on youth culture, writes, "young people value experience more than propositional truth. That doesn't mean we throw away truth, but we have to come through the door they have opened to us. That door is experience" (1999, p. 101). Here's the real good news, "their [youth] desire is to experience God and not just be told about him or told about the things he doesn't like" (Kimball, 2003, p. 36).
      Let's turn our attention to television and music. On television watching, Walt Mueller (1994) writes the following:

students watch an average of twenty-two hours of television a week. By the time a child graduates from high school, he or she will have watched about twenty-three hundred hours of television as compared with the eleven thousand hours spent in the school classroom. (as cited by Murphy, 1997, p. 69)

Following this, studies indicate that "the average teen watches somewhere between thirty minutes and two hours of music videos a day. In other words, while in high school, students will watch an average of 56 days (1,344 hrs) of MTV" (Mueller, 1994, as cited by Murphy, 1997, p. 69). On top of all this TV watching, most teens "listen to four to six hours of music daily. The reality is that students will listen to 1,680 hours of music, which equals 70 days, in one year" (Murphy, 1997, p. 69). Youth really are fully immersed in television and music!
     Does this perk your curiousity at all? Why are youth spending so much time watching television and listening to music? I believe the answer lies in the fact that both have the capacity to create powerful experiences, experiences that youth so long for.
      One of my favourite television shows is Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. It's a show that builds amazing new houses for families in desparate situations. These are real-life stories. I often find myself in tears at their stories and at the response of all the volunteers that make building the houses possible. When I watch this show, it is definitely an experience. This is but one of the many, many shows available to youth. Each show creates its' own type of experience that youths can connect with.
      Music is equally powerful. Music can give expression to feelings, emotions and thoughts that youth may not otherwise be able to express on their own. Music can also be used to augment known feelings and emotions. If a youth was angry, he/she could play an angry song and let the lyrics and music fuel their anger even more. Music can be a comforter. Knowing that someone else has gone through a similar struggle is very encouraging to youth.
      This kind of frequent exposure to television and music creates unspoken expectations of quality in the minds of youth. For the most part, television programming and music are very high-caliber. The best of the best (whether it's musicians, producers, actors) are involved in all stages of the process, from creation, to production, to execution. If you were to simply watch one of the big award shows, like the annual American Music Awards, you'd be blown away by the quality of it. These award shows incorporate lighting effects, visual media, superb audio quality and high definition video into their events. This sets the standard really high for any type of production.
      When was the last time your church sat down and thought about crafting quality services? Has your church ever sat down and thought about it? Whether you like it or not, we are in a sense, being compared with the productions of television. If we put out quality that is far worse than what youth are accustomed to, why would they ever want to stay at our churches? The church could learn a thing or two from MTV about creating experiences. This moves us to our final section, the arts.

The arts in all its glory
This section is the central core of the paper. It will build upon the prior two sections and demonstrate how the arts can be used to more effectively reach youth. We know now that people have different ways of learning and that youth desire genuine experiences with God. What then, does the arts exactly do? Why should we even bother with it? Let me answer that with an excerpt from Nancy Beach's book, An Hour on Sunday:

Where would any of us be if our planet were void of music, poetry, dance, paintings, literature, and film? Our lives would lack color and fullness and the human understanding that comes with telling stories through images, movement, and words. The most powerful moments and significant memories in the life of our church have been created by our artists. (2004, p. 71)

Go back to the beginning of this paper, read over the two stories and note once again the differences between the two. I believe the arts help us reach our youth more effectively because the arts are experienced. In the previous section, we learnt that the doorway to youth is experience. The arts capture thoughts, emotions and feelings. They are experienced in the mind, soul and heart. Alvin Reid, writes in Raising the Bar, "we can use the arts to present truth to a more right-brained generation, and we can also help students experience what they learn, so they make immediate application in a real world" (2004, p. 107). Paul Schreivogel, writes in The World of Art-The World of Youth, "art opens avenues for them [youth] to explore the past, to experience life in the present and to discover a bridge of hope to the future" (Schreivogel, 1968, p. 55). Do you see the potential? If you do, I think you'll agree that it's time to revisit the way we plan church services.
      If teens and college students decide to step into our church doors, we have got to make sure we make the most out of it. In today's economic-minded world, we are constantly weighing everything against an unspoken cost-benefit ratio. If the benefits outweigh the costs, it's worthwhile. If a youth comes into a service and is bored to death, they are not going to come back. If a youth comes into a service and sees poor quality, they are not going to come back. Remember, this is against the backdrop of high quality programming like MTV.

Redefining the Weekly Message: What's the Best Medium?
If we see value in preparing our weekly sermons, we should place equal value in preparing our services. One mentality that is held by many in our churches today is that the sermon is the high point of the service. The sermon is the climax. Everything is supposed to lead up the sermon. I'd like to put a different spin on that train of thought. Let's differentiate the words message and sermon. A message is something communicated between from one party to another. A sermon is a speech on a specific topic. On any given Sunday, it is the message, not the sermon that should be the climax. We want people going home thinking the message, not the sermon in and of itself. Why am I being so nitpicky about words, you ask?
      As a graphic designer, I have learnt that there is always more than one way to deliver a message. We call these mediums. Some mediums are better suited than others for certain messages. For example, did you know that by the time a phone book is printed and distributed, about 25% of the information is outdated? A much better medium for the information would be a website or a software program that could receive updates via the Internet. This type of medium lends itself far better to the changing nature of telephone numbers than a printed phonebook.
      In the same way, we must treat the messages we deliver on Sundays that way. For far too long, we've been using the sermon as our main and only medium for communication, but it has not always been the best approach to take. There may be other mediums that are better suited to do so. And knowing that different people learn in different ways (as previously discussed), other mediums help tap the different intelligence types. This is where the arts comes in. Maybe a drama would be effective. Or maybe a real-life story. Perhaps a video? If we begin to think this way, to think about which medium suits the message the best, we will begin to create a much more impactful message that is more easily understood and remembered by our youth.

Avoid fragmentation
I have seen, time and time again, a lot of fragmentation within church services. The sermon might be addressing one issue while the songs address a completely different one. Response songs are hit and miss. You may end up singing a song that has nothing to do with the sermon. Fragmentation causes distortion to the message. The more the fragmentation, the more the distortion.
      The danger of this is that fragmentation can work against the message we worked so hard to convey. Even something simple like the service order can affect it. In my own church, we have adjusted our service order on occasion for specific purposes. For instance, we have moved our announcements, offering and prayer time from the end of service to the beginning of it. When I asked people what they thought of it, they said that the change was a good idea. They felt that they were better able to think about and process the contents of the sermon with this format. When the announcements were at the end of service, they were bombarded with a whole list of other messages and often forgot about what was said in the sermon.

What's the point?
The goal for each service should be is this, "to create services so compelling, so meaningful, and so unexpected, that the time sails by and attenders leave with an enthusiastic desire to talk about their experience as well as the content of the service" (Beach, 2004, p. 167-168). Who wouldn't be excited to attend a church service like that? That's the type of service I would want to go to! And that's certainly the type of service our youth will want to go to. Be honest. Look at the service(s) your church currently offers. Sit through it and be aware of how you perceive the service to be. Do you want to be there or are you bored out of your skull wishing you were doing something else? If you are the latter, you can be sure that others feel the same way. Maybe it's time for some change.

A cautionary word
I should mention three things. First, the arts should never be used to simply entertain. As the church, we are not here to entertain people. We're not trying to compete with MTV for the best ratings and the most innovative production. We are here to proclaim the wonderful news about the redemptive love of God. We are here to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ. We are here to create environments where our young people can encounter God in an authentic way. Second, I am not saying that every service we plan must incorporate the arts. I've seen a service done in complete silence that was extremely moving and powerful. In fact, people came to know Christ through it! Again, it's about figuring out which medium communicates the message the best. Third, I am not belittling the value of teaching (aka. the sermon). There is great value in it, as we see in Acts 6:2. The apostles would not neglect the value of teaching in order to wait on tables?that's how important it was to them. Besides, sometimes the best way to deliver a message is through a sermon!

Spiritual gifts and youth
One other reason why we should consider arts ministry in our churches, is that the arts allow youth to develop their God-given potential and gifts. This of course does not apply to all our youth, but it does apply to some. While scholars have different theories on what constitutes as a spiritual gift, I am a firm believer that creativity is one of them. Gene Veith writes in The Gift of Art, "artistic ability is God's gift ? artistic talent is not to be thought of as some innate human ability, nor as the accomplishment of an individual genius, but as a function of grace" (p. 19). As the body is made of different parts, only certain people are gifted with artistic expression and creation. After all, not everyone is wired to be a musician, fine artist, dancer, actor, designer or writer. Thus, if we find these gifts in our youth, we owe it to them to give them places of expression, as well as places for growth and development. An arts ministry is a wonderful place for this.
      It's a very sad thing when youth are forced out of the arts and into professions and careers that do not suit them. There's a negative stigma in our society that being an artist (whatever form that is) is not worth it. People are concerned that artists barely make ends meet and are living from paycheck to paycheck. Knowing this, parents tend to encourage their kids to avoid artistic careers and find something more stable, more secure. The result of this is that their kids end up unhappy. If God made you to be an artist, you are wired to be one! If you do anything else, it simply will not satisfy you.
My neighbour, Lindsey (name has been altered to protect her identity), was an extremely gifted artist. In fact, she was so talented, one of the leading animation programs in North America accepted her into their school. She really wanted to go but her father had reservations about it. Since I was in design, her father came to talk to me about my program and my career field. I remember his biggest issue of letting her choose such a career was the instability of it. To make a long story short, her dad suggested, perhaps even insisted, that she go into teaching instead and so she did. Now, a few years later, she's in teaching and she absolutely hates it. She is very unhappy and wants so badly to get back into the fine arts. What a tragedy. We need to make sure we aren't doing this to our youth!

Ideas to get started
I hope by now you see the value of arts ministry in reaching our youth. Here are some ways in which you can get started with an arts ministry in your church. First, make sure the leadership team at your church understands the value of it. If they don't, you will have to teach them and show them why it's important. I think the best way to do this is to bring your team to a church that uses the arts in their services so they can experience it themselves. Once you've got your leadership team onboard, you should set up a team of your own. If you're not a very creative person, find people who are. You'll need these people to help dream up and brainstorm ideas for services. You should also know that artists think and work differently. You need to celebrate these differences and learn how to work with them. If you have enough manpower, find leaders for the different arts, including visual arts, design, music (including audio/visual), drama, dance, drama and writing. Third, realize that you need to start small. Don't expect to be able to put out big productions every week. Maybe start a few times a year, moving to once a month and so forth. Fourth, make sure you evaluate each creative service. Remember, the point is to find the medium(s) that best helps communicate the message. Ask yourself what worked and what didn't work. Ask your members if the creativity helped to communicate the message. If you've received positive feedback, communicate that to your arts ministry team. Fifth, have fun in the process! It's a wonderful thing to see God use the planning and the creativity of your team to change hearts and bring people closer to Himself.

Final thoughts
There is definitely a lot more to discuss regarding the development of an arts ministry, but that was not the focus of this paper. The goal was to demonstrate how an arts ministry could be used to reach our youth more effectively. If you are interested in learning more about the specifics of this, I highly recommend An Hour on Sunday by Nancy Beach.
      We have looked at learning styles through the lens of MI theory. From this, we have learnt that there are seven types of intelligence and as such, people learn in different ways. We have also looked at youth and their desire for authentic experiences. Finally, we have looked at the arts and why we should consider using them when we craft our services.
      Arts ministry is truly exciting! Can you imagine the difference it would make if our youth were authentically experiencing the wonder, majesty and love of our God on a weekly basis? Can you imagine the lives that would be forever changed? The potential it can make in the lives of our youth is immeasurable. Let us commit our time, our effort and our resources to craft artistic services that are authentic, creative and excellent for the glory of our God. Amen!

Bibilography
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Armstrong, T. (1994). Multiple intelligences in the classroom. Alexandria: ASCD.
Beach, N. (2004). An hour on sunday. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
Hersch, P. (1998). A tribe apart. New York: The Random House Publishing Group.
Kimball, D. (2003). The emerging church. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
McAllister, D. (1999). Saving the millennial generation. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, Inc.
Murphy, T. (1997). Programming with purpose. Grand Rapids: Zonerdvan.
Reid, A. L. (2004). Raising the bar. Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications.
Schreivogel, P. A. (1968) The world of art-the world of youth. Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing
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Veith, G. E. (1983). The gift of art. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press.

Posted by Leo Chan at January 6, 2006 12:16 AM