Most of you know that I’m a Creative Arts Pastor for Oak Hills Church in Folsom, California. Each summer, we traditionally have Arts Month, a time when we feature our local artists through our Sunday services—from worship artists, to mini-concerts between services, to our Art Gallery, to interviews with artists. This has been a fun and creative way in which different artists in our church are able to express themselves and share their God-given gifts with the greater church family. This year, I’m especially excited to present a four-part Sunday series on faith and the arts we’re calling “Artful Faith.”

Each Sunday in June, we’ll ask a profoundly simple question: Why Art? Why Emotion? Why Beauty? Why Story? Each of these messages will provide a theological background behind how our faith and creativity and the arts intersect. And hopefully, it will also inspire many to be more bold in expressing themselves and their faith in creative ways. I’m sharing this because I’d like to invite you to participate in this series with me this year. There are two ways you can engage this June.

• If you’re in the Sacramento area, I invite you to come to Oak Hills Church. Services are at 9 AM and 11 AM Pacific Time. You can come early to engage with our Art and Soul Gallery, which this year features the visual artists of Haven ministry of Bridgeway Church in Rocklin. Or you can stick around between services and enjoy the fellowship, refreshments, and Mini-Concerts by local musicians. There will also be a Creative Writing Group kicking off during the series, so if you’re an aspiring author, poet, or creative writer, you’ll want to stick around for that.

• If you can’t make it, all is not lost. Please join us online at 8:55 AM Pacific to watch each service on June 4, 11, 18, and 25. Finally, if you missed it, past services can be seen here. I also encourage you to share the links, so that others might be able to catch a glimpse of how creativity and the arts intersect with our common faith in Christ.

The role of the arts has been—and in many cases continues to be—under-represented in our modern churches. Outside of a very narrow band of acceptability (e.g., worship music, visual slides, and the occasional feature song), most artists find themselves on the outside looking in. But it need not be the case. The arts are not just a cool thing to do on a Sunday morning—they are an essential and vital expression of living fully in the Kingdom of God. Please join us this June and find out how.