Arts Ministry : Nurturing the Creative Life of God's People

First United Methodist Church in Augusta, Georgia, gives concerts to raise money for local service organizations. Trinity Lutheran Church in Mission, Kansas, has been sponsoring a religious art show for more than twenty-five years. Fellowship Lutheran Church runs a Christian arts camp for young people every summer. These are just three of the eighteen case studies of practicing arts ministries in this book, in which Michael Bauer encourages the nurture and support of all the creative gifts of God's people.

Bauer lays a solid foundation for arts ministry, grounding it in the historic Christian tradition and urging churches to expand their engagement with the creative arts -- "to live and worship in full color," as he puts it. A concluding chapter clearly lays out how to develop an arts ministry, helping readers to take these ideas from theory to practice, to embrace and celebrate the continuing creative activity of God in the church.

Michael J. Bauer is professor of organ and church music at the University of Kansas. In addition to his university work he has served on the music staff of twelve different churches and established arts ministries at three of those churches.