Created to Be Creative with Christ

To equip the Church to do great missional work, God has given us His image and spiritual DNA. Through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ and with the power of the Holy Spirit, our Abba, Father in heaven, has gifted each of us the potential to use His creative abilities to share our faith in Him with others for His glory, praise, and honor.

As Christ-followers who already have the creative power of God dwelling in us, consider how God wants us to access His creativity to evangelize our neighbors who are far away from Christ.

Creative Prayer

“And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. . . . So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.” –Luke 11:9-10, 13, NLT (emphasis added)

Since all of creation comes from the Creator, it only makes sense that we seek Him for our creativity. Our time in devotion with God should always include prayer for the lost who don’t know Christ as Lord and Savior. God is the only One that creatively knows how to give us directions to reach the lost for HIS glory. In our prayers for reaching the lost, we should be asking God for His guidance in:

• Who He wants us to reach so they can come to Him.
• Where He wants to place us to be effective for His glory.
• What He desires us to do to help someone find their way back to Him.
• When He will prompt us to connect with someone who needs to know Him.
• How He can use us to plant seeds with those far away from Him.

The emphasis of each evangelistic prayer we pray should focus our hearts on the Lord and ask how He might incorporate us into the work He is doing. Focusing on Him helps us to align our hearts and minds with God’s will for His glory.

Creativity in Life

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” –Matthew 28:19, ESV

God delights in us when we enjoy life, when we tune our hearts to echo His and we use evangelism and discipleship to impact the lives of those around us. Within the natural flow of our lives, our routines may become supernatural moments as God reveals to us the creative ways that He wants to draw people to Himself. Like actors on a stage, He gives us opportunities to tell stories about Him as we commute to work, serve in our jobs, stop for a quick lunch, pick up groceries, work out, walk in the neighborhood, go to doctor appointments, serve with the condo association, or have neighbors over for dinner or parties. There is no place where God is not, so whatever brings you joy, delight, and laughter, invite and engage people to join you in your fun. As you go, make disciples.

Creativity in Mission
Creativity only blossoms when it is shared. The ideas that are being created now aren’t new to God. Invite your church members to explore what God has been working creatively in their lives and in the lives of people around them. Explore ways other churches are connecting with their community, and brainstorm ways to use the unique gifts God has given your congregation to do the same. When people exercise the creativity God has woven within them, they become more fully involved and invested in the mission God has called them to.

10 Celebrations of Creativity for Your Church

1. Aiming the Art: Painting and drawing art to take to kids at children’s hospital
2. Billiards, Bowling, and Root Beer with the Boys: A father-and-son outing
3. Cinema with the Seniors: Going to the movies with older saints of the church
4. Dining to Dance: Eat and work it off in aerobics, walking, or dance class
5. Eve of Elegance: A play, musical, medieval dress event, or murder mystery dinner
6. Fun with the Funnies: Comedy shows, magic shows, carnival, or circus
7. Gaming: A sports game, board game night, or video gaming gathering
8. I Think I Can Sing: karaoke night
9. Just For the Taste of It: Food festivals in different communities
10. Kindness to All Kinds. Clothing or food drive, hot chocolate, or cold water outreach

Keith Gordon is the pastor and church planter of Love of Christ Baptist Church in Chicago. He is the Chairman of Evangelism at the Illinois Missionary Baptist Convention and executive director of Urban Church Advocates. Formerly, as the director of Coaching and Cohort Development at the Church Evangelism Institute at the Billy Graham Center, he trained and managed over 115 pastors to become evangelistic missional pastoral leaders developing missional churches. He holds a MA in Urban Ministry from Moody Theological Seminary and a MA in Evangelism and Leadership from Wheaton College.