Several years ago I was sitting in a pastors conference in Tulsa, OK when I heard Pastor Whit George of Church on the Move say something along the lines of, “The Church should be leading the way in the creative world. And our children should grow up in a church where the creative gifts and talents they have been given by God are encouraged and developed to be used for God, in His Church!”
A seed was planted, and I returned home and began sharing with you about a vision the Lord put on my heart to create a community space at New Hope where the church could offer developmental classes in theater, art, music, writing, and dance. The best part? Students would periodically be asked to share their talents from what they’ve learned in class with the New Hope congregation!
It has taken more than a few years to see God bring this vision into reality, but here we are!
Pastor Mark Edington is the new Create Hope Studios Director and he has been working diligently to put the Create Hope Studios plan in place so we could begin launching classes. Here are some important items we’d like you to know.
Create Hope Studios Vision:
To help the broader community around New Hope learn and develop creative skills that can and will be used in the local church.
Create Hope Studios Mission Statement:
Create Hope Studios exists to bring forth the creative gifts in all of us by providing a comfortable, inspiring, hope-filled space for ‘creators to create’ in the areas of visual art, dramatic theater, dance, music, audio engineering, and video production.
Create Hope Studios Process:
Instead of creating our own classes from scratch Create Hope Studios has partnered with other Christian teachers, artists, and organizations in the area who are already influential artists in the Greater Nashville Area to provide creative space and resources for their program to grow.
Create Hope Studios Partnerships:
Theater – C.Y.T (Christian Youth Theater)
Early Education Music – Sound Start
Painting, Drawing, Etc. – Van Maarth Arts
Dance – Create Hope Studios Dance
We are also in the process of developing a music production wing for the studios and will have more to share with you on that very soon.
Again, these class offerings are available to members of New Hope and our neighbors in the community. As time goes on we hope to expand the classes so that all ages can participate in Create Hope Studios!
Sign Ups are happening right now!
Please visit the website: http://www.createhopestudios.com
And please join me in prayer as God begins using Create Hope Studios for His purposes!
Blessings to you,
Pastor Josh
