Into the Unknown: What Launching A Missional Arts Ministry & Movement Has Taught Me
If you had told me ten years ago that I would eventually end up in missions, I wouldn’t have believed you. But as we all know, God tends to interrupt our own agendas for His.
I’d served as a youth creative pastor, and then eventually as a creative pastor. Towards the end of my tenure at a church, I felt the Lord pulling me away from church ministry and towards the unknown. I felt this burden for artists who weren’t being reached. Now, this was terrifying for me. Church ministry is all I’ve ever known. My entire degree was centred around church ministry. Now God was asking something new of me, something completely unfamiliar.
To which I said yes.
When I first considered launching a missional arts ministry, I quickly realized something: there was no roadmap for this. No handbook. No “creative ministry” stream in a Bible college program I could point to. What God was asking me to build didn’t exist yet, at least not in the form I felt Him stirring in my heart. So, I began walking forward with nothing but a burden for artists, a conviction that creativity matters to the heart of God, and a deep sense that the Church in Canada needed something new. What I didn’t expect was how much stepping into the unknown would teach me, not just about ministry, but about faith, formation, and the surprising ways God meets us when we venture beyond the familiar. Here are three things this journey has taught me so far:
There is no blueprint or framework for pioneering.
Sometimes when God gives you a dream or a vision, He won’t exactly give you the whole picture, and that can be a beautiful thing. It can be frustrating, but that’s where reliance on the Holy Spirit becomes paramount in our pioneering, in our making, in our creating.
Artists are a mission field that the Church cannot afford to overlook.
Our collective history as the capital ‘C’ Church has shown us time and again that the Church was a leader in every aspect of society: in science, astronomy, engineering, architecture, and the arts. The Church was a patron for the arts. Through the arts, we find the flourishing of society. Artists and creatives aren’t just ‘add-on subscriptions’ to ministry; they’re culture shapers, truth-tellers, and some of the most spiritually aware people in our communities. When the Church disciples artists well, it disciples the culture they influence.
Community is the soil in which creativity and discipleship grow.
This ministry has taught me that artists don’t thrive in isolation. They flourish when they find spiritual formation, mentorship, and belonging. In fact, during the Renaissance, when artistry and beauty flourished, artists often worked in community and fellowship with one another. Prolific artists had proteges whom they were mentoring. Up-and-coming artists learned from those who have been painting for longer than they have been alive. This is the blueprint for the flourishing of the arts.
These are a few of the many things that launching a missional arts ministry has taught me so far, and the beautiful thing is I’m just getting started. In the midst of this, I finally felt the shift in my spirit, with complete confidence that I’m doing what I was made to do. I’m honoured to have been entrusted by God to carry this burden and this vision. I’m acutely aware of the work set before me, but I know God’s hand is on the arts and artists of Canada, and I’m so excited to see what He’s going to do.
Jess Sanchez is an award-winning filmmaker, musician, and creative visionary passionate about telling redemptive stories through art. As the founder of Renaissance Canada, Jessica is committed to equipping and inspiring artists across the country to create from a place of truth, hope, and faith. Whether through songwriting, filmmaking, or mentoring, she desires to see the arts transformed by the gospel of Jesus Christ. She holds a Bachelor of Theology, which has helped refine her passion for the intersection of theology and the arts. She is also currently doing a Master of Arts in Theological Studies at Briercrest Seminary.