A Real-Life Story

In the Kansas City’s Crossroads Arts District, Christ Community’s Downtown Campus is a growing congregation in a flourishing neighborhood of galleries and art studios. Desiring to participate in the vibrant life of its neighborhood, the Downtown Campus intended from its inception to exist not only as space for Sunday worship but also as a space for arts engagement throughout the week.

In 2013, the Downtown Campus hosted its first art exhibition. The exhibition featured works from a private collection of a Christ Community congregant. From those humble beginnings, the Four Chapter Gallery was born.

Four Chapter Gallery has been critical in the spiritual development not only of patrons who have viewed art but also in the lives of the artists themselves. Multiple artists have commented upon the fair and professional treatment they’ve received from the gallery. They’ve admitted that this kind of treatment is not what they expected from a church-run gallery. The hospitality, professionalism, and kindness they’ve encountered have been catalytic in their spiritual journey, with some even reengaging faith as a result of exhibiting in Four Chapter Gallery

Who are we translating the gospel to?

If we desire to be a community-flourishing church, then we need to re-discover our apostolic commission by examining to whom we are sent. Often we answer the above question naively by saying that we, as a local church, are sent to all people. The truth is we have limited capacity and won’t be able to reach everyone in our city, state, country, and the world. So, understanding our target of compassion and our capacity is essential to fulfilling our mission.

Nestled in the heart of the Midwest is a church that understands the audience within their community. They lead by example in bridging the perilous Sunday-to-Monday gap. They enter the art’s sector of their community to embrace the inspiration around them and to partner with God in co-creating strong, beautiful futures for their communities and beyond.

Equipping Whole-Life Discipleship

Through The Four Chapter Gallery, Christ Community Church desires to share thoughtful art and host meaningful conversations. For that reason, the gallery is committed to art with ideas. It selects exhibitions and curates programming to engage critical cultural topics like racial bias and violence, human trafficking and misogyny, homelessness and economic opportunity.

Christ Community congregants who worship at the Downtown Campus have repeatedly affirmed the way in which the art displayed in the gallery challenges them to expand their understanding of faithful apprenticeship to Jesus. Economically, the gallery has also been of benefit to the local economy and emerging artists, who have sold artwork during First Friday exhibitions.

This level of discipleship is both holistic and creative. The leaders found a community of lost individuals and decided to embrace and lift them up socially, spiritually, and economically; not disregard them. Christ Community Church took the opportunity to be present in the lives of individuals not only on Sunday, but Monday through Saturday by simply embracing and supporting their talents.

Reflection

From its earliest days the Four Chapter Gallery’s leaders have recognized the need for church leaders to more regularly embrace the work of artists, utilizing artwork in teaching moments, and coaching congregants on how they might better appreciate, engage and respect artistic works. The commitment to art and artists has been blessed by God, and has allowed Christ Community Church and Four Chapter Gallery to become a thriving site of cultural renewal in Kansas City.

How are you developing whole-life discipleship in your community?

An Excerpt from the book, “Church for Monday” by Dr. Svetlana Papazov.

Svetlana Papazov is Lead Pastor and Founder of Real Life Church, President/Founder of Real Life Center for Entrepreneurial and Leadership Excellence, a first of its kind model of church and business incubator that educates in entrepreneurship, leadership and faith praxis.