to something… something besides mediocrity. I’m tired of so many of us just getting by and being satisfied with that.
Want to know something else I’m tired of? The lack of respect and honor that “the church” has given to the arts and their ability to impact our world through the splendor and beauty of Christ. Instead of embracing our God-given artistic spirits, we rely on dry and archaic methodology to arm-twist the unbeliever into an unemotional and ritualistic relationship with God. The arts MUST become a necessity in our churches – not just something nice to have in our services at Christmas and Easter.
There is a better way – and this is what I have committed my life to.
A lot of you know what I’ve been up to for the past 5 years – but if you don’t… along with my full time job as Creative Arts & Worship Director at Rock Church, I took the reigns of an established faith-based dance school in August of 2005. Wait… a what? A dance school? You must know that I’m not a dancer – never was… never will be. I SUCK at dancing and won’t even try the electric slide at weddings.
But this opportunity was dropped in my lap and those of you that know me know that I jump in to things with both feet before I have the time to really think them through.That’s how I roll…
In the last five years, we have grown to now offer classes in Art, Theater, Film Studies, Ballet, Pointe, Tap, Jazz, Modern, Contemporary, Hip Hop and Creative Movement with a staff of 11 and a student base well over 200 students from ages 18 months-adult. And get this… we do it all without charging any of our students tuition. (which, by the way, scares the willies right out of me every single day)
We do this because of the embarrassing number of people who never have the opportunity to be exposed to the arts. Funding for the arts in our public schools decreases every year. Our busy lives eliminate so many chances to participate in artistic expression. Difficult economic times have made it almost impossible for many, many families to allow their children to participate in extra-curricular arts instruction. So we made the decision two years ago to offer excellence in arts education to our community without the financial constraints of monthly tuition – we didn’t want anything to stand in people’s way of having the chance to create.
This has been one of the most fulfilling seasons of my life. Apart from my family, nothing brings me more joy than to make arts education accessible to the church and to my community. I LOVE to nurture my staff and see them thrive in their artistic gifts so that they can then impart beauty and excellence into our students. And nothing has been more satisfying to me professionally than to see people changed in the presence of God as they are exposed to the story of Christ through the arts.
But here is a little dose of reality:
I am looking for businesses and individuals who understand how important this is – people who are ready to partner with us financially to see this valuable ministry continue. So to my friends and family – would you prayerfully consider making a sacrificial gift to help GAFA continue offering excellent instruction to the next generation of artists?
All of us can do something to help. Every gift is tax deductible and you will be receipted for your contribution. Business owners also have the opportunity to advertise to our students, their families and to our community at every large scale event that is sponsored by GAFA.
You can also set up a one-time or monthly donation via your Visa or Mastercard. Call us in the GAFA office to set this up!
Thank you for your consideration.
Love ya’ll!
Glory Academy of Fine Arts / PO Box 10229. Wilmington, NC. 28404 info@gloryfinearts.com / 910-602-5302
