Missions, Art, and the Ministry of Community

Ever since I went to the Dominican Republic for the first time in 2022, something in me shifted. It was the first time I felt any sort of calling. That trip was a spark in the many ways that God has worked in my life ever since. Since then, I’ve returned to the DR once, served in New Orleans in 2024, and recently traveled to Guatemala in 2025. Each trip stirred something deeper in me, something that extended beyond the idea of missions alone.

I think what God has been revealing to me through these experiences isn’t just the call to missions, but the call to community.

Tradecraft & Vibrant Communities

Before I left for New Orleans last summer, I read a book called Tradecraft. It's a missions manual, but not in the way you might expect. It was about lifestyle. How to live on mission in your everyday life. And that’s exactly what I did with my GenSend team in New Orleans: we lived missionally.

Right after last summer, I began working at The Development Group. A huge part of my work has been focused on community revitalization, shaped by another powerful book—Building a Vibrant Community by Quint Studer. And when I first read it, I couldn’t help but think, This is just like Tradecraft.

The strategies, the heart, the vision—different contexts, same mission. In Tradecraft, the goal is to bring the gospel to people. In Building a Vibrant Community, it’s about bringing people together to make their cities and towns flourish. And both require the same things: intention, presence, hospitality, and love. People from every single industry, every single walk of life.

The Ache for Belonging

This past year at home has been so growing, yet difficult in some ways. I’ve struggled to find deep, lasting relationships. I’ve struggled to be present rather than looking forward to moving to Pensacola. Mainly, I’ve been looking for true community. For friendship, for belonging, for shared purpose.

This morning at church while working in the café, Dr. Sylvia Collins told me that during her visit with her granddaughter, she experienced something that made her think of me (how sweet). It is an event called PorchFest in Atlanta, GA. It’s a grassroots event where people open up their front porches to live bands. The public walks from porch to porch enjoying music, food, art, and each other.

As she told me about it, my heart skipped a beat. That kind of event is everything I long for. All of the time. I think about the concerts I’ve attended, most recently Bôa, and how alive I feel among people, music, art, and shared joy. That’s worship. That’s fellowship. That’s community.

Art doesn’t need to be separate from missions and fellowship. In fact… these things go together hand-in-hand.

Missions Meets Art

I believe deeply that art & community, creativity & ministry, hospitality & discipleship—these things belong together. I’m passionate about graphic design, and I’ve always felt connected to the others through art: visual art, music, writing.

Art is a bridge. It breaks barriers. It gives people a way in—into beauty, into connection, into healing. I’ve heard non believers say that the closest they feel to God is among nature; in beauty. I think that there is an awe and a reverence for beauty and expression that displays God, and that is something missing in the Church.

Working at The Development Group has only deepened that belief. And as I prepare to work at Visit Pensacola, I think I’ll keep learning what this means in practice.

Something about community and being unified in the presence of music and art makes me emotional. It reminds me of eternity, what’s waiting for us Saints in Heaven. We were made for relationships, and we can’t do life without them.

The Beauty of Fellowship

Among all else, I’ve come to see the beauty and fulfillment that is best experienced within Christian community.

There is something holy about worshiping God alongside people who know your story. There is something healing about praying together, eating together, bearing each other’s burdens, serving shoulder-to-shoulder, and laughing over jokes that were born during a mission trip or retreat or small group or dinner party.

Christian community isn’t just about friendship—it’s about fellowship. It’s about being the Body of Christ. It’s where I’ve seen Spiritual Gifts in motion, ultimately the most fulfilling and awe-inspiring thing.

When we serve together, we reflect Jesus. When we praise together, we experience a foretaste of heaven. When we open our hearts and walk through life together—through celebrations and heartbreak—we bear witness to the faithfulness of God in one another’s lives.

That kind of community changes people. And I believe it can change towns. Change cultures. Change hearts.

Rediscovering Neighborliness

One artist who has been deeply influencing my thoughts lately is Josh Nadeau. He runs an Instagram account called Sword & Pencil and writes on Substack (I’m beginning to have a Substack addiction. It’s not a bad one to have IMO. Way better than mindless scrolling.), and I’m in the process of reading his book, Room for Good Things to Run Wild. His page on Substack is called Every Day Saints, and some of his recent pieces have been leading up to a project he’s calling 90s Summer. Here are some pieces leading up to it that will help you to see the full picture of this project: 1- Nostalgia, Curse or Boon?, 2- Be Kind, Rewind (The Summer), and finally 3- 90s Summer: The Rules, The Rhythyms, The Downloads.

It really boils down to connection and community, but also has to do with living at a slower pace, enjoying the small things, and not being as distracted with technology and easy but unfulfilling distractions.

Think: CDs instead of Spotify. Movie nights with DVDs. Backyard dinners with neighbors. Hosting real people in real places. Creating an atmosphere where love, laughter, and stories flourish.

Reading his words and reflecting on my time in the Dominican Republic, I’m struck by how much we’ve lost in the name of convenience. In the DR, I experienced genuine neighborly connection. Imagine feeling that every week with the people God’s placed around you. Why don’t I know my neighbors? Why don’t Americans live like family anymore?

A Call That Won’t Leave Me Alone

With all of these things… I am starting to sense a pattern. Something is coming together. This isn’t random. My love for missions, my fulfillment in community development, my passion for art, and my joy in concerts and connection—it’s all part of the same calling. I can feel the pieces coming together. I don’t see the full picture yet, but I know God’s building something. I don’t want to miss it.

This post is really just a reminder to myself—for the days when I feel spiritually dry, or when I’m tempted to isolate, or when it seems easier to scroll than to show up.

I want to be obedient in this season. I want to steward these passions well. I want to create spaces where people encounter the beauty of God through community, art, hospitality, and mission.

I’m ready. I’m eager. And even though I don’t know how it’s all going to come together, I’m trusting the One who does.