Art as Missions
When we think of foreign missions, we often think of riding out to an isolated village to dig a well and provide medical resources. This is a wonderful approach to helping communities, both physically and spiritually. The challenge with Japan, however, is that it’s a well established first world country. In fact, many of their industries are comparable, if not better, than their American counterparts. This is why our team uses the arts for missions.
Japanese culture is historically filled with various art forms. Masters study their crafts until perfection, then they pass down their methods. Even in ancient Israel, God gifted Bezalel to craft things of beauty to adorn the temple (Exodus 35:30-35). The Psalms are full of songs written to glorify the Lord, often extolling us to dance in worship (Psalm 150:4). Art is unique of humanity in that it isn’t necessarily vital to survival. But as a means of pure human expression, art is all of who God is communicating to all of who we are. Art can communicate directly to the human soul, going beyond the words we articulate.
One of the main projects the Community Arts Tokyo team worked on last summer was an arts exhibition called “Together”. This charity event combined Western and Japanese artists through art, music, dance, and manga, showing how all people are children of God.
This event may seem a little chaotic. How exactly are you supposed to summarize so many different art forms into one performance? But notice how many different types of people, both locals and foreigners, Christians and non-Christians, participated. Parents brought their children. There was space and cause to start discussions about God. There was community in a place that there wasn’t before. That is the power of arts as mission.