Lesson 19

What is Prophetic Art, and How is it Related to Art Ministry?

Scott McElroy is an author, artist, art minister, and founder of The New Renaissance in Indianapolis, IN.
What is Prophetic Art? The word prophecy has some strange associations. Prophecy actually refers to the comfort and love God offers each person on the planet, and his will to touch him or her with the knowledge of his love.
Usually we see people experience this as a simple, a-ha moment of God sees me! He really does know me!
Or sometimes, you might sense God leading your congregation corporately. It might begin as a scripture or
a prayer, inhabiting a loose set of visual ideas, and evolve into specific images and scriptures for your church
that is very relevant to right now. The reveal always features God-ordained timing, too. He loves your church.
Sometimes, prophecy can suggest specifics about Gods Word for a persons life, but such a word should be
offered with caution, humility, and the knowledge that we can be wrong as humans. We must always offer
such words as optional, asking if the person is open to hearing it. If they are, offer it as a humble blessing
rather than an air of Thus Saith The Lord. Always ask the receiver to pray and consult scripture regarding
any word offered. True prophecy never contradicts the Word of God.
Prophetic art has value to us and to our Savior, who loves to communicate with people and has messages to
give those who open their ears and eyes to the Lords presence.
A Few Types of Prophetic Art:
1. Live art made in front of others, either with a simple or layered meaning (the type addressed in this video). In order to create meaningful art in front of people, we stongly encourage art studies and training, to the glory of God.
2. Art made in community while listening to God in the process. You might begin with a scripture and possibly
an outline of an image thats large enough for others to add to. Each person adds their own marks or elements,
responding to marks that were added before theirs, to make a unified piece together. (Helpful: Dont cover or
destroy what others have made.) You can also have musicians on hand, leading worship through song. God will
bring scriptures and words of encouragement to you, so you can invite people to share any words they receive.
3. Art made in solitude over a period of time, in order to speak to a future unknown audience.

Lesson 19

What is Prophetic Art, and How is it Related to Art Ministry?

4. Art made in solitude as a form of prayer to an audience of One (not meant the eyes of others).
5. Art made over months of prayer, preparation, and artistic planning, in solitude or in community.
6. Live Art made with no research or preparation at all, just responding to Gods presence. This can be created in
the church, or out in public, where God is not mentioned as part of the gathering. If this approach is to be taken in
front of other people, we stongly encourage you to undergo intensive artistic training, to the glory of God.
7. Visio Divina: Ask Christ to minister to you through artwork others have made. Viewers first pray to God to experience the reality of Christ through a piece of art, possibly experiencing new epiphany, no matter who made the art
being viewed (we can experience God through art made by a Christian artist or non-Christian artist).
8. Personal Prophetic Art: A simple drawing or impression made for another person, during an act of prayer and
listening to God. Ask God for a specific image for a specific person youll encounter either now or later (can be a
friend or a stranger). Offer the image to that person as a blessing and evidence of Gods presence in their life.
9. Artwork made as a commission, or commercial art, or public art, which contains a hidden or layered meaning about the reality of God; this meaning can be intentionally built in by the artist or even unintentionally,
placed there by God Himself. It can be revealed to one or many, either right away or decades or centuries later.
There is also much overlap among expressions of prophetic art, and this is just the tip of the iceberg.
What if I havent seen this for myself? If you have not witnessed God moving and communicating through
art, thats okay. Its kind of like describing the color red to someone who has never seen color. I understand having some skepticism, but I would ask that you pray and let God show you himself how he moves through art.
One more thing: Please dont try to put God into a box of any kind. This can happen in two opposite ways:
1. When people deny that God moves or acts inside his creation at all, saying he doesnt do anything today.
2. When people assign God a certain routine or formula, saying he always moves a certain way (the way they
expect him to move and respond). For instance, insisting God only works through #6, above, and not the others.

Watch the video Creating Prophetic Art

Creating artwork in live gatherings is addressed in this video by J. Scott McElroy.
Scott generally refers to live painting because he is a painter, but there are many other forms of art that can be
created besides a painting. We embrace and encourage all forms of the arts, both 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional. Performace art goes hand in had with visual art in communicating the love of God to his people.
Please take notes on any references you want to remember from this video.