We believe there is transformative power in the beauty of art, in the marvel of theater, in the wonder of music, and ultimately in the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ. First Presbyterian Church believes that God has called us to be a blessing to our city by seeking its peace and prosperity and by praying for it (Jeremiah 29:7).
WHY THE ARTS?
The City of Greenville is a thriving urban center for the arts in our region; accordingly, First Presbyterian Church is dedicated to partnering with Christian artists in our great community. Because God is revealed to humanity as our Creator (Genesis 1), we believe that the act of making art is a direct manifestation of God’s creativity. The arts fortify and encourage the entire community of faith by conveying truth and beauty in a language that often transcends words. In worship, the arts direct our senses, and therefore our minds and souls, to things above.
The church has the opportunity to harness and equip believers who are uniquely gifted to bring shalom (God’s peace, wholeness) to this disenchanted, busy world through their art. Therefore, our facilities in downtown Greenville offer a valuable space for believers who speak the unique language of the performing and visual arts. We seek to provide a professional, credible venue for artists to perform and exhibit their art and commune with other believing artists, while simultaneously blessing the church and our surrounding community with their work.
WHAT DOES THIS MINISTRY LOOK LIKE?
Our new facility will allow First Presbyterian Church to use the transformative power of the arts to connect with the community and will provide our church with opportunities to serve Christian artists and minister to local artists. Providing arts events for the community:
• allows us to meet community members that we would not otherwise encounter
• allows us to showcase the power of God’s redemptive work through the beauty and creativity of the arts
• creates an outlet for our congregation to minister to the arts community, both locally and through guest hospitality
• allows us to partner with a variety of faith-based arts organizations
• opens opportunities for discipleship
• demonstrates the free gift of God’s love
We are developing facilities that will allow us to serve artists well in order to minister to them and reach into our community with the transforming power of the gospel. Within two main arms of Visual Arts and Performing Arts, we offer:
• gallery space for visual artists, both emerging and established
• performance space for local performing artists
• space for public concerts and plays by professional groups, both local and not
• educational space for workshops, films, performances, and fellowship
HOW CAN YOU GET INVOLVED?
Are you a visual artist or performer or arts organization? Fill out our application (link below) to let us know how we might partner with you. Once we receive your application, we will consider venue fit and availability and connect with you for further consideration. All use of First Presbyterian Church is subject to its Facility Use Agreement.
PROGRAMMING PHILOSOPHY
We select work based on the excellence of its content—its overt and/or implied expressions of worship, its ability to serve our community missionally, and its consistency with our church’s stated theological positions.
Artwork and performances may be contracted by artists who do not personally adhere to our faith tradition as long as their work demonstrates excellence in content and execution, their work can be used by our church to fortify our worship, and the artists themselves do not undermine our church’s stated theological positions.
SELECTION
Both performing and visual arts selection will be made by a panel of fine arts professionals, using the programming philosophy as their guide.
All visual artwork must be original and created by the artist.
For more information about the Fine Arts Ministry, contact Chelsea Fraser at cfraser@firstpresgreenville.org.
Fine Arts Use Application
If you are interested in using First Presbyterian for your arts event or exhibition space, please complete this application.
Fine Arts Use Application