Monday, October 5, 2009


It seems God is birthing a lot of Spiritual energy through His artists. My family and I have been full time missionaries for 8 years. We worked with Youth With A Mission in the past, but have just transitioned to the International House of Prayer in Kansas City (IHOP-KC) www.ihop.org. The Forerunner Arts department here is so new- new here and new for the Body of Christ. It seems everything we do is uncharted. Last night we had our first drawing 101 and acting 101 classes. About 35 came for the drawing class and about 12 for the acting. I was at the drawing class and had a lot of fun. This is just a small indication of the awareness the Lord is bringing to the visual arts. I have been praying and studying the word for over a year to grab onto some sort of language to describe what is going on. Forerunner Arts here at IHOP-KC is birthed out of the prayer room. I don't think we can go wrong there. The pieces that I work on in studio are birthed directly out of times of intercession in the prayer room. I do all my preliminary drawings and sketches for a piece while I intercede. This method is still in the developmental stages, but that is how I desire to have all forerunner art to be produced. I do not consider these pieces to be personal work, but acts of worship to be used as proclaimers of something the Lord desires to speak. I might do a commission like a portrait or landscape or mural for some one, but those things I designate as personal work. Yes, Holy Spirit dwells in me, and ANY work I do is given over to Him, but I consider forerunner art as work specifically birthed by the Lord through time spent with Him. Its purpose is to proclaim His voice and it is completely given over to Him. There are still a lot of gray areas in this. Among artists actually working for a ministry like IHOP, accountability measures must be very strong in regards to time spent in studio. Still working on the nuts and bolts of this. Any thoughts? Any suggestions?

4 comments:

  1. Steve, Simply delighted to find your blog and pray with you on this journey that the Lord has placed before you. As a mommy, I am watching to see how this ministry develops as well as my Caleb simply lives through art.

    Blessings to you,
    Sarah Dawn

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  2. I did the NightWatch internship at IHOP-ATL last year, when you wrote this, in fact. As an artist, I found that my best drawings were those drawn in the prayer room while worshiping or interceding. While I was there, I had such a burning desire for an artistic movement in the church, something that has been on my heart for three years now. I have pages of prayers and thoughts I've written just on this topic.

    It is absolutely thrilling to find your blog, even just these three posts.

    Is there a site or any place where I can find more info on Forerunner Arts? This is exactly what I have been looking for yet I can't find any specific 'who, what, where's about FA.

    -- Katie

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  3. Hey, I just drove by the building you guys have across from exodus cry today and was thrilled about the idea of it so I googled it and found this blog, and I'm an artist and about to do an internship with IHOP and I would LOVE to get involved in this! how do I go about doing that?? I know IHOP has a big emphasis on music and worship, and since thats not really my gifting I was hoping there would be some sort of movement like this with art!! this is so exciting!

    -Beth

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  4. My wife, Teresa, is excited about this blog site because the IHOP teachings and music on the subject of the Bride of Christ inspired her to paint a series on the subject. You can see her work at www.forerunnerart.com. She will be at IHOP in August and would like to get in contact with anyone still involved in this project.

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