Creativity Encouraged

An invitation to partner with Joshua & Deborah

We have been building up others in and around the church for years, utilizing creativity and compassion.  Creativity Encouraged was the name of a Bible study begun by John McNeal at Vineyard Columbus, and has been a guiding theme of ministry and community in our lives.  

Partnering now with A.C.T.s’ International we work with young people, under-privileged, and those on the fringes of society to disciple & nurture; personal, spiritual & creative growth.  A key component in our ministry is partnership. We co-labour with ministries around us to impact our community. Making a difference in our community & our church is built into our DNA as Christians. After faithfully serving for many years, we invite you to partner with us to make a greater impact.

We are bringing it all together! 

How do puppetry, homelessness, teen art classes, prop building, former gang members, poetry, drama, and painting fit together?  Well, lets just say it's a creative fit by the grace of God. 

We are cultivating community around the love of Jesus, utilizing creativity in all the projects we are involved with.   By activating the gifts of others we are creating a much greater impact.  Check out our YouTube video if you want to see some Christian inspired art, but recognize it's helping others find how they can serve that really is making the greater impact.  The whole reason for starting the puppet ministry was to give others an opportunity to participate in discipling our youth.   Painting, building, voice-over, and acting are just part of the ways people have been investing in our youth.

We need you to plus their efforts.  All of this creativity comes with a price tag, but we are charging forward for our priceless kids.  

Discipling, Encouraging  Tutoring

Covid put a few projects on hold for us.  We would like to bring them back. 

Partnering with LOT318 (Loving others in Truth) we taught summer art classes for middle schoolers and a spring break program called Teen Horizons.  We are actively engaged in discipleship during our instruction time with these programs.  We are in need of computers, tablets and software to teach digital art techniques.  Each program cost us five thousand dollars annually.  The Teen Horizons program has many excursions planned over spring break and a great deal of programming cost.  The summer program is longer and has greater material and technology cost.   We want to bring these programs back without over extending ourselves.  I thought it was a great idea to have kids help us paint a mural, take them whale watching and learn about the love of Jesus just to name a few key points of the program. 

We will be working on a Pirates & Missionaries program next time around and will bring the Wayland Water Conservation Van to the Well of Life church to connect with local teens.  Being the pirate I am, I will noodle along on the programing until we are able to raise the funding to bring this program back to expand teen Horizons.

Covid also disrupted our Bible study at our local regional shelter in partnership with Messy Church.  Prior to the facility closure we had been meeting every Sunday and served the first Fathers day meal at that facility.  The picture below shows our efforts at the nearby county shelter were we provided the first two thanksgiving meals in back to back years, organized donations, hosted art & music nights and taught art classes.    

We would love to bring these programs back and had been planning a comedy night that has yet to happen.  Our work in the shelters is about bringing dignity, community and a breath of fresh air in a difficult place.  Often I heard participants say "I feel like I can breath when you come."  

We lost friends during Covid and emotionally it is difficult to approach this work as we are opening ourselves up to new relationships and needs, while still grieving.  This is a good example of when your partnership gives us strength to extend the love of Jesus and say "You are not alone."  

Jesus “did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant.” Philippians 2:5

We raise our own support, because our ministry is not funded through the church or nonprofits we partner with.  We cannot stop ministering to those God entrusted to us.  Our lives are poured out for the spiritual sons and daughters God has given to us, no matter what age.  As we build collaborations in our community to support the different needs facing our youth, marginalized and homeless, the need for connection, love and understanding will always remain a part of our ministry.  We are spiritual mothers and fathers asking to join us in tending & feeding His sheep.  

Your partnership will encourage creative acts of love and service in our community.   Thank you, please let us know what part of this ministry you would like to see the Lord bless!

Josh & Deb Correa