The Vision for The Worship Studio: Raising Up Artisans to Reveal God's Glory
During a season of crying out the Lord for revelation about my calling and my place in the Kingdom, the Father woke me up 2 mornings in a row at around 3:09 am -3:10 am. The song that was playing in my head was a song by Jason Upton called “Lion of Judah” where it says “Raise up an army, raise up an army, raise up an army like Joel saw!” On the second morning, I went to my studio and opened up the Bible to Joel 3:09 (NLT) and sure enough, here is what it said:
9 Say to the nations far and wide:
“Get ready for war!
Call out your best warriors.
Let all your fighting men advance for the attack.
10 Hammer your plowshares into swords
and your pruning hooks into spears.
Train even your weaklings to be warriors.
11 Come quickly, all you nations everywhere.
Gather together in the valley.”
And now, O Lord, call out your warriors!
12 “Let the nations be called to arms.
Let them march to the valley of Jehoshaphat.
There I, the Lord, will sit
to pronounce judgment on them all.
13 Swing the sickle,
for the harvest is ripe.[a]
Come, tread the grapes,
for the winepress is full.
The storage vats are overflowing
with the wickedness of these people.”
The Lord told me I was to go to the nations, gather the warriors and the weaklings – the master artisans and the emerging artisans – and raise up an army of artisans to reveal His Glory in the earth. He showed me how in this passage of scripture, warriors and those that saw themselves as weak were being called together to take whatever was in their hands – the normal tools of their trade (plowshares & pruning hooks) – and turn them into instruments of war. The Father then showed me that this movement of artisans was pivotal to His end-time purposes of bringing in the great harvest in our generation.
Camp Out By the River of God
The next morning, the Father woke me up again early. While I was praying, the Lord told me to go to Ezekiel 47 and I began to read about the Healing Waters and the River of God. In this passage the Lord describes how there are mighty trees planted by the water, how they yield fruit every month and how their leaves are for the healing of the nations. That’s when the Lord told me that our job at The Worship Studio was to “camp out by the river of God”. He said He would plant master artisans like mighty oak trees in The Worship Studio and their shade would bring comfort and rest to emerging artisans as they gathered around. Then I looked up and saw the wind blowing through the trees. The Lord told me that these master artisans – mighty trees – would spawn many branches (artisans) and fruit (art). He said “And every leaf will sing a little different, paint a little different, dance a little different as the wind of my Spirit blows through the trees. And the leaves will be used for the healing of the nations.”
With these 2 clear mandates from the Lord, The Worship Studio was born. Since then, God has continued to clarify the vision and strategy for ministry.
The Purpose of The Worship Studio Movement
The Worship Studio is:
• An Equipping Resource for Artisans
• A Catalyst for Creativity in the Kingdom
• A Hub for Creative Communities
Our vision is to encourage and equip artisans to form creative communities committed to fostering personal wholeness, engaging the Holy Spirit in their creative process, artistic skill development and releasing the Glory of God through creative expression.
The Strategy of The Worship Studio Movement
God has given us a 3-fold strategy for ministry in order to effectively lead artists into the fullness of what God has for their lives and creativity. The strategy includes: Wholeness, Prophecy & Creative Skill.
• Wholeness
God desires for all people to walk in complete freedom and wholeness. Through loving community, relationships, healing ministry and accountability artists will come into a deeper measure of wholeness in their life.
o "10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly" John 10:10
• Prophecy
As artists are coming into wholeness, we encourage them to hear and engage the Holy Spirit in order to understand His desire for their life and creative expression. Out of those encounters with the Lord, artists learn to respond to the voice of the Holy Spirit through their life and unique creative expression, revealing the Testimony of Jesus in the earth.
o "For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” Revelation 19:10
• Creative Skill
In the spirit of Bezalel & Oholiab & the musicians in the Tabernacle of David, we encourate artisans to minister skillfully before the Lord as they create and worship through creative expression. Through mentoring and training relationships with master artisans, participation in learning opportunities and practice, we will train artists to become master artisans within their chosen medium.
o "See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, 3 and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts- 4 to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, 5 to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of craftsmanship." Exodus 31:2-5
How Does It Look?
Our desire is to see creative communities established all over the world who share the same DNA, commitment and passion to raising up an army of artists to reveal the Glory of God in the earth as we do. God is mobilizing all of us for His purposes in our generation as we form this network of creative communities around the world. By design, every artist and consequently, every creative community will be a little different depending on the artisans God uses to establish the community and their collective passion.
The first studio we formed, in Canton, Georgia (NW Metro Atlanta) is actually a working artist community with art classes, monthly worship opportunities, classes & workshops and more located in a physical building on 2 acres. Other communities that are springing up are simply groups of artisans who gather at a local coffee shop or home to discuss their faith, art and life. The beauty of being a part of an artist community is that each community can be as unique as the artisans involved. The sky is the limit!
We are currently working on the development of a school in Asheville that will serve as the headquarters for The Worship Studio, including worship, training with master artisans, workshops, seminars, conferences and retreats, personal ministry and mentoring. Our dream is that God would raise up an epi-center of creativity and anointing that would be a deep well of blessing and healing for artisans around the world.
What About You?
Are you passionate about seeing a creative community form in your local area? For more resources on forming a creative community in your local area, please http://www.theworshipstudio.org/about/communities
To be a part of The Worship Studio Community, we simply ask that you align your creative community with the values outlined on the website above, including:
• Our DNA for Ministry as described in our Vision & Strategy
• Offering the “Artisan” Series in your Community
• Fostering Creative Community Among Artisans
• Collaboration & Support Among Communities
