At Real Life Ministries, a nondenominational church based in Post Falls, Idaho, members are using their creative gifts for the Lord, learning new talents, and making disciples along the way.
“We are big on discipleship through relationship. In every single thing that we do, in every single ministry, it’s about relationship first,” says Justin Kreissig, Real Life Ministries’ creative arts ministry lead.
The idea for a ministry based in the arts came around 2019 when the church’s executive team and elders realized that many church members possessed untapped creative talents. The church launched its Creative Arts Ministry with classes in guitar, drumming, and piano. Today, participants can take classes for a nominal fee in pottery, woodworking, painting, vocals, and playing musical instruments. In one painting class, students paint each stage of the creation story in Genesis 1. All classes are taught by volunteers.
One day each year, the church holds its Creative Discovery event where local residents can come to the church and discover their own gifts by trying their hand at various artistic pursuits. Kreissig himself taught an improvisation class for the first Creative Discovery event.
Additionally, the ministry operates a creative camp for kids and the Creative Arts Ministry choir, which performs throughout the city. The ministry advertises its events via Facebook and other forms of social media.
One such event is a mystery dinner theater. In a recent performance, the plot involved characters searching for a missing ring.
“Between each scene, the people at the tables—who may not know each other—[are prompted to] have conversations with each other,” says Kreissig.
He recalls one young woman who visited the church for the first time through the mystery dinner theater. Now she is in a church life group.
“We are a top-of-the-funnel ministry,” he says. “It’s not to walk everyone through to spiritual maturity and discipleship, but it’s getting them started.”
