​J” and the “C” at the start of JC Creative Art Ministry are taken from the initials of our names, Joji and Chihiro,

but are also the initials of Jesus Christ. We named our ministry this because each of us is an artist created by God,

just as Jesus was an artist on this earth, and also because we want to preach the Gospel to the world through creative ideas

and expression which we believe God has given us.

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We are currently working as Japanese missionaries at Evangelical Protestant church in Auckland, New Zealand. Auckland is a multi-cultural and multi-ethnic city, and it is here that we started a ministry to spread the Gospel creatively through art.

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When viewed the history of Christian Church, the culture of art has not been handed down in the Protestant Church

since the time of the Reformation, except in the non-formative arts such as literature, music, dance, and drama.

While these are wonderful cultural forms, we want to tell people about Jesus through diverse forms of art,

without limiting ourselves only to these.

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Also, when observing the history of art, irrespective of the era, it is possible to ask the question what true beauty is in relation to the existing beauty and values ​​created by that society. And what is the expression of this true beauty?

The extraordinary artists who have engaged with this eternal theme have, through their revolutionary creative power,

given birth to unprecedented new beauty and new values, and for the sake of this artistic expression, they have struggled a lot. 

In this, there was the will to investigate beauty quite tirelessly;

there was the creativity that turns things upside down while sensing the spirit of the age

without becoming caught up in its common practices. 

 

People desire this kind of creativity or innovation in contemporary society,

which is characterized by opaqueness, instability, and the inability to know what will happen tomorrow. 

This is what art is. 

 

Christ lived 2,000 years ago in a strict, artificial and legal society that was created by the Jewish religious community living under the tyranny of the Roman Empire. However, Jesus changed human life on a fundamental level through the love of God. Actually,

he completely transformed society, the times, and the world in that age. And this is also true for contemporary times.

While he was on the earth in a human body, Christ crucified himself on the cross - on the earth in a human body,

Christ allowed himself to be crucified for the forgiveness of our sins by the shedding of his blood.

Christ rose from the dead 3 days later;

Jesus said: “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” That's true.

His life, his words, his actions were truly revolutionary.

This is what art is! 

 

Jesus Christ is an Artist!! 

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And for us, living in this time of confusion,

Christ is the light of the world that illuminates a path to Jesus who gives eternal life.

So, our desire is to share and preach about Jesus Christ through art.

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