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Do the creative arts have the power to move a heart toward God? A man who had been an atheist for many years told of how he sat in church, week after week, unconvinced about the truth of the gospel. One weekend at church, they showed a video. It was a low-tech clay animation video about a small figure that walks along and looks up in the sky with wonder and concern. The figure turns around and leaves the scene, only to return with an armful of gifts. He holds the gifts high in the air and then lowers them with sadness as if the gifts were somehow inadequate.

The figure leaves the scene once again to return this time with a handful of money. He again holds the money up to the sky and then has the same sad reaction. Finally, he has a "light bulb" moment and leaves the scene for the final time. When he returns, his arms are empty. Looking up to heaven, he stands and reaches into his clay chest, pulling out his heart. He holds his heart up high and waits. Then a large hand reaches down to him and scoops him up as the small clay figure smiles with joy.

After the video ended, the man realized that his shirt was wet with tears; he had been captivated. The video had captured his heart in a way nothing else had. This simple clay animation video caused this man to give his life to Christ that day. That man's name is Lee Strobel. Since then, he has gone on to be one of the most popular authors and Christian apologists in the world.

Many people (myself included) feel close to God when we watch something beautiful; we engage in worship when we watch a video depicting a life changing video story or when we read Scripture on a screen with accompanying music. When I stepped into my current position as the Creative Arts Director at Calvary Community Church, my goal was to create "God moments" in our weekend services; moments that bring people into the presence of God. It is both a huge joy and a challenge to come up with such impactful moments each and every weekend all year long. In our church, we understand that the preaching of the gospel is the center of what we do during weekend services. However, it's up to the creative team to communicate the written word by utilizing various elements of the arts. Jesus taught in parables and sometimes our dramas and or videos are just that—modern day parables. This helps engage and compel creative artistic types towards spiritual transformation.

That said, I want to acknowledge that although our hearts are hopefully in the right places, we creative artists can fall prey to overprogramming. This is where we fill too much space with cool creative stuff. A great service can and should have reflective moments—spaces for the Spirit of God to dwell and work in people's hearts. I know what you're thinking: "We only have seventy minutes and so much to accomplish." Yes, but be careful not to overpower the service with too much programming.

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