Vanuatu is a cluster of islands in the South Pacific and home to the Gud Nius Yunivesiti Felosip (GNYF), our IFES movement. Most of our country is still populated by small, subsistence-farming communities, and only a tiny portion will ever be involved in tertiary education (<1%). Many students will come to university having grown up in churches their whole lives, but still unsure of how to listen carefully to God’s Word and sometimes unclear on exactly who Jesus is or why our love, trust, and knowledge of him is vital. Even at the tertiary level, our students don’t really enjoy sustained engagement with written texts, preferring to hear and talk about what matters.
We wanted to devote a year to intentionally sharing the gospel with our friends and classmates on campus in ways that fit the relational nature of the islands and the strong oral preference in learning, as well as helping people engage with Jesus by piercing through the ‘church background noise’. We decided on a Melanesian version of ‘Uncover’ (a well-received gospel distribution project) called ?Huia Jisas?—Who is Jesus? While this focused mainly on students sharing stories from Mark with other students, we also planned some key public events that would connect our networks with the wider university community in a ‘Vanuatu’ way.
One of the traditional ways of imparting knowledge in Vanuatu is sandroing (or bwatiuli in the Raga language from Pentecost Island). This involves making patterns in the ground with a finger to leave messages, share information, or pass on significant stories. Our idea was to use this local artform to convey the gospel stories we wanted our friends and classmates to hear. We connected with a local bwatiuli expert, Uncle Edgar, to develop four new patterns that reflected four themes from those gospel narratives: sin, forgiveness, reconciliation, and rule.
After a few weeks of reading and discussing the Mark narratives with Uncle Edgar, we presented these new patterns during a special event at our regional university campus. Our staff worker and students told four key stories from Mark, then Uncle Edgar introduced us to a traditional-style story and song he’d composed. It described two people (representing us and God) in a relationship that had broken but been reconciled. As he played the bamboo flute and shared each part of the story, he carefully drew the complex arcs and shapes representing the characters and concepts of what was being told.
As far as we (or Uncle Edgar) know, this is the first time that sandroing has been used in collaboration with and to share the Scriptures. He is excited to take these stories and patterns to his church so that Vanuatu can hear—and see—the good news of Jesus, settled in their hearts and etched in their land.
Tag Archives: Arts
From Caribbean region: The Artistic Bible Study Method
I am happy to share with you an approach we use in the CARIFES region called “The Artistic Bible study method”. It was developed to guide students into the Scriptures from an artistic point of view.
This way of reading can help participants appreciate the details of a passage, while learning to communicate that appreciation in a creative and easy way. What remains of central importance is that we are engaging in the process of exploration. As an additional benefit, students may discover a new talent and enjoy the experience.
However, allow me a few words of caution before explaining this method further. While it is good, this approach may not be adequate in all cases, and it is the leader’s responsibility to manage the choice of texts accordingly. The goal is for participants to respond to the Bible passage using multiple senses and from different perspectives, increasing the possibilities for more comprehensive appreciation of the material. As it is not a rigid method, variations can be tested and implemented.
Regarding the tools needed, every participant should have paper, pencils, and pens in different colours. If tablets are available, these could also be used.
In the first stage, participants must explore and focus on the chosen text for 5 minutes. This time allows each person to consider their understanding of the passage and how they might express that understanding in their drawing. After this, participants should be given enough time to recreate their ideas on paper and share them with the group.
Some questions that can prompt reflection and creative response include:
– Are there any keywords that catch my attention?
– What is clear or not clear?
– What relevant information or important events do I see in the passage?
– What does this mean and how is this speaking to me?
When everybody has shared and explained their drawings, there is an opportunity for what we call “Debate”. Every participant will share one thought about each drawing, considering questions such as:
– Which drawing speaks to you? Why?
– What is your favourite? Why?
– What would you do differently?
Finally, we have what is called “Go Further”. In this stage, participants have the chance to draw something new about the passage and explain what about it is different and why. As an alternative to the ‘’Debate’’, after finishing their first drawings, the group can study the text using the traditional method of ‘’Observation, Interpretation, and Application’’, after which they should complete a second drawing for discussion.
We have tested this method during a training session with students in the region and, according to the survey taken at the end of this training, it was their favourite part. I was impressed with how clearly their drawings expressed the students’ understanding of the text, but also how diverse and rich lessons from the same text can be.
Jean-Davy Frair
CARIFES regional staff team as a Francophone Staff
Scripture Engagement: Power, Poetry and People in South Asia
“Build me up, Lord, keep me firmly rooted
So the truth I’ve found doesn’t become diluted
Let me abound in grace and wisdom
So I may not concede to a worldly system
Lord, make me stronger, take me farther and deeper,
Establish my steps, so I may be a way keeper”
[Excerpt from poem by ST – Artwork by Timaandra Wijesuriya]
You might recognise the verses that inspired ST to write this poem!
ST is a member of the IFES South Asia Scripture Engagement Multipliers Network which is made up of student ministry staff and graduate volunteers. Together we explore how God engages the hearts and minds of South Asians through his Word.
At a recent gathering of the Network, we reflected on Paul’s letter to the Colossians and its impact on us today. We noticed the underlying themes of power and wisdom in the letter and how Paul helps the small Christian community in Colossae to recognize Jesus as the true source of power and wisdom.
This sparked a discussion on where power rests in South Asian society (political entities, family relationships, social structures, memories and interpretations of history, etc.) and how we witness to Jesus and God’s kingdom in the midst of this reality.
We recognized the importance of letting the word of God dwell amongst us in a communal setting (Colossians 3:16) and how God uses those conversations to reveal the fault lines in our communities as well as in areas of our personal lives that need transformation.
For South Asian Christians – who form small, minority communities in their respective countries – this experience was both challenging and encouraging. In shame-oriented and violent cultures, airing personal and community issues presents a challenge. However, the witness of Paul, whose imprisonment by Roman authorities did not stop him proclaiming the universal Lordship of Jesus, was deeply encouraging.
As is evident in ST’s poem, itself inspired by reading Paul’s letter to the Colossians, God’s living Word continues to speak and minister to us in our various situations.
In the coming year, the IFES South Asia Scripture Engagement Multipliers hope to continue to meet, reflect on, and listen to God’s direction through his Word. In our gatherings, we want to spend time exploring Scripture engagement in terms of:
• Creative expression – exploring the interaction between the Scriptures and artistic expression (poetry, song, dance, drama, digital media etc.)
• Spiritual formation – exploring how the Scriptures lead us into greater personal intimacy with God and maturity in Christ
• Contextual engagement – exploring how the Scriptures speaks into the issues present in South Asian societies and mindsets
We’d value your prayers as we take these next steps together… and encourage you to share in this journey by reading Colossians in your contexts!
Yohan Abeynaike
Scripture Engagement Lead – IFES South Asia
Art & Word: A Creative Dialogue
Since 2016, CECE Ecuador has been looking for ways of intentionally promoting spaces and processes to create a dialogue between faith and art. These spaces have happened at national camps, Student Formación events and as an integral part of the Bible study resources that are used every semester on campus. The main goal is to establish a dialogue between a passage of Scripture and visual art, so that God’s Word becomes more real and changes students’ lives. This can happen by creating their own art as a response to the text or reflecting on someone else’s work of art. We noticed that it was important, and that many students needed this dialogue and to incorporate faith and art into their lives. We also realised that, for some people, visual elements are key when they engage with Scripture, as well as reading the text out loud.
We also aim to offer training in art and faith, to reflect God’s character as Creator and to place our art in God’s great story and the reconciliation of all of creation.
During the pandemic we organised several workshops and presented an online exhibition created by students, on a dialogue with Deuteronomy. Other workshops that we organised included themes such as the art of creating, artist’s vocation, justice and art, and a celebration of Advent by integrating elements of art and liturgy.
We also want to pique people’s curiosity and encourage conversations with students who are not Christians. We want to use art to create spaces where you can engage with the gospel, not only by hearing but also seeing. It has been great to see artists of different abilities taking part in this dialogue, and to see the impact it has had on their lives as a result of the dialogue between Scripture and their art.
Here are two examples of visual art created as a dialogue between two passages of Scripture in Acts and Deuteronomy. We are also giving you the link to our website (in Spanish), where you can learn more about this creative process with a theological approach, from the point of view of university students.
Artist: Kerly Cando
Title: La Verdadera Iglesia (The True Church)
Bible passage in the dialogue: Acts 10, during CECE’s National Camp in March 2021
Link: here
Artist: Juan Esteban Vásquez
Title: Tierra de Todos (Everyone’s Land)
Bible passage in the dialogue: Deuteronomy 23, after the Student Formación Event in September 2020
Link: here
Ruth Tobar, Pastoral staff worker and member of the CECE Faith & Art Dialogue Team.