One Friday night last May, Grace Pike was finalizing the details for a Christianity Today Inkwell event that would shortly bring over 200 people to a space in downtown Colorado Springs. While she prepped, one of the evening’s guest artists, writer and photographer Lancia E. Smith, approached her, and the two connected in person for the first time.
They marveled at Inkwell and its unique ability to bring together Christian writers, artists, and creatives. Smith enthusiastically took Pike’s hands and shared her belief that the impact of Inkwell would extend far beyond that night.
“She expressed a strong sense that the Lord was doing something in the art community of Colorado Springs,” Pike recalled.
Inkwell is part of Christianity Today’s Next Gen Initiative, which aims to advance a captivating vision of following Jesus for the next generation. Inkwell has several offerings in addition to Inkwell Evenings—Inkwell Online (formerly Ekstasis); Inkwell Annual, a print edition; and Inkwell Local, a network of ongoing local gatherings. For Christians like Grace, Inkwell has been an invaluable community.
“It was a joy to come alongside my community in cultivating a space where Christians could celebrate the beauty, truth, and goodness reflected in the arts—all with the aim of glorifying the Lord,” she said.
Nearly a year after the event, which also featured musician Joel Ansett; photographers Venson Chapman, Meegan Dobson, and Maddy Montoya; and writers Amy Baik Lee, Soren Johnson, Alyssa Shikles, and Nicole Hunka, Pike remembers the audience lingering afterward, energized by the discovery of fellow Christians committed to their crafts. Many approached her, offering their email addresses or business cards, eager to know when the next Inkwell gathering would be and how they could stay connected beyond the event.
“Some artists in that room have since displayed their work around the city, thanks to the connections they made,” she said. “Others have been inspired to create art drawn from the experience.”
A native of Alabama, Pike hadn’t lived in Colorado Springs for long when she offered to host Inkwell. She had previously volunteered with Ekstasis, which was founded by Conor Sweetman and later acquired by Christianity Today. Inkwell first appeared on Pike’s radar after a seminary friend mentioned making a submission.
Pike later published her own poetry and soon became an Inkwell ambassador. In November 2023, she attended the Renaissance Conference in London alongside Sweetman and other volunteers.
“I saw firsthand the value of gathering Christ-centered artists and dreamers,” she wrote on LinkedIn later. “I didn’t know how or when, but I knew I wanted to work towards creating that opportunity for my community in Colorado.”
A couple of months later, she met with eight other creatives, many representing different churches, to pray about organizing an Inkwell event in Colorado Springs. The group continued to regularly meet to pray, plan, and worship leading up to the event. After setting the date, Sweetman realized it would overlap with the C. S. Lewis Writer’s Conference, a gathering for people who would also enjoy Inkwell, and invited its keynote speakers to participate.
“An in-person gathering like Inkwell offers a rare and sacred opportunity,” she said. “It brings together creativity, collaboration, and a shared focus on what is true and lasting. In that space, something happens—an environment is formed where people can come, partake, and delight together. It heals. It gives hope.”
That evening, the essay and poetry readings echoed with a quiet strength, many reflecting on God’s power to mend and renew, to bring flourishing out of suffering.
“Suffering wears on the soul,” Pike reflected. “It can feel like we forget to lift our eyes. There’s so much brokenness, so much that is not as it should be. And yet, when we come alongside one another and say, ‘There are still stories that are good and true—stories that reflect the great Story, the gospel,’ something shifts. Hope finds a foothold. And that’s the kind of good Christianity Today is nurturing here.”
Much of the art showcased at Inkwell captured Colorado’s natural beauty. Inspired by a photographer’s capture of evergreens, one attendee has since crafted a series of textile works proclaiming God’s glory through general revelation. Another attendee is currently working on a video project addressing mental health in the Church.
Pike is passionate about in-person connections rooted in community and is eager to see these sparks of inspiration grow into something sustainable in the coming year, such as monthly Inkwell Community gatherings. Though the past year has been full, including planning and celebrating her wedding, she has stayed in touch with many of her co-organizers, and they hope to launch something formally this summer or fall.
“While preparing for Inkwell and in the days since,” she said, “I’ve reflected on one of my favorite quotes from Conor: ‘As humans, God has embedded a hunger for beauty in our spirit, and we will satisfy it one way or another. As God’s people, we should prepare and host the feast.’”
