This Is Our City

What surprised Zempel and Roberts was how many Christian artists in New York keep their faith a secret or separate it from their creative practice. The Bible is often dismissed as a source of inspiration by non-Christian and Christian artists alike.

"There are a lot of people in the city who are afraid of letting the cat out of the bag that they are a Christian," says Zempel. "Because they think it will affect their art career. I think that's a little bit of a myth. And God doesn't want us to hide. He's taking care of us."

Spark and Echo enables Christians to bring their faith into their art within a supportive community. "We're surprised at how many artists who are Christian have never created art on the Bible. They keep their art and their faith in really separate camps. This is a great excuse to explore those together. I think it's made the community stronger."

A Greater Story of Light

When you decide to engage with every verse of the Bible, surprises and challenges are bound to emerge. Roberts and Zempel realize that more difficult passages will be confronted as the project unfolds. Musician Cameron DeWhitt responded to the Gospel story of Jesus cursing the fig tree, a passage that has baffled many interpreters. His song, "Fig Tree," asks why God sometimes does things that don't make sense.

Dark or sorrowful passages of the Old Testament require the trust of the audience and the ability to see the project as a whole.

"It has been a challenge and it will continue to be a challenge to our audience to stand by the project and stand by the artists who are responding to passages that are very unsavory," says Roberts. "We hope that people will understand the project well enough and that we'll explain it clearly enough that they will be on board. We hope that they'll say, 'This is worthwhile to respond to this passage that is full of darkness. That specific moment is part of a greater story of light, but that moment is full of darkness.'"

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