About
Hymn & Hue did not start as a product. It started as a real arts ministry at a real church, and the tool grew out of the work.
The name holds what the ministry receives. Hymn is song and worship. Hue is paint and image. Together they make room for the written word too, and, said aloud, they sound like Him and You, which is a fair description of what happens when a person makes something for God: you and Him, creating together.
The founder of Hymn & Hue has been an active member in a visual and literary ministry at Fellowship Bible Church in Northwest Arkansas called Spectra Arts. For over a decade, the ministry has provided a place for artists to dive deeply into the upcoming sermon series, build community, share their gifts, and minister to others through their art. A multi-campus church, each congregation does it a little differently, but the overriding idea is seasonal submissions from a variety of artists, displayed in the buildings and online. Combined with meet ups, show and tell, peer-taught classes, and other community elements, it celebrates and welcomes artists into ministry.
Like most ministries, it ran on the goodwill of passionate, but overworked staff and volunteers, and a great deal of manual effort: collecting submissions, deciding what to display, protecting people's privacy, making signage, publishing, and remembering what had been shown before.
The vision was never the problem. The logistics were. So we built the tool that carries the logistics, and refined it with the artists who take part and the leaders who envision and run these programs.
An arts ministry is not a nice extra. Scripture takes making seriously from cover to cover. When God commissioned the tabernacle, He called Bezalel and Oholiab by name and filled them, along with a company of skilled craftsmen, with the Spirit to work in gold, fabric, stone, and wood (Exodus 31:1-6). The Psalms are themselves a body of creative art, poetry set to music and played skillfully on strings (Psalm 33:3), and they call the whole earth to praise God with instrument and voice (Psalm 150). Jesus Himself worked as a craftsman before He preached, known in Nazareth simply as the carpenter (Mark 6:3). And working apostles like Paul supported their ministry with their hands, making tents beside those they were reaching (Acts 18:3).
This kind of ministry is quite unique among churches, which is part of what makes it powerful. It builds community, it puts God-given gifts to work, it pastors through beauty as well as words, and it can be a sustainable program that helps you reach your community. Every church should be able to run one without hiring for it. That is the whole point of Hymn & Hue.
Hymn & Hue is a product of Well Made Decisions, an independent studio that builds practical, well-crafted software for real communities and small organizations.
Whether you are dreaming one up or already running one on sticky notes and goodwill, we would love to help.