Art celebrates creation at Wayside Baptist Church exhibit

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Among the art exhibited at Wayside Baptist Church in Miami April 25-27 was the oil on canvas, “Discovering Creation,” by Wayside member 19-year-old George Hustus. His twin brother, William, also was one of the 30 artists showcased in the exhibit that sought to promote the biblical account of Creation. Read the story on page 5.

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“Yellow Splendor” (above) by artist Berta Pitt was the logo for the Miami’s Wayside Baptist Church exhibit. She was among more than 30 who displayed works of art April 25-27.

MIAMI (FBW)—In an effort to equip church members to defend their faith in the God of creation, Wayside Baptist Church in Miami declared April “Creation Month.” The culmination of the emphasis was an art exhibit, “The Inspiration of Creation,” April 25-27.

The event, planned with the help of the Emerging Artists’ League of South Florida, has been on the church calendar since January, according to Leigh Byers, director of preschool and children’s ministries at Wayside and one of the exhibit’s organizers.

They could not have known that the movie, “Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed,” would open the week before the exhibit, or that the Florida Legislature would be debating the academic freedom to question evolution in the state’s schools as the art was viewed—Byers said.

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The oldest exhibiting artist, Wayside member Martha Howl, 84, painted “Ancient But Wise”. She was among more than 30 who displayed works of art April 25-27.

“We wanted to throw a big rock into the water so that our people would be educated on the issue. The timing of this was certainly talked about behind the scenes,” Byers said.

More than 100 art works were showcased on movable partitions, easels and on carpeted gym walls. The gym was decorated with a gazebo, park benches and plants, as a steady stream of visitors perused the art.

The church also provided promotional space in the gym for the Miami Baptist Association, Christian Coalition of South Florida, LifeWay Christian Resources and Wayside Vacation Bible School registration.

Thirty artists—ages seven to 84—were featured in the exhibit catalog along with photos of their art. Eighty-four-year-old Martha Howl exhibited a painting of Jesus that she completed in 1948. Although not all the exhibitors are Christians, all the artists were aware of the intention of the event to promote the biblical account of Creation, Byers said.

The month-long emphasis included two sermons by Pastor Brandon Park: “Revolution Against Evolution” and “Who’s Your Daddy? Adam or Ape?” Creation Science Ministries’ speaker Bob Swinson preached April 27. In addition to the sermons on the issue, the youth education center on the church campus was transformed into the Planetarium Experience, with video screens and surround sound, that extolled the enormity of the universe.

Park, pastor at Wayside Baptist since October, said the principle purpose of the creation emphasis was to “equip our people with facts and evidence to be able to defend their faith.”

“We want to build their credibility when they get into a dialog with people of another belief system,” Park said.