Articles, Books, and People

St. Francis of Assisi (1182-1226) 

Roger W. LowtherTokyo, Japan

December 20, 2019

St. Francis is famous for his great love for animals—Western art is full of images of him preaching to the birds—but did you know that he also created the first live nativity with real animals and people? In 1223 AD after returning from a trip to the Holy Land, he appealed to the senses of …


Vida Chenoweth (1928-2018) 

Roger W. LowtherTokyo, Japan

September 30, 2019

“Lest anyone be tempted to say ‘she gave up music for the mission field,’ let me clarify by saying, ‘I have never given up music. I cannot give up music any more than I can give up my bones! It is built in. I cannot give it up …


Redeeming the Arts (Lausanne) 

Roger W. LowtherTokyo, Japan

September 2, 2019

On September 29–October 5, 2004, the Lausanne Movement brought together missionary artists from across to globe to meet in Pattaya, Thailand to discuss the role of the arts in church planting. In many ways, this paper helped fuel a movement across the globe.


Pearls Pointing to Christ 

Roger W. LowtherTokyo, Japan

August 29, 2019

Japan Harvest, vol. 70, no. 3 (Summer 2019)


The Language of Missions 

Roger W. LowtherTokyo, Japan

July 25, 2019

Musicians, visual artists, dancers, drama students, photographers, film students, and other artists are entering the mission field at a record pace, fundamentally changing the way we do missions. How so? What makes the arts so effective at communicating truths about God and the gospel? How do the arts communicate differently than plain words? The languages of the arts, like all languages, are rooted in the language of the triune God. They reveal the nature of God, speak of his purposes, and assure us of his presence. God speaks through the arts of every language, tribe, and nation to help us know him and worship him through every culture of the world …