Access this video and other promotional resources at the bottom of this page!

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BGAV invites Virginia Baptists to lend your creativity to Art for the Not Yet—a collaborative arts project celebrating the creative heartbeat of the Church.

Inspired by our 2026 Annual Meeting theme, Heart for the Not Yet, this project gathers original works of visual art, music, poetry, spoken word, and digital expression from across our congregations—illuminating God’s heart for the world that has not yet heard, not yet believed, and not yet been transformed.

Selected works will be featured in two ways:

1. On-site Gallery Exhibition:
   A curated physical gallery at the Virginia Beach Convention Center featuring original works of art—paintings, photography, mixed media, and sculpture that can be safely hung or displayed.
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2. Digital “Graffiti” Experience:
   A dynamic, immersive projection space showcasing digital art, photography, video, and music in motion—transforming the convention center walls into a living expression of faith, beauty, and hope.

Pieces will also appear in the digital BGAV Mixtape: Heart for the Not Yet and across the BGAV website, the print newspaper Faith & Field, and Annual Meeting worship sessions.

Click the links below to get more details on each section:

Submission Guidelines

Creative Prompts for Adults and Children

Promotional Resources

Church Interest Form for Help and Ideas

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Submission Guidelines

What We’re Looking For

Original works that:

• Reflect the theme Heart for the Not Yet—exploring God’s compassion for people, places, and possibilities still waiting to be reached.
• Express creativity through visual art, music, sculpture, spoken word, video, or digital media.
• Uplift, challenge, and inspire the Church toward mission, imagination, and hope.
• Are suitable for print, projection, or physical display in a gallery or digital format.

Formats accepted:

• Written Poetry / Prose: up to 400 words
• Spoken Word / Storytelling: up to 3 minutes (MP3 or MP4)
• Music / Songwriting: up to 3 minutes (MP3 or MP4)
• Visual Art: painting, drawing, photography, or mixed media (must be hangable)
• Sculpture: freestanding or tabletop (please include dimensions and display needs)
• Digital Art / Video: up to 2 minutes (MP4, MOV, or animated formats)

File Types: MP3, MP4, MOV, JPEG, PNG, or PDF
Original work only. Please do not submit copyrighted or AI-generated content.

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How to Submit

• Deadlines:
  
  • Concepts due August 31, 2026
  • Final Works due October 1, 2026
• Submit Online
  
  • For physical art (painting, sculpture, or mixed media), submit high-quality photos of your work and note if it can be shipped or delivered for display.
  • Use the same submission form to submit work concepts (due August 31) and final works (due October 1)
  • Include:
    
    • Your name, church, and contact information
    • A short artist statement (2–3 sentences) explaining how your work connects to the theme
      

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Selection and Exhibition

Submissions will be curated by a panel of BGAV appointed by BGAV’s Program Committee.

Selected works will be:

• Displayed in the Art for the Not Yet Gallery at the 2026 BGAV Annual Meeting (Virginia Beach Convention Center, November 9–11)
• Projected as part of a digital “living graffiti” installation throughout the convention center
• Featured online through BGAV.org, Faith & Field, and social media platforms
• Included in the digital BGAV Mixtape: Heart for the Not Yet
• Live performances will be delivered at “Heart for the Not Yet” November 9-11 as a part of BGAV’s annual meeting proceedings

‍Submit your concepts and final works here!

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Creative Prompts

Download a handout of creative prompts for adults (PDF)

Download a handout of creative prompts for children (PDF)

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Reflect, pray, sing, sculpt, or create around one or more of these ideas:

The Waiting Heart

• A prayer for the one who hasn’t yet come home.
• The heartbeat of God that waits, listens, and loves long before one responds.
• What it feels like to hold faith for someone still searching.

The Edge of Belief

• The sound of faith before belief—the murmur, the longing, the almost.
• The space between doubt and trust, where God still meets us.
• When someone else’s faith carried you until you could believe.

The Church Becoming

• A congregation learning to see its neighbors again.
• The “not yet” of revival, rebirth, or reconciliation.
• How your church is still being formed—like clay in the potter’s hands.

The Work Before the Harvest

• The plow before the planting. The planting before the praise.
• A reflection on small, faithful beginnings that are yet unseen.
• The quiet labor of love that prepares the soil for the fruit of future generations.

The Mission Still Unfolding‍

• The person, community, or calling you can’t stop thinking about—what is your “not yet?”
• The gospel’s unfinished story in your town, state, country, or world.
• What it means or how it feels to have a heart big enough for the world God still loves into being.

The Creative Heart of God

• How art, music, or written words can open doors where sermons can’t.
• The rhythm of creation—“Let there be…”—echoing through your own craft.
• A reimagining of God’s heart for the next generation of dreamers, artists, and builders.

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Promotional Resources for Churches and Individuals

Help us spread the word with creatives in your local communities by using the following promotional resources!

Graphics

• Promo Slide (16:9, JPG)
• Promo Ad (5x7, PDF)
• Social Media Graphic (4:5, JPG)
• Promo Video (Vimeo, 1:00 length)

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Sample Church Announcement

Good morning! If you’re an artist, photographer, poet, musician—or just someone who loves creating—we want to invite you to be part of Art for the Not Yet, a creative collaboration connected to BGAV’s 2026 Annual Meeting theme, Heart for the Not Yet.

We’re looking for original works that help the church imagine God’s heart for people and places still waiting to be reached. Selected pieces will be featured in an art exhibit and digital experience at the Annual Meeting.

To learn more or get involved, visit bgav.org/artfornotyet.

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Sample Social Media Post

Calling all artists and creatives!

What does it look like to imagine God’s heart for people and places still waiting to be reached? Art for the Not Yet is inviting painters, photographers, poets, musicians, and creatives of every kind to create original work inspired by the theme Heart for the Not Yet.

Selected pieces will be featured in a gallery exhibit and digital experience at BGAV’s 2026 Annual Meeting—and shared across BGAV platforms to help the church see, pray for, and move toward the “not yet.”

To learn more or get involved, visit bgav.org/artfornotyet.

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Sample Service Series Resource

Melrose Baptist Church in Roanoke, VA, offered the Heart for the Not Yet series as a worshipful invitation to pray, reflect, and create around the theological prompts connected to BGAV’s Art for the Not Yet arts collective initiative. Churches may use this resource to help determine how the creative prompts might take shape in their own worship and congregational life. Church leaders are welcome to adapt, simplify, or reimagine these materials for their own context as they invite members to engage prayerfully and creatively with God’s heart for the people, places, and possibilities still unfolding. Special thanks to Rev. Mark Mofield and Rev. Dr. Connie Cruze for providing this resource.

Download the Sample Service Series resource (PDF)

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Church Projects and Creative Workshops

Does your church want to participate in Art for the Not Yet, but you're not sure how? Let us help you! BGAV’s “Art for the Not Yet” Task Force can provide fun, easy ways you and your church can participate in this exciting opportunity! Fill out the “Art for the Not Yet” interest form at the link below so the Task Force can get in touch with you to discuss your options.‍

Complete the Art for the Not Yet church interest form.

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