Art and Business Fellowships

Connect your faith to your work

We believe that our faith should be part of everything we do—especially our work. We were made to work, creating and cultivating culture to bring glory to God and to serve others. To support and help you implement your faith into your work, we’ve designed the Art and Business as Mission Fellowships. This program has two tracks—one for artists and one for entrepreneurs—and runs for nine months, from September – May. It includes office space and opportunities for development and networking, and applicants must be able to dedicate 15 hours a week to the fellowship.

Applications are closed.

All fellows are required to participate in the Training Program and must fill out a separate application for it.

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Goals

  • Participate in the story of God’s Kingdom. We want our fellows to have a greater sense of the role of their vocation within the kingdom of God.
  • Appreciate a distinctly Christian approach to their work. We want our fellows to understand and appreciate how their faith influences and enriches their vocation.
  • Create something that will have a positive, meaningful impact on the church and city. We want our fellows to complete a tangible cultural artifact or business.

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Opportunities

  • Workspace – Each fellow will be given a monthly stipend for a workspace. Art fellows will work at the Mill Street House in Lewisville, Texas, and business fellows will work at the Dallas Entrepreneur Center in Dallas, Texas.
  • Slack channels – Fellows will have access to The Village Communications Team’s channel where they share interesting and inspiring work and a channel devoted to collaboration, idea sharing and discussion between the Art and Entrepreneur Fellows.
  • Training Program – All fellows will be required to participate in The Village Church Institute's Training Program and will be in a cohort together. You must fill out both the fellowship application and Training Program application.
  • Mentorship – Executive Director Kent Rabalais will meet with each fellow to discuss the growth and development of their projects. Fellows will also have opportunities to learn best practices from local artists/business people.

Who Is This For?

Though no one entering the fellowship will be in the exact same stage of life, ideal candidates will be on the cusp of their vocations, with both a need for spiritual and career development.

Art Track

For over 1,000 years, the Church was at the center of supporting the cultivation of the true, the good and the beautiful. Over the last few centuries, as beauty was relegated to the sidelines for pragmatic concerns, the Church has waned in her interest and investment in this important, God-exalting work. The Art as Mission Fellowship is our attempt to recover the Church’s role in commissioning and championing the arts and to strategically support “culture making” through artists here in DFW.

Milestones for Art Fellows

  • Art for the Church – By the end of the first semester, we expect that the artist will have created one significant “piece” that could be used for the edification of our church. (e.g., installation at campus(ses), video, story, performance, etc.)
  • Art from the Church – By the end of the second semester, we expect that the artist will be able to present their work to a collection of their peers, contemporaries and fellow citizens in a public form that is conducive to their medium (e.g., gallery, reading, recital, etc.).

Click here for a look at work done by a former Art as Mission Fellow.

Business Track

We believe that the kingdom of God is being built day by day and that Christians are empowered by the triune God to be priests and prophets, heralding the good news of Jesus and acting as ministers of reconciliation in culture. We also believe entrepreneurs are strategically positioned to have a unique multiplying effect on our cities. The Business as Mission Fellowship is our attempt to recognize the unique gospel-centered multiplication opportunity entrusted to entrepreneurs and intentionally invest in them as they seek to glorify God in their work.

Milestones for Business Fellows

  • Business for the City – By the end of the fellowship, we expect the entrepreneur to understand more about how their vocation uniquely serves the kingdom of God.
  • Share a completed business plan with at least five potential investors if an investment is needed.
  • Grow a business. If the entrepreneur joins the fellowship with revenue already coming into their business, the goal for the time would be to see revenue increased, even if it’s a small increase.

Business Fellows

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Josh Womack

Josh owns Womack Financial, LLC, providing investment management services to his clients. He is a member at the Dallas Northway campus and lives in Dallas with his wife and sons.

What has been the most helpful aspect of being in this year's fellowship?

“Seeing and learning things from completely new perspectives! It has been really cool to do book studies and share struggles and successes with brothers and sisters from very different walks of life. Combining business people with art people was so eye-opening and provided really amazing insights. I wish we had more time together and I hope we can keep our conversations going in some capacity.”

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Katina Sullivan

Katina owns Kreative Kid Zone, which provides educational opportunities for kids, and Windows & Beyond, an interior design business. She is a member at the Plano campus and lives in Frisco with her daughters.

What has been the most helpful aspect of being in this year's fellowship?

“Several aspects of the fellowship have been very helpful. I have gained much from meeting various entrepreneurs, hearing their journeys and wisdom they’ve given based off of their successes and failures, as well as being able to ask them questions and get their insights on specific topics. Reading great books and discussing how they impact our various industries and lives has broadened my thinking in many ways. While these and other aspects have been highlights of this fellowship, I would have to say the most beneficial aspect has been getting to know the diverse group of other fellows and hearing about their challenges and successes as we all journey to build our businesses with a gospel purpose.”

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Travis Bryant

Travis owns Travis Bryant Fine Furniture Design, a custom woodworking business. He is a member at the Dallas Northway campus and lives in Dallas with his wife and daughter. He is passionate about training at-risk young men refugees in his trade so that they have the skills to provide for themselves and their families.

What has been the most helpful aspect of being in this year's fellowship?

“The relationships that the fellowship foster are a highlight for me. Having opportunities to build mentor relationships and meeting men and women who have walked or are walking down the same road as I’m trying to have provided so much encouragement to explore entrepreneurship. But building a right theology of work and artistry and ministry is the foundation of the fellowship, and with that comes the accountability to step out in faith and take risks to see what God has gifted me in and find out where He might be leading my life.”

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JT Hardcastle

JT owns The Real Estate Project, where he and his agents give 25% of their home selling proceeds to the DFW community. He is a member at the Plano campus and lives in Frisco with his wife and children.

What has been the most helpful aspect of being in this year's fellowship?

“One of the things I've enjoyed the most about this year’s fellowship has been the opportunity to sit around the table with other business owners and artists who are passionate about what they do. It's encouraging every month to share, pray and talk about what the Lord is doing in each of our businesses. I'm grateful to see our church invest in our people this way!”

Art Fellows

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Kristin Sigmund

Kristin is a fashion stylist with StitchFix, with a passion for music—songwriting, singing and leading worship. She attends the Flower Mound campus, lives in Flower Mound and loves sharing her faith through songs.

What has been the most helpful aspect of being in this year's fellowship?

“Creative community has been the most helpful aspect of the fellowship for me. Being a part of such an inspiring group of people has encouraged me to boldly pursue the gifts the Lord has given me and to be more prayerful in combating fear and insecurity.”

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Bree Smith

Bree is a full-time UX/UI designer, pursuing her passion for creating art through painting. She attends the Flower Mound campus, lives in Carrollton with her family and is passionate about sharing her art with at-risk girls in East Texas.

Her work “for the Church” is a custom series that she describes like this:

“In this series, I explored the results of allowing creation itself (water) to render the paint into forms that echo creation. Layers of mixed media create otherworldly compositions and abstracted landscapes, proclaiming the transformation of the old heaven and earth to the new described in Revelation 21.”

What has been the most helpful aspect of being in this year's fellowship?

“The most helpful aspect of being in this year’s fellowship has been the relationships I’ve formed with other creative believers. Being able to share struggles and victories with them has been encouraging beyond words. Having these relationships also provides the accountability and cultivates the vulnerability that’s needed to continue to create my art. Some of these relationships have even helped me to make progress in furthering my art career in more tangible ways.”

Central Office

2101 Justin Road, Flower Mound, Texas 75028
Phone: (972) 537-1100  |  Fax: (972) 441-2275

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