Vogt 1
Analysis Paper Assignment
Amber M. Vogt
Liberty University
ARTS105: Art Appreciation
Professor Shaye Conklin
May 5, 2025
Vogt 2
Art forms in worship have been used through the years to express the stories of God with
the ability to educate and engage believers. I will be talking about three of the most common art
forms that are often used in churches: dancing, music, and theatre performance. These three art
forms have a major significance when it comes to spreading and presenting the gospel events to
believers by providing a more personal connection to them. It has an impact when churches have,
“used art and artists to tell the story of the gospel,” where people’s beliefs and culture have been
shaped. (Smith)
University Lutheran Church, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 2018 Dance.
The dance art form, more commonly known as liturgical dance, performed in churches
serves the purpose to express non-verbally the prayer and worship of God through movement.
There are many ways that someone can dance to praise God. Praise dancing is performed by
waving their arms overhead, clapping happily, and swaying the body to worship music. (Loiseau)
Also, it can be grander with a whole group of people and choreographed movements to make a
more complex dance, or you can dance however your heart and body tells you to move. As the
Bible says, “Let them praise His name with dancing,” it can give a more personal connection
with God and give more who enjoy dancing a way to celebrate and express the worshiping and
Vogt 3
serving. (Psalms 149:3) No matter anyone's background, dancing can be a means to truly
surrender and praise in a beautiful way to glorify God.
University Lutheran Church, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 2022 Music.
Music is an art form used in churches as a way to express the story of God by blending
different voices and instruments. Church music has a wide variety of different genres from
Classical hymnody to Christian rock and can be sung by one person, but congregational singing
is more impactful. (RCA Commission on Worship) Music can be a connection for everyone of all
diversity and an art form used to express their praise of God and his creations. As the Bible says,
“I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my understanding.” (1 Corinthians 14:15)
Music is also a way for people to better understand the text with tunes that work with it. It can
evoke strong feelings and have people resonating with the words or tune that can help connect
them to God’s words. Music is an art form that is important in churches that can, for most people,
help encourage the full range of emotions in worshiping.
Vogt 4
Anselm Society, Colorado Springs, Colorado, 2020 Theatre Performance. Theatre art form
is used in the church worship services as a way to story tell with dramatic reenactment,
monologues, and full theatre production of the understanding of God. It is a collaborative form
of performing that uses live performers that present the view of the history of church and God’s
words. (Mitchell) As the Bible says, “whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the
glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31) The use of theatre can bring a more personal connection to
God and draw the audience to the story that the actors are giving them. It can bring strong
emotions about the understanding of the truth of knowing Him and his greatness. Using what the
scripts says in theatre arts form can give a believer or someone who lost their passion going to
church a refreshing view of the story of God. It is a unique art form that brings everyone
together, the people performing and the audience, to be able to have a stronger understanding
and personal relationship with God.
The three art forms that I explored; dancing, music, and theater performance are all
different forms of art that can be used in churches. They can all be used to inform and create
personal connections with Him, but they do it in their own unique ways. Which I believe is an
Vogt 5
amazing way to express the words of God with the art of movement, voices, and instruments.
Using the art forms can have a believer create a stronger and more personal bond with God with
the visual’s and tune rather than just reading the Bible. Overall, the art of dancing, music, theatre
performance, and other art forms is important to keep incorporating in churches to help express
the glory of God.
Work Cited
Loiseau, Johanna. “Dance and Worship as a Way to Glorify God.” GCU, 22 July 2022,
www.gcu.edu/blog/performing-arts-digital-arts/dance-and-worship-way-glorify-god.
RCA Commission on Worship. “The Theology and Place of Music in Worship.” Faithward.Org,
29 Feb. 2020, www.faithward.org/the-theology-and-place-of-music-in-worship/.
Mitchell, Troy. “The Arts in Worship.” Medium, Medium, 23 Oct. 2020, troymitchell-
2808.medium.com/the-arts-in-worship-57d94233c929.
Vogt 6
“Bible Gateway Passage: 1 Corinthians 14:14-15 - New King James Version.” Bible Gateway,
www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+14%3A14-15&version=NKJV.
Accessed 5 May 2025.
“Bible Gateway Passage: 1 Corinthians 10:31 - New King James Version.” Bible Gateway,
www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+10%3A31&version=NKJV.
Accessed 5 May 2025.
“Bible Gateway Passage: Psalm 149:3 - New King James Version.” Bible Gateway,
www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalms+149%3A3&version=NKJV. Accessed 5
May 2025.
Smith, . A Creative Church: The Arts and a Century of Renewal. Available from: Liberty
University Online Bookshelf, (2nd Edition). Kendall Hunt Publishing, 2024.
Fichner-Rathus, Lois. Understanding Art. Cengage Learning, 2017.
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