If a picture says a thousand words, how about a mime, dance or song? Christian mission organisation Operation Mobilisation (OM) has a long history of expressing the Gospel through creative means and this involvement has just stepped up a gear with the launch of the OM Arts School of Mission in Italy.

Combining theoretical training, Bible studies and practical outreach, this ten-week course is serving to equip each participant with lifelong skills to share their faith in Jesus.

The town where the OM Arts of School of Mission is taking place, Bobbio Pelice, a village at the foothills of the Italian Alps, has a strong Christian heritage.

A protestant reformation took place in the region years before Luther (known as the Waldensian Movement) and that openness to the Gospel has remained in the area. OM recently founded a conference centre, Forterocca (‘Strong Rock’), in Bobbio Pelice which OM workers across the continent are making use of.

The facilities are also being made available to Italy’s fledgling evangelical church to use for training meetings and retreats.

Elsewhere around the world, OM workers are creatively using the arts to unlock the Gospel message to local communities. These activities include a band of touring street performers who are sharing Christ around Turkey and Central Asia.

OM’s Transform outreaches which take place around the Mediterranean nations each summer have also utilised the skills of Christian artists to present the Gospel through art in Muslim-majority countries.

The arts are just one of the many means OM’s 6,000+ workers are using to proclaim Christ in over 110 countries. More details of all OM’s other short and long-term mission programmes can be found at www.uk.om.org