QUEBEC JE T'AIME
The Vision

God wants to be known again in Quebec! And he wants to take up residence here again. But the Quebecois people today, especially the younger generations, don't know Him the way their forefathers did-if they know of Him at all.

QUEBEC JE T'AIME is a team of Quebecois artists, artisans and creative people who have in common a passion for Jesus Christ, and a deep longing to see their people re-embrace God in all his majesty and splendour. We are not merely Christian artists (Christians who create art). We are Kingdom artists; followers of Jesus who have submitted their skills to the purposes of God for the furtherance of His Kingdom.

We are endeavouring to co-operate with the Holy Spirit to create a body of works of art that capture and exude different aspects of God's character; that proclaim His glory, His majesty, His beauty; that articulate His passionate love for Quebec. Our deepest yearning is that He would enable us to create works that provoke His presence; that the work of our hands would be so pleasing to Him that He could not refrain from coming to be in the midst of it, and in the midst of us. We long to prepare for Him a "tabernacle"-not identical to the one Moses had made, because each of us is now God's dwelling place, but similar in that:

the works of art that we create will be according to God's instruction
the diverse works of art will speak of God's nature

This "tabernacle" will be portable, and during the summer, starting after St Jean Baptiste, we will do a tour of Quebec reintroducing God to the province through the arts and creativity. The tour will culminate in a festival in Montreal on September 23rd and 24th.

We are pleading with God to make His presence so palpable-even visible-that unbelievers would be drawn like magnets to the place, and that they would encounter Him and His beauty and holiness with such power that they would cry out, "What is this power I feel?" "Who is this God in your midst?" We desire that believers too, would be moved to greater awe of the One whom we so often take for granted, and that the media would come flocking to the site because of reports of a fire over the tent, a fire that didn't consume the tent, but consumed the hearts of everyone who ventured near.

Why are we communicating God's character through the arts?

Quebecois people are a people of the heart who are looking for spiritual meaning. They recognize that they are a passionate people; they sense that there is revolution in their hearts. But they have not found the object worthy of their passion, the purpose worthy of a revolution. They are looking for something that is not only worth living for, but also worth dying for. However, the Quebecois, and in particular the younger generations, respond to things that they can experience, not things that are presented to them at the level of logic and intellect. They want the LIVING God, not just an intellectual faith.

The arts bypass logic and speak from the heart to the heart. A song says more than the lyrics alone-it is impassioned speech. A dance says more than the music alone-it is impassioned song. And a picture is worth a thousand words.

The arts are the language of passionate people. They communicate the heart of a passionate God.

How can you be involved?
We want to be in relationship with any creative, kingdom-building person who identifies with this vision to reach Quebec through the arts. Whether you consider yourself an "artist" as such or not is not important to us, because different people will have different strengths to contribute to the building of this "tabernacle." Some may be artists, others may have a genius for setting up displays. Some may be musicians, others sound board operators. One may be a poet; another may put the poem to music. We are depending on God to pull together all those of like heart to create a team who will work together for the advancement of His kingdom.

What's next?

Over the next few months we will be having an artists' gathering twice a month on Saturdays, to worship and pray, to equip and create email elizabeth@quebecjetaime.com

This is a lofty goal, seemingly too high for us to attain. But we are utterly persuaded that God desires to be known afresh in Quebec, and that He is eager to make his love known to this aching province. We are convinced that, as we yield ourselves to His love and power at work in us, He will bring forth songs from our mouths, dances from our bodies, paintings from our brushes, even new fashions to wear, that will so articulate who He is and how He loves us, that the hearts of the Quebecois people will be rekindled into love for Him.

We are terrified, but breathless with expectation. This task is indeed too much for us to accomplish, but we serve and love the same God who slew a giant though a boy, and who conquered a vast army with a man named Gideon and a few hundred foot soldiers. Our God is the same God who, in response to the praises of His people, caused Israel's enemies to slaughter each other. Our God is the God who inhabits the praises of his people.

Let us give Him all our praise so that He may come and inhabit our province and the hearts of the people anew!