Artists with Personality

Written by Jon and Erika Tello
Sunday, 26 February 2012 22:46

After countless hours of planning, praying, and preparing for the launch of this pilot program, it was finally here. The students arrived in the flesh and as they did our mounting anticipation melted into grateful joy. The weekend was spent in a flurry of activity to orient the students to their new home, lay ground work for the coming weeks of teaching, and build community among the student body.

During the orientation process we uncovered some fascinating information about the personality of the student artists who compose the Class of 2012. It turns out that 76% of the students are of the "Idealist" personality type. Idealists can be described as: creative, enthusiastic, humane, imaginative, insightful, religious, subjective, and sympathetic. They are generally visionaries who operate largely on their feelings and intuition resulting in extraordinary goals for making changes in the world. And we have 13 of them embarking on this adventure in arts ministry! Only 15-20% of the general population claims the "Idealist" personality type. As a result, most of the students went from a life of being in a small minority to belonging to a unique community where they are part of the large majority. Faces lit up around the room as students gained awareness of their new reality and the camaraderie they shared.

While it is energizing to see such like minded individuals come together in this School of Mission we realize the similarities among the group also presents challenges. The remaining 24% of students (four of them) are split with half being "Guardians" and half being "Rationalists". We are thankful for the balance they will help bring to the vision and performance of the group by infusing organization, detailed planning, and practicality to the mix.

This past week, students began diving into the course material including the Biblical Foundations for Ministry through the Arts, Spiritual Formation of the Artist, and the Cross Cultural Artist. In teaching we are also keenly aware of another discovery we made about the student body. Our group only prefers two of the four basic learning styles. 65% of the group are primarily Reflectors and the remaining 35% are primarily Activists. This means that in order to best digest the course material and experiences that come their way they will need a lot of space and time for reflection and opportunities to directly apply the knowledge in an active way.

While this is just a glimpse of the 17 lives that have descended on this valley in the Alps, we happily introduce to you the inspiring group of students God handpicked for such a time as this. We look forward to what God will do in and through them in the coming weeks and are glad to have you join us on the journey.

To keep up to date with the school of mission - please visit the SCHOOL BLOG.

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