Ross Penner has been a photographer for a long time. But recently he's started to use his camera for a new project, seeking to use art, and social media, to let people know about the gospel.

Penner, who attends The Bridge church in Winnipeg, grew up the son of a preacher. As a family, and then a young man, they were active in the outdoors, travel, as well as working in nature as a tree planter for 16 years.

He says that he wanted to be a preacher, too, but it seemed to be a gift that he didn't have. However, he has been involved in teaching cell groups and Sunday school at his church. Soon, Penner would discover a gift that he did have, and he would combine that gifting with a new way to reach people.

"I stumbled across photography and I said to myself, 'hmm this is art.' Once that process was started, then wherever I went to I started taking these pictures. I have literally hundreds, and thousands of these photos."

It's the art that draws people to God, Penner says. "The art draws people in, because we're drawn to beauty. And when you're drawn to beauty, beauty cannot be separated from God and His glory. So when you experience these two in one, it's heaven."

It was after first getting on to social media that Penner thought of the idea. Seeing negativity shared widely, he decided to start using Facebook and Instagram to spread positivity. Now he hopes that it's something that could spread more than the negativity. He takes his photos, and then combines them with a paraphrase of Scripture, hoping that it reaches people who do not yet follow God. "If a Christian sees that and it speaks to them, they can just hit that share button, and then it goes and it starts reaching more and more people."

Penner now finds that he is preaching in a way he would have never imagined. "I call them little two sentence sermons." If a picture is worth a thousand words, then he's certainly doing more than that.

 

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