Special Feature
Poiema is the Greek word for workmanship. Jaclyn Smith, one of the leaders of the Poiema ministry in Birmingham, Ala., explains that the name of the ministry name was inspired by Ephesians 2:10, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in it.”
Poiema launched in 2017 with a desire to share the love of Jesus. “A small community of Birmingham area women from different backgrounds and seasons of life united in their love for Jesus, each other, and the next generation,” Smith says. The mission of the ministry is “to unite women of all ages and denominations, as daughters of our heavenly Father, in order to share the truth that we are worth more in Him than in anything this world has to offer us.”
Each year, the ministry hosts a week-long Summer Workshop and a one-day Christmas Workshop for girls ages 3rd-8th grade. “We use creative arts as the draw,” Smith explains, adding, “We worship and do devotional time, and the girls create art through many different modalities during the week as we breathe into them the truth that they are not unlike the masterpieces that they have created; that God made them in His image with the same intentionality and care.”
The 2024 Summer Workshop is set for July 15-19, 2024. Through the years, the Summer Workshop has grown from 65 campers to more than 200 campers. The prayer of each volunteer is that “God would bring the hearts that need camp to Poiema each time the doors are open.” Both the summer and Christmas workshops exist “to spread the glory and renown of Jesus to girls who may or may not know Him using creative arts as a medium to reinforce the love, intentionality, and thoughtfulness with which their Creator made them,” Smith shares. To learn more about Poiema and to register, visit poiemacreativearts.com. †
