September 29, 2009 | Editor’s note: To explore practices related to traditioned innovation, read David L. Odom: Traditioned innovation in action.

On a hot summer morning in San Antonio, Texas, parents and children stream into Trinity Baptist Church’s Children’s Center for Sunday School. Visitors are greeted warmly, and children are directed to their classrooms: downstairs for the youngest, upstairs for older children. Today’s lesson is from Exodus.

“This morning you’re going to learn how the Israelites were freed to find their own path,” says one greeter, pressing a toy maze into a child’s hand.

It’s a typical Sunday morning routine at churches around the country. What makes this scene unique is the Children’s Center itself: More than just a building, the center has become what Senior Pastor Les Hollon calls “a canvas to tell the stories of Scripture and hope.”

Throughout the center, bright murals -- some three stories high -- tell the traditional stories in an innovative way. Paintings on every wall have turned this church building into a life-sized biblical storybook. On the first floor 250 pairs of animals -- including Longhorn cattle and church members’ pets -- prepare to board Noah’s ark. A light-filled three-story rotunda is an artistic aviary where species of birds both exotic and familiar perch.

In one stairwell, a group of men walk up a hill, gazing at the stars. At the top of the stairs is a Nativity scene, more crowded with children and animals than any biblical account. The second floor walls display illustrations from 20 Bible stories. One hallway is for the Old Testament, and another is for the New Testament.

This remarkable project was created over the course of a year by painter and Trinity Baptist member Shawn Bridges under the direction of Children’s and Women’s Pastor Debbie Potter. It’s a reflection of Potter’s belief that children would respond to the stories of the Bible as deeply and enthusiastically as they embrace pop entertainment.

The story of how Bridges came to paint the massive set of murals is as multi-layered as the paintings themselves and shows what can happen when leaders harness imagination in the service of faith.

A dream for the Children’s Center

In 2002, Trinity Baptist Church hired Potter, a former schoolteacher raised in the Nazarene Church, to be its new pastor for children and women. With her lanky frame and enthusiastic demeanor, it’s easy to imagine Potter commanding the attention of children in the classroom and nurturing a love for learning.

A married mother of two teens, Potter was ordained a minister at Trinity Baptist in 2004. In addition to her full-time position, she also is working toward a doctoral degree in educational leadership.

When Potter arrived, the Children’s Center’s spacious interior was in need of updating. The two-story, 28,000-square-foot center comprises nurseries, classrooms and worship spaces for infants through children in the sixth grade.

“The walls were painted bright green and bright orange,” Potter said. Money wasn’t a problem because a family had left a bequest specifically for this purpose.

But as the church proceeded with changes such as knocking out walls to create larger rooms, adding a stage for performances and plays and purchasing kid-friendly furniture, Potter contemplated what more could be done. The goal was not just to create a kid-friendly space, but to engage children in learning the Bible.

She researched what other churches were doing, touring Baptist churches in Houston, Dallas and Chicago looking for ideas. On her travels, Potter encountered elaborately decorated spaces, rich in secular imagery and undeniably fun. These were wonderful, but she knew she hadn’t found her model.

“I wanted children to know they were in a church,” Potter said, in contrast to simply an elaborately decorated, child-friendly environment. And she wanted this sacred space to be interactive.

“But I didn’t really have a clear picture of how to make that happen,” Potter said. She also was mindful of stewarding the donated funds wisely.

So Potter looked within the church for a solution and ended up meeting with Bridges, a painter and longtime member.

Potter’s initial request was modest: Would Bridges paint one wall in a new game room for the older children? As they talked, Potter found herself “clicking” with Bridges, enough so that she shared more about her hopes for the ministry.

“My real dream would be that they would be walking into the Bible,” Potter said.

2 by 2, beginning with the elephants

Bridges, 62, cheerfully refers to herself as a “Methacathabaptapalian,” an expression that signals her open-minded, ecumenical outlook toward Christianity. A graduate of Baylor University with a bachelor’s degree in fine arts, Bridges uses a vivid palette and bold brush strokes in her paintings of people, animals and flowers. Although she had been an artist most of her life, she had not done murals before she started painting at Trinity Baptist.

But Bridges found herself inspired by Potter’s faith and ideas. In a “loaves and fishes” moment, Bridges offered to multiply the request 100-fold.