"The Great Commission" permanent collections: Concordia University, Irvine - Robert Grimm Hall

Cindi Zech Rhodes & Denise Kufus Weyrhich - curators and founders of SEEDS Fine Art Exhibits

The John and Linda Friend Art Collections
“The Great Commission” conceptually bonds our three permanent art collections, each addressing an individual aspect of God’s command, “go and Make disciples…”. Together they form a panorama of God’s grace and gifts in Equipping and encouraging us, teaching and growing us, and relating us to our unique place in this world. All of these inspired artworks visually reveal truth and the hope of salvation through different mediums, styles, cultures and languages.

These collections have been generously supported by the gifts of John and Linda Friend - and by sacrificial contributions of the individual artists.

The Masterpieces

Print works from the 15th to the 20th centuries speak to us from history, illustrating pivotal moments in the narrative of God’s redemptive plan for us; our fall from grace, the promise of God’s provision, and finally, His solution.

Lessons Learned, Wisdom Gained

Late 20th and early 21st century American artists share their personal journeys of faith in their own voices, their expressive strokes and marks draw us into the divine drama with new understanding. These artworks underline and describe what it means to disciple “as we go.”

God’s Cross Cultural Purpose

Working all over the globe, these late 20th and early 21st century American artists have focused their bodies of work around these varying cultures.Their art opens our view of the world by making it tangible in the styles, colors, patterns and symbols of these beautiful places. These artists reflect their faith, call us to believe, and challenge us to see the world in new ways.

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. “ Matthew 28:18-20