About Renew the Arts

We are equipping individuals and families to become art patrons through conversations on the Renew the Arts podcast, by providing practical hospitality opportunities through
Porchlight, and by modeling patronage through project sponsorships.

Our Vision

To see patrons and artists partnered in communities to create art that enriches our lives, shapes our homes, and helps us love our neighbors.

Mission of Renew the Arts

Cultivating Christian communities in and through the arts by inspiring art patronage and supporting artists.

Mission of Porchlight

Curating profound experiences and relationships around the true and beautiful.

Renew the Arts logo three leaves underneath an orange flame
Porchlight logo of lantern with Porchlight art + hospitality text inside

Our History

Renew the Arts officially became a public charity of its own in 2017, but it formerly existed as an unofficial branch of the Nehemiah Foundation for Cultural Renewal — which still serves as an educational organization and think-tank concerning the intersection of contemporary culture, the arts, and Christian faith.

The Nehemiah Foundation was inspired by Micah Stout, a singer-songwriter who found an overwhelming lack of support in his church and local community all throughout his life until his untimely death to cancer in 2010. Finding that his experience — feeling alienated while having a message to share and talents to use — was not unique, his brother-in-law Michael Minkoff, Jr. founded the Nehemiah Foundation with his father in the hopes of providing a support network for artists like Micah, as well as educating churches and patrons on the importance of art in the practice of Christian faith.

We believe the beauty of the Gospel will transform the world when Christian communities support artists in their God-given callings.

INITIATIVES OF RENEW THE ARTS

In 2020, we launched Porchlight: an art+hospitality network.

Porchlight is a collective of people in cities and neighborhoods across the country caring for culture in their local context. Individuals and families are  equipped through Porchlight to host artists, neighbors, friends, and strangers in the name of Jesus’ and hospitality. 

ART PROJECTS COMPLETED VIA RENEW THE ARTS

We’re amazed by the creativity of our artists. Take a look around for yourself:

Our Team

Justus Stout

Chairman of the Board

Justus Stout headshot

Justus graduated from Bryan College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Politics and Government and a minor in Koine and Classical Greek. After graduation, Justus was hired by publishing house Tolle Lege Press for proofreading and copywriting. From there, Justus joined the Nehemiah Foundation for Cultural Renewal as their Vice President of Operations. 

In this role, he helped grow their programs and support to the point of a needed expansion into Renew the Arts, where he was placed as President/CEO.

Justus has dedicated his life to the support of believing artists, and is constantly refreshed and energized by excellent art that is good, true, and beautiful—full of honesty, creativity, and depth. To better understand why Justus transitioned to a life of culture care from politics, read his blog post Why I Gave Up Politics for the Arts.

Katy Martin

President and CEO

Katy Martin headshot

Katy first connected with Renew the Arts as a Porchlight host and, after a few years of supporting the team with marketing, she accepted the position of President and CEO of Renew the Arts in early 2024.

Katy graduated from Roberts Wesleyan University with a bachelor’s degree in communication, and concentrations in marketing and psychology. After an AmeriCorps service term in Nashville with the organization, Katy worked for several years at Rebuilding Together’s headquarters in Washington, D.C.   

She has a knack for organization and passion for building community through hospitality and art. Katy lives in (and continues to host) Porchlight events in Rochester, NY. She enjoys performing in a duo called The Local Hang-Ups, which most recently signed with Old Bear Records.

Michael Minkoff

Co-Founder and Director of Artist Care

Justus Stout headshot

In 2007, Michael and his father founded the Nehemiah Foundation for Cultural Renewal, the originating organization of Renew the Arts, which he co-founded with Justus Stout. He has been involved in the promotion and production of under-served Christian art ever since, working variously as a multi-instrumentalist, producer, writer, editor, typesetter, graphic designer, and cheerleader.

Michael serves as the Director of Artist Care for Renew the Arts, combining his aesthetic judgment and artistic temperament with his heart for community building and collaborative discipleship.

He completed an M.A.B.S. degree at Reformed Theological Seminary in Atlanta in May 2020. He blogs at MichaelMinkoff.com. He lives in the Buford area with his wife, Vanessa, and his five children: Selah, Amity, Miles, Ephrem, and Benedict.

He has also written numerous articles and reviews featured on Renew the Arts, as well as a compact book on biblical aesthetics called According to His Excellent Greatness.

Rusty Hein

Creative Director

Rusty met Michael at a Blockbuster in suburban Atlanta back in 2005 (ask them the story sometime; it’s a good one), right before moving away to get his BFA from the University of Central Florida. While in school, Rusty made occasional trips back to Atlanta to visit family, and would occasionally look Michael up when he was in town.

On these infrequent visits, Rusty caught onto Michael’s vision for liberating Christian creativity, and became passionate about changing the culture for the Kingdom by raising the standard of excellence in art made by Christians. 

After graduating, Rusty moved back to suburban Atlanta, and began working with us as our Creative Director.

 

We like to consider Rusty our resident artist who has provided drawings, paintings, photos, videos, animations, websites, and friendship to us. You can see some of his other work at rustyhein.com. Despite looking sometimes like a rockstar with his long hair, he does not play in any bands.

To accomplish our mission, we’ve partnered with some great folks:

Start Here

If you provide your email address, we can get to know one another!

No, it's not a trap. We promise not to bombard your email inbox. In fact, most people complain we don't send enough emails! But here's what you can expect:

  1. In the following week or so you'll get a few messages. These are individually designed to catch you up on all the great things we're doing!
  2. Once you're caught up, you can expect (on average) one email a month, keeping you updated on the progress we're making toward our mission to liberate Christian creativity.
  3. And once you have a handle on our work, we can try to get you plugged in. Maybe you're an artist that wants to get more involved. Maybe you want to keep tabs on our projects. Whatever has drawn you to our work, this is the best way to get plugged in.

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