The vision statement of Wilcrest Baptist Church served as my primary source of inspiration and as the impetus for this painting. Its depth, clarity, and creativity provided rich soil for the development of Dream Out Loud.

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VISION STATEMENT OF WILCREST BAPTIST

Wilcrest Baptist Church is God’s multi-ethnic bridge that draws all people to Jesus Christ, who transforms them from unbelievers to missionaries.

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‍In addition, Dream Out Loud was inspired in part by the journey of Leukemia victim, Noah Schafbuch, and his family of Sartell, Minnesota. The life and death of Noah have been for our household an unsearchable source of inspiration and hope. Throughout most of 2003, we watched with silent awe as the Schabuchs battled Noah’s Leukemia. Their journey proved a witness to the world, as thousands followed his progress through online journaling. Noah’s unyielding hope in Jesus; his refusal to complain throughout the painful process of cancer treatment; his parents’ unimaginable strength and faith; and the ceaseless prayers of the saints make his story a testimony to Grace. Noah died on November 22, 2003 at the age of 7. One day my words will fit. Until then, we “dream out loud.”

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Additional sources of inspiration for Dream Out Loud include:

- “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field” (Matt. 9:37b-38).

- “Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these’” (Matt. 19:14).

- “I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds” (John 12:24).
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Taken just months before he died, this powerful image of Noah evokes feelings of freedom, faith, courage, and hope, and therefore captures for me, the artist, the true heart of a missionary. This missionary vision was something I desperately attempted to expose through this painting, and as a result, the child-figure became a prominent symbol in Dream Out Loud.

- Children’s Book: Snowy Day, by Ezra Jack Keats—Pub. 1962, Viking Press Inc., NY, NY

- The dreaming boy in the book holds great significance for this painting—he is a reminder that the God of hope is still at work… even in seemingly insignificant and quiet places.

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Some themes present in Dream Out Loud:

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- Labor, harvest, mission, fruit, hope, reaping, compassion, burden-bearing
- Explosive growth—Uncontainable energy
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Artist’s Note:

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May the God of hope continue to inspire your vision, friend, as you seek to glorify him by becoming a living
bridge in a world of disconnectedness. In Grace,

Matt Hebert

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