The overall purpose of the Arts is to glorify God first. From there you find other reasons such as evangelism, communication, entertainment, and so on.
 You have heard it said, "One picture is worth a thousand words." Well, it is true! Jesus relied heavily on actions and visual stories to communicate the gospel to people. This is because He knew that normal people could not understand it better. As you read on you will find out just how much. However, there is some foundational information of the arts needed for a better understanding of its origin.
 The arts, in a sense, is as old as mankind. From the beginning of time, men and women have communicated thoughts through gestures. Primitive cultures practiced religious ceremonies with dances of war, dances of harvest, dances before and after a hunt, and dances for anything under the sun. As you can tell, the idea of expressing and communicating thoughts and feelings through movement, isn't new. In fact, it is part of our human nature. When babies are born, they do not have the ability to speak what's on their mind, therefore they gesture for what they want or need.
 Through time, however, the arts have shifted from being merely a form of communication to becoming a popular form of entertainment. Mimed Dramas and Choreographed Dance based on gods, myths, and legends became very popular. Mime/Dance was a favorite of the opera and grew highly successful under the Emperor Augustus of Rome. Ever since the fall of the Roman Empire, Mime and Dance took on new themes like morality and religion. This is when the connection between the arts and the church took place. Later on, we see Jesus using parables to teach us Biblical truths.
 So many visual images have an incredible impact on our lives. Someone can talk for an hour about the unselfish love of Jesus, and it wouldn't have the same impact of one picture showing Jesus on the cross. We are impacted by what we see. We also retain a whole lot more of what we see, than just what we hear. This means, if we want to understand the things of God better and in return, teach more effectively, we need to have them see as well as hear them, and teach the very same way. Jesus did it. For example, "I have also spoken to you by the prophets and I have multiplied visions for you and have appealed to you through parables acted out by the prophets." When you look at this scripture, you find that there are three prominent ways in which God speaks to us:
 I) His Word
 II) Visions
 III) Drama/Dance
 Isn't it interesting that He chose drama/dance as a means of communication? From this, you can see the validity of the arts in the church.
 Over 80% of communication is non-verbal. This means, in a very general sense, the arts play a role in all of our lives. Whether we know it or not. There are three types of communication:
 I) Man to Man
   This is cultural communication and entertainment. Examples: Mime, Drama, Dance, and Singing
 II) Man to God
   This is an act of worship and adoration. Examples: Mime, Dance that choreographed or spontaneous, and Singing with gestures.
 III) God to Man
    This is the prophetic and Biblical instruction. Examples: Choreographed or spontaneous Dance, Mime, Singing, and Drama.
 There are so many ways the arts are expressed and so many reasons why. Unfortunately, we see reasons from a selfish standpoint in both the world and in the church today. That doesn't make the art itself wrong. It simply means the motive behind the art is wrong. God created us to enjoy life, but just like everything else, if that is the only reason, then there's an imbalance, and balance needs to be made. Art, for the sake of entertainment, isn't wrong. There just needs to be a balance.
 So, enjoy yourselves and have fun! God created it ALL for us to enjoy!!!