Camille Riggs worked for a well-renowned financial firm for 13 years before a spinal injury ended her career. Being able to sit, stand, or walk for just fifteen minutes each day, she tried watercolor painting as an outlet. Riggs sold her artwork for eighteen years before receiving supernatural healing. Today, she is the coordinator of Prophetic Art Ministries at Upper Room Dallas, where she fosters community among artists.
Prior to receiving healing, Riggs grew up in a cessationist church and continued to attend one as an adult. This form of Christianity does not believe that miracles or spiritual gifts exist modern day and were only present in the past. Someone admiring her art told her that she would be healed and he prayed for her. Weeks later, Riggs woke up “pain-free” and at the age of fifty “My world was turned upside down.” She says, “I wanted to know this God who stepped into my world and changed my physical makeup.” She prayed for direction and found a new church community where others experienced healing as well. There, she attended a Prayer Painting class and learned that creativity could function as a conduit for releasing the Holy Spirit. Riggs connected to the process instantly.
In her position at Upper Room Dallas, Riggs hosts “gatherings of artists where we practice the releasing of the presence [of the Holy Spirit].” It is a young adult population trying to find their way as creative people in the world. Riggs fosters the perspective that God has a unique purpose for each artist’s creativity. “One of my joys is connecting artists who have been wounded by the modern art world for not being edgy enough,” she says. When Riggs introduced her Priest, Prophet, and Painter course, 82 members of the church signed up. She had to expand the course to 4 sessions. With the Holy Spirit “at the center,” artists from many modalities are learning how to create as a spiritual practice, including graphic design, fine arts, music, photography, media, spoken word, and tattooing.
Riggs wrote the book “In Joy!” about her healing and faith journey, going from “knowing God in my mind and now knowing Him in my spirit.” She will share her testimony and encourage artists as a speaker at the Wild4Jesus conference in January 2024.
