What Your Kids Get From Drama Ministry
It's pretty much a given these days that drama works as an effective ministry. Students sit up with a little more interest when they think they're going to be entertained rather than preached at, and drama allows us to touch some deep wounds that need to be healed. But while the kids in the seats need the message, the kids on stage can be blessed far more richly than you might realize.
There have always been people gifted in the theater arts in church, but those individuals have not always had a place to grow those gifts in the church. Drama as a ministry gives those students a chance to develop their gifts in a Christ-centered environment. They have the opportunity to grow in Christ while following their passion.
A drama program will bring in not only the Christian kids but nonbelievers as well. I know there are some who will disagree with me, but I never had a question about admitting nonbelievers into church drama groups. They were required to sign on to the same code of conduct asked of the Christians, and many times ended up accepting Christ after joining the team.
Students and directors also experience community in drama. If you've ever worked in the theater, you know that drama requires a great deal of trust. Actors and tech crew must trust each other to remember cues. If that trust and confidence are not there, the performance falls apart.
This condition of the theater spills over off stage. We were created to have community with each other, and the students I have worked with in the past have all developed deeper friendships with their fellow actors. After talking risks on stage, the students feel more comfortable taking risks off stage. They share their burdens, pray for each other, and look after each other. And those bonds last a long time.
This brings me to the next benefit of drama. I have never known a person in theater who did not have some heartbreaking story to tell: abuse, relationship issues, family problems, eating disorders, drugs, suicide attempts and so many more. Drama gives them an escape from their problems, allowing them to be someone else for a change. In some cases, drama is a chance to shed the masks a person wears in real life while allowing one's true self to emerge. Drama may also allow an individual to face their past by reliving events on stage. By releasing the pain in this way, real healing can begin.
The drama community can also help a person develop a stronger sense of self-worth. One of my closest friends in ministry has struggled with low self-esteem due to a lack of positive reinforcement from her father. In the past year, while working with a drama group, her self-confidence has grown immensely, and that confidence is leading to success away from the stage as she pursues a college degree.
Drama ministry has one more benefit for the participant: artistic inspiration. That may not seem to be an important value for a ministry, but when you consider that the gifts of theater artists ultimately come from God, we honor God when we choose to improve on those gifts. More importantly, by giving students an opportunity to serve God with those gifts, we can challenge them to continue using those gifts in his service.
Imagine how different movies and television and theater would be if we were preparing Christian artists to enter those fields. Wouldn't it be great to turn on the TV and see programming that's inoffensive to your Christian worldview? It can happen, and it can start with people like you and me encouraging and inspiring young people to develop and use their gifts in God's service.
Wherever you are with your drama ministry, I encourage you to press on, knowing that you are doing a great work for God's kingdom. Not only do our students need us to inspire them to new levels of creativity, our troubled world needs our kids to be so inspired. Today's students are the artists of tomorrow. They are the light in the darkness that God will use to reach a lost world through the dramatic arts!
John Cosper
Contributor
John Cosper is an award-winning writer from Southern Indiana and the founder of the drama ministry/film company Righteous Insanity. He has written more than 2000 sketches and produced over 100 short films.