Taking Puppetry, the Arts and Creative Ministry to Panama

From August 31 through September 8 I had the incredible opportunity to return to Panama City, Panama, with Ministerios IR and Hands of Peace, to train children, youth and adults in the art of puppetry, sign language, hand mime and drama.

This year, I was asked to direct a team of 19 youth from the host church, Comunidad Evangelica Monte De Sion (COEMONSI) to prepare a program in 5 days to take out into the community for children's crusades. As daunting as the task seemed, I felt prepared and optimistic with the musical I prepared, titled "I AM" and was dead set on using all 19 youth in all 4 songs.

Imagine my surprise when I arrived and learned I now had 23 youth to work with! We went straight into a team meeting Sunday evening and began our rehearsals on Monday morning. For the next 4 days, I worked relentlessly with youth from 9 to 21 years old on "I AM" with rehearsals beginning at 8:30am (with some time for prayer, team building and devotionals) and ending around 3:00pm. I'll admit, there were moments of "What was I thinking!?"

This, in addition to teaching performance workshops in the evening for conference attendees, created a very busy and tiring yet rewarding week. Thankfully I had the support of the other artists and people that were volunteering on the trip, including Gene Cordova (a talented Christian ventriloquist, balloon artist and much more) and Judy Buch (a wonderful Christian ventriloquist, puppeteer and author). They taught workshops on puppet construction, puppetry, ventriloquism and other topics.

My team’s dedication and hard work impressed me though; as was their willingness to sacrifice their weeklong vacation to serve their community and the God they so dearly love. Work was so hard in such a humid environment (what I would’ve done for a rehearsal space with AC). Their effort paid off as they nailed all 4 songs.

Songs included Spanish versions of:

•  "Indescribable" by Chris Tomlin (featuring blacklight hand mime)
•  "In Christ Alone" by Owl City (featuring human video)
• "Superhero" by Hillsong Kids (featuring blacklight puppetry)
• "Don't Let Me Miss The Glory" by Gordon Mote (featuring dowel rods, sign language and flags)

This all wove into a story about a little girl's curiosity about God as she and a woman admire the stars of the heavens. Together, they learned about God the Creator, the Redeemer, the Father and the Promise.

All in all, this summed up into an incrediblly blessed week. My team grew closer together and many of them called it #LaMejorSemanaDeMiVida (translation: #TheBestWeekOfMyLife) on Facebook. More importantly, several little ones turned their hearts over to God and these little lights returned to their dark homes. 

It’s always a true pleasure to be able to pass on to others what we are passionate about and to share this in another country was tremendously rewarding. Passion, pass it on. Your artistry, your faith. Pass it on.

 

You can view photos and videos from this trip by visiting: facebook.com/CMTministries


→ If you are interested in the script and director tips for this musical, please feel free to e-mail Gabriel@CMTministries.org

Pushing Creative Ministry to the MAX at Ministry Arts Xtra

I just returned from another week of incredible blessings, inspiration and fellowship at Ministry Arts Xtra (MAX), an international festival sponsored by Creative Ministry Solutions at Grove City Church of the Nazarene in Ohio. Again, all I can say is “Wow! Thank you God!”

If you aren’t familiar with Ministry Arts Xtra, it’s an amazing 4-day conference that dives into a variety of creative ministry topics through workshops, performances and competitions. The Creative Ministry Dream Team is a select group of 15 attendees that audition to be part of the team and come together for the 4 days to put together a program to present as the finale of the conference.

This year I had the blessing of being able to fill a support role for the Dream Team’s directors, Christy Watkins and Carrie Murphy, as well as the Dream Team as they worked to bring together an ambitious program set in “Heavenly Street."

The program followed this year’s festival theme “Whatever,” inspired by Philippians 4:8. “Whatever” tells the story of Max, a pack rat that fills his trash can with the junk of this world, while his friend Sally shows him there’s much more to life than just trash when we set our sights on God and “whatever” he has in store for us.

 

The script and songs were woven together beautifully and the program featured puppetry, ventriloquism, sign language, dowel rods, dance and much more. The story drew delightful references to Sesame Street, such as Yip Yip Martians discovering the audience and “which of these is not like the other?” Everything came together to create a charming, humorous and meaningful program that was a joy to be a part of.

 

Songs included:

·         “Heavenly Street” (Sesame Street Parody) by Mark Bradford – featured out-front puppetry

·         “Where I Belong” by Building 429 – featured chair choreography, sign language and dowel rods

·         “Hold Me” by Jamie Grace – featured live actors, puppet choreography and umbrellas

·         “There Is A Way” by NewWorldSon – featured blacklight Stringbean puppets

·         “When He Saved The World” by Mark Bradford – featured hand mime

·         “I Surrender All” by Crystal Lewis – featured flags

·         “Feelin’ So Fly” by tobyMac – featured dance choreography

·         “Don’t Let Me Miss the Glory” by Gordon Mote – featured dowel rods, sign language and banners

Rehearsals were long, lasting up to 12 hours a day, to polish the hour-long program in time for the end of the week. The hard work paid off though as the Dream Team presented a beautiful, diverse program that not only made the audience laugh and smile but also applaud the glory of God.
 

The opportunity to work with the Dream Team again but on the directorial side was also an amazing opportunity to learn from the example of the two very seasoned directors. Their servant leadership, creativity and humility was a wonder to watch in action!

All in all, I’m grateful for the wonderful opportunity I had to jump back into creative ministries after 10 months of sabbatical. We are going to start gearing up the ministry team soon for the 2013-2014 year and I have come back not only eager to serve but also inspired and blessed!

 

 

For more information about Ministry Arts Xtra and the Dream Team, please visit http://www.creativemin.com/category/max

Celebrating 2 Years of Faith, Hope and Love with Iglesia Jesucristo Es El Señor

It’s incredible when you pause and realize how time passes like sand between our fingers. We are thrilled that our home church, Iglesia Jesuscristo Es El Señor (Jesus Christ is Lord Church), has had 2 beautiful years of celebrating faith, bringing hope and sharing His love.

As a church, we decided to seize this opportunity to shine by inviting our friends, family and community to celebrate with us over the weekend. On Saturday the 18^th we hosted FESTiFAMiLiA (FESTiFAMiLY), a family-friendly festival featuring music, food, tournaments, carnival games, prizes and a program by Create, Minister, Teach (CMT).

 

 

Despite battling the wind, the event was a wonderful time of fellowship and also sowing some seeds in the hearts of those attending. CMT’s teaser program featured a few illusions, a human video and testimonies that highlighted what we’re all about: His love.

On the 19^th, we held a Celebration Sunday service that featured praise and worship and a new program by CMT titled “With(out) Jesus.” The program wove together illusions, puppets, blacklight, sign language, painting with testimonies and stories that shared the power of life in Christ.

We are so grateful for having had the opportunity to work together as a church to Shine and are looking forward to another year of spreading Faith, Hope and Love in the San Francisco Peninsula!

To view pictures from the event, please visit our church’s Facebook.

Happy 2013! | Resource Spotlight: The Crayon Kingdom by Jennie Bishop

Happy New Year everyone! We are grateful for all that has happened in this past year and look forward to a new year.

It was a little over four years ago when we stumbled upon a wonderful story by Jennie Bishop, “the Crayon Kingdom,” in the midst of development of a new production for a New Year’s event. The story is charming and thoughtful, and, at the time, just felt right.The decision was made to scrap our current developing production and to adapt, record and produce a Spanish puppet musical of the Crayon Kingdom (with only 6 weeks until show time)! Little did we know just how beautiful this production would turn out to be and now, years later, we are more than happy to recommend this book, whether for pleasure reading/learning or production material.The Crayon Kingdom tells the story of the trouble that ensues once Green feels underappreciated and decides to work only with other Greens instead of his colorful friends. Join the Crayons as they learn the necessity and beauty of working together to make a masterpiece.

The Crayon Kingdom is available from PurityWorks.

Listen to our Spanish adaptation on YouTube.

CMT on Touring Sabbatical for Fall 2012 – Spring 2013

We have some news to share! Our director, Gabriel, has been accepted into AmeriCorps NCCC, a national program that sends members to different cities for short-term service projects. Congratulations! We are very excited for him and this opportunity.

The leadership at Iglesia Jesucristo Es El Señor is preparing for the transition in leadership for the team during Gabriel’s 10 month leave of service. The team will continue to rehearse and work within the church but will be taking a sabbatical from touring programs.

Please keep our team and Gabriel in your prayers as we undergo these changes. We look forward to picking up touring once again in the summer. So until then, stay tuned!

Teaching and Reaching in Panama City with Hands of Peace

A few months ago I was blessed with the invitation to join Hands of Peace Ministry Team from Connecticut on a mission trip to Panama City, coordinated with Ministerios IR (Go Ministries). I first worked with Hands of Peace in January in Mexico.

Like Mexico, our objective was to equip and encourage children's workers, church leaders and youth with creative arts tools to reach out to their community. The 7 days consisted mostly of 3 days of training rehearsals and workshops and 3 days of dress rehearsals and children's crusades. Reflecting on this experience, all I can say is: WOW!

God never ceases to amaze me. Over 3 days we were able to share with the eager and ready-to-learn Panamanians several ideas ranging from puppetry, ventriloquism, props, creative movement, dowel rods, sign language, illusions, hand mime and blacklight.

Their eagerness and willingness to serve was particularly striking. Our host church's, Comunidad Evangelica Monte de Sion (COEMONSI), slogan is "salvos para servir" (saved to serve). They unhesitatingly lived up to this challenge.

 

The 3 days of workshops also included afternoon rehearsals, (about 2-3 hours a day), where we trained 3 different teams to participate in our program for the children's crusades. The brothers and sisters were motivated, not only to learning the program but to being excellent.

The next three days of dress rehearsals and children's crusades were long and arduous. Still, our team was the epitome of dedication: assisting with set-up/tear-down, distributing invitations to the community (rain or shine) and enduring the sticky heat in rehearsal and performance.

Our first crusade was in a rural community 2 hours away from Panama City, where teen pregnancy is high and electricity/running water can be considered a luxury. Our program there was powered with a generator, portable sound system and lit by a single bulb. Our last 2 crusades were in the barrios Pedregal and Concepcion, both considered "red zones" for drug dealing, assaults and other violence.

While each crusade ranged from small to large facilities, very hot to slightly less so, from mostly adult to mostly children, what never changed was the genuine fun and wonder captured in the program, backed with God's presence and the call to accept Him.

Many of our objectives were met in those 7 days of work in Panama: equipping the leaders, training the youth and reaching out into the community. Better yet, other benefits came about as "side effects," including working collaboratively with other churches, developing the leadership of the church members and empowering the youth with ministry that opened the eyes of the adults to their potential.

I am so grateful for the wondrous opportunity I had to be a part of this trip. Many people came to know Christ during our visit and we are excited for the potential ripple effects that will continue long after we are gone.  As COEMONSI's Pastor Elias said: "Several little lights have been lit that are now going back to their homes, where they will shine in the darkness."

Though we did come to equip and encourage our brothers and sisters in Panama, the blessing they are to our own lives is just as great. Their humility, dedication and servant's hearts are inspirational and they send us back home refreshed, rejuvenated and eager to serve!

For the daily photo updates, photo albums, videos and more visit our Facebook or Google+.

Taking it to the MAX!

I had the incredible priviledge of being selected to participate in the Creative Ministry Dream Team at Ministry Arts Xtra (MAX) in Ohio. The Dream Team was charged with one task: learn a program in 3.5 days to serve as the finale performance for the conference. No worries... right?

Being on the Dream Team was inspirational. The high caliber of talent was apparent as soon as we began rehearsing. What was most amazing and impressive though was the passion burning inside these servant leaders, especially our directors, Christy Watkins and Amanda Cowles.

Despite running on little sleep, a problem I credit to the time change and a little thing called work, I survived the 6+ hours of rehearsal a day. Better yet, I had an amazing time!

Working with the Dream Team was a breath of fresh air. Imagine getting to spend all day with a group of 18 passionate and talented people that "God brought together for a moment in time to shine for Him."

Speaking of which, the program was titled "Shine." Don't let the simple name fool you, the depth of the script is awe inspiring.

The story centers around a hilariously adorable 3-year old turtle named Gigi (voiced by Amanda Cowles) who sits in her bedroom and talks to God. About what? About her day, about being his child and about what it means to shine for Him.

The program featured a variety of creative arts, including live puppetry, outfront puppetry, blacklight, drama, sign language, reverse blacklight, dance and dowel rods. The settings explored were just as diverse, ranging from a corn field to a jungle to the life of Jesus to the depths of history itself.

The week was filled with several God moments but perhaps the one that struck me the most was before I even met the Dream Team and became a theme throughout the week. It was the last line of the letter from the directors:
"We are looking forward to creating a program together with you and then laying it at His feet."

Wow, that hit me. I really don't how to explain why but it did. I've always loved the arts. It's something I am passionate about. I know I'm not the best preacher, singer, evangelist or writer and often we are made to feel these are the ways to share Christ.

But when I arrange a program and get to present the message of salvation,  I feel as if I'm finally doing something right. Yes, I am aware that I am using my gifts for God, but something about the visual of laying your passion, effort and work at His feet just floored me. What a beautiful way to look at the meaning behind our work!

MAX and the Dream Team definitely challenged my ideas of what it means to be a Christian artist. Our goal became not to have audiences saying "Wow what a performance" rather "WOW, what an amazing God!"

It's not about us. It's about him. We are not the light. He is.

So I leave you with this challenge: "Dare we hope to be mirrors in the hands of God? To behold God so intently that we can't help but reflect the light of God? To live a life that really 'shines' for him?"