CHURCH OF THE WEEK
Church Acts in Faith
By David Sisson and Gorman Woodfin
The 700 Club
CBN.com
– Hope Community Church of Raleigh, North Carolina, uses stage and screen to present the good news of the gospel in a dynamic and creative way.
“We use sound and light and music and drama and video to try to maintain the message that people can relate to, that will keep their attention and hold it,” executive pastor Dave Patchin explains. “When Jesus used parables, He set His message in a context that related to everyday life for the average person. And we try to do that with the Gospel and the Gospel message here at Hope.”
Hope Community uses drama as a key element in their Sunday services.
Debbie Dodson, who heads up the drama ministry, says, “We do dramas to ask questions. The teaching pastor can come forward and from God’s Word give us the answer. The actors enjoy playing such a significant part in the morning service.”
One of those actors is Siobhan Moraski. “There are so many lost people out there. I was lost for a long time myself, so I know where they’re coming from. And to be that on stage and have a resolution at the end is just- it’s a wonderful way that I’ve been blessed personally,” he notes.
The congregation has also been touched by the powerful dramas.
“A lot of times Christians tend to not want to fess-up for their real lives,” says Donnie Darr. “But when you see yourself up on stage through somebody else, [it] becomes real.”
Mary Ann Sibley, who was raised as a Buddhist, recalls just how much these stage actors have influenced her faith. “When I came, I came totally as an unbeliever and not knowing what church was about,” she says. “I saw a drama ministry come and do a drama, and they actually made me realize these people can be like me. They have troubles like me. They made me laugh. They have a sense of humor. So they weren’t these weird church people that I had this preconceived notion about.”
Pastor Patchin has great expectations for his church’s creative venture.
“We hope that they come away with a sense that life change really is possible, that Christ is real, and He can really make a difference in their day-to-day existence,” he says. “It’s not this far-away spirituality, but it’s a spirituality that can change their lives every day.”
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