Christian Theatre?

Our church has had dramas of Christian origin. There are other churches who do this as well.

If you want to contact the National Drama Service, they have Christian skits.

 

Try this first and move around.

http://www.lifeway.com/lwc/mainpage/0,1701,M%253D50090,00.html

 

Click on the website again, and when the search engine square pops up, type in National Drama Service, go to exact words, highlight that and hit go. See what that produces.

 

25 Easy Ideas for the Dramatic Church!


Written by By Matt Tullos
Let’s say you are from a small church.

You have a small budget.
You have never tried drama as a communication vehicle.
You are doing well to get through a traditional worship experience without adding drama.
Besides, drama requires huge sets, laser lighting, detailed costuming, master thespians, scripts so expensive you’ll have to take a cut in pay to afford, and of course, a very open-minded congregation.

Right? Wrong!

Here are some simple, easy and inexpensive ways to make dramatic changes in your church.

Scripture Reading. Instead of simply having one person read the Scripture, have two or three people divide the Scriptures into parts and read it. For instance, read the story of Adam and Eve, using a narrator, someone reading Adam’s words, another reading Eve’s, another reading the serpent’s, and one reading God’s lines. The message is communicated and the Scripture is received.

A Homeless Person. The next time you speak on mercy or “the least of these,” have someone dressed as a homeless person come into your worship service and sit down among the regular attendees.

Sign Language. Have someone learn the American Sign Language interpretation of a familiar hymn, and let someone sign the words as the congregation sings. There’s a good chance someone in your congregation already knows sign language and would love to help you.

Use the Youth. Allow the youth to act out one of their favorite Christian songs. The MTV generation enjoys doing this, and you’ll be surprised by their insight and creativity. Be sure to give them some adult supervision.

TV Clips. On a Sunday night try showing the congregation a 20-second clip from a TV drama or sitcom that illustrates a concept you are trying to drive home. TV drama in very small doses can set up a crisis or concept. Then, you can turn to the Bible for the solution.

Use Nails. The next time you preach on the crucifixion, distribute nails to the congregation. Ask them to press the nails against their palms as you listen quietly to a hymn of commitment.

National Drama Service. Purchase a subscription to the National Drama Service (available on the Dated Order Form or by calling 1.800.436.3869). It’s a quarterly publication of scripts that gives you photocopy rights to all the material. Most require limited props and lighting. They are short enough to be incorporated into a traditional worship gathering. You will receive over 100 scripts a year for only 35 dollars!

Group Improvisation. Preach through the Beatitudes and have teams of youth or adults assigned to improvise a situation that illustrates a Beatitude. Give each team a few weeks’ notice and keep encouraging them. (This would work with many other sermon series, such as the phrases of the Lord’s prayer and the parables.)

Puppets. If you have one puppet and one puppeteer with a little flare, you’ll never have to make a boring church announcement again. Let the puppet do the talking. It’s always amazing how well people will listen to a dummy! (I’m speaking, of course, of the puppet, not the preacher!) It is even more fun if the minister gets into an off-the-cuff dialogue with the puppet. Fun things happen!

Grow a Beard? For a week don’t shave one side of your face! Do a monologue about being a half-hearted person, always doing things half way, never able to make up your mind. Then shift gears back into the teacher/preacher mode and talk about the absurdity of this lifestyle. Preach about the absurdity of the half-hearted Christian.

Passover. Explain the meaning of the Lord’s Supper and its relation to the Passover meal. Have someone in your congregation prepare a Passover meal. Let each member taste the bitter herbs, the lamb, and the bread. You may even choose to dress in Judean attire.

Bible Characters. Assign certain people in your church to pray as if they were Moses, Daniel, Elijah, Paul, and John the Baptist. Between each prayer sing the chorus of the song Lord, Listen to Your Children Praying.

Cross for Sale. During a camp fire service, sing hymns and songs about the cross. Have someone dressed as Jesus carry a large cross and come toward the crowd calling out, “Cross for Sale!” Have two or three people prepared to respond with reasons why they couldn’t take the cross. Jesus leaves calling into the darkness, “Cross for Sale!” (He quietly leaves the cross standing alone.) Have someone spontaneously begin singing, “I have decided to follow Jesus.” Soon, everyone will be singing and walking in the direction of the actor playing Jesus.

Sound Effects. Use sound effects during Scripture readings. Sound effect tapes are found in most music stores. Imagine reading the parable of the wise and foolish builder with the sounds of construction and then sounds of a coming storm!

Film Clips. Make use of short biblical movie moments found in classic feature films like The Ten Commandments, Jesus of Nazareth, and The King of Kings. Make them brief and applicable.

Lip-Sync. Pastor or minister of education—next time you go on vacation, tape record your announcements and have a member lip-sync your recording. For a comical, light, non-worship moment nothing beats the surprise and humor of your voice with someone else’s face!

Make a Movie. Ask the youth to create their own video movie for Sunday School. Give them the topic and a video camera and watch the creativity and fun begin.

Candles. Candles can add drama to any service. Try turning the lights off, lighting a candle, and reading the following monologue:

This Little Light of Mine

We loved the light, so we built a church around it to shelter it from the cold, dark world.…and every Monday night we take it out to visit those who saw the light last Sunday.

We have matchbooks we carry with us, but we’re afraid to use them for fear that something might catch fire and we wouldn’t be able to control it.

So we leave the candle at the church where we can visit it whenever we want.

We love our light, but it seems these days that the light is getting dim… perhaps because it’s running out of oxygen due to the walls we’ve built around it.

Every now and then I wonder what would happen if we opened the door and let the fire warm and the light shine, but we’ve grown quite accustomed to the darkness.

Hide it under a bushel? No.

We’d much prefer hiding it in a church. . . .

We know Satan would never find it there—would he?

(Pause, next line to be sung)

Don’t let Satan-

(Blow the candle out)

Readers Theater. It’s easy and nonthreatening to the untrained dramatist. It requires rehearsal, familiarity, and expression, but it doesn’t require memorization. Here's a sample download: We Must Be Children (PDF format).

Poetry. Even Dr. Suess can be spiritual. Green Eggs and Ham is a great parable of stubborn attitudes and closed minds. You’d be a big hit with all ages!

A Potter. Invite a potter to make a pot on the potter’s wheel while you preach on Jeremiah’s Potters Story.

Clowning. Use clowning for nursing home visitation. This is a great tool for breaking down barriers.

Violin. Read the famous poem Touch of the Master’s Hand. Hold a violin as you read about the auction, then have a violinist come out of the audience and play it as you read the concluding verses of the poem.

Storytelling. Learn the fine art of story telling. Read and listen to the greats: Max Lucado, Garrison Keillor, Paul Harvey, and a score of others. Nothing beats a story told well. If you can incorporate a visual element it will make the story more memorable and powerful.

Use the Gifts. Encourage your artistic members to express their gift in the life of your church. For some it will be story telling, painting, song writing, acting, or clowning. For others it may be simply a concept that someone else may be able to interpret. One thing is certain. If you open the door for drama, done with excellence and creativity, it will breathe new vitality and vision to whatever church you are serving.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Matt is a bivocational pastor at Hobson Pike Baptist Church in Mt. Juliet, Tenn. Co-host of the popular webcast Worship Wired Weekly, Matt also serves as editor-in-chief of Let’s Worship magazine.



Related Articles:
The Emergence of Dramatic Worship
Worship Wired Weekly
12 Ways to Create Powerful Worship Experiences

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Easy Ideas for Drama in Worship



Using drama in worship usually requires some planning, but that doesn't mean it has to be a Broadway production. Even the simplest dramatic touches can add meaning and depth to your church's services. Work with your church staff to incorporate some simple ideas into worship. Check out these easy and inexpensive ways to make "dramatic" changes in your church:

Instead of having one person read the Scripture, have two or three people divide it into parts and read it.
Next time you speak on mercy or "the least of these," have someone dressed as a homeless person come into your worship service and sit down among the regular attendees.
Have someone learn the American Sign Language interpretation of a familiar hymn, and let him/her sign the words as the congregation sings. There's a good chance someone in your congregation already knows sign language and would be happy to help out.
Allow your youth to act out one of their favorite Christian songs. The MTV generation enjoys these activities. You'll be surprised by their insight and creativity.
On a Sunday night, try showing the congregation a 20-second clip from a TV drama or sitcom that illustrates the concept your pastor is trying to drive home. TV drama in small doses can set up a crisis or concept. Then your pastor can examine the Bible for solutions to the dilemma.
Next time the sermon deals with the crucifixion, distribute nails to the congregation. Ask them to press the nails against their palms as they listen quietly to a hymn of commitment.
Buy a subscription to the National Drama Service (1(800)436-3869), which provides a quarterly publication of scripts that include photocopy rights to all the material--more than 100 scripts a year! Most are appropriate for a worship service.
During a sermon on the Beatitudes (or any other sermon series such as the Lord's Prayer, etc.), have teams of youth or adults assigned to improvise a situation that illustrates a certain beatitude.
If you have one puppet and a puppeteer with a little improvisational flare, you'll never have to make a boring church announcement again. Let the puppet do the talking.
Assign certain people in your church to pray as if they were Moses, Daniel, Elijah, Paul and John the Baptist. After each prayer, sing the chorus of "Lord, Listen to Your Children Praying."
Use sound effects during Scripture readings. Imagine reading the parable of the wise and foolish builders with the sounds of construction and sounds of a coming storm!
Ask youth to create their own video movie for Sunday School. Give them the topic and a video camera and let the fun begin.
Candles can add drama to any service. You may want to incorporate them into a monologue, Scripture reading, prayer time, etc.
Use readers' theater. It's easy and nonthreatening to the untrained dramatist. It requires rehearsal, familiarity and expression but doesn't require memorization.
Use poetry--even Dr. Seuss can be spiritual! "Green Eggs & Ham" is a great parable of stubborn attitudes and closed minds. You'll be a hit with all ages!
Invite a potter to make a pot on the potter's wheel while your pastor preaches on Jeremiah's potter story.
Use clowning for nursing home visitation. This is a great tool for breaking down barriers.
Read the famous poem "Touch of the Master's Hand." Hold a violin as you read, then have a violinist come out of the audience and play it as you read the concluding verses of the poem.
Learn the fine art of storytelling. Nothing beats a well-told story. If you can incorporate a visual element, it will make the story more memorable and powerful.
Encourage artistic church members to express their gifts in the life of the church. For some it will be storytelling, painting, songwriting, acting or clowning. For others, it may be dreaming up a concept that someone else can interpret.
In all these suggestions, one thing is certain: If you open the door for drama, done with excellence and creativity, it will breath new vitality and vision into whatever church you are serving!

 

Baptistas,

You might go to the Lifeway website, and go to where you can send them an email, and ask them about the National Drama Service. They might could give you free stuff, since you are overseas and would probably have to translate a lot of the stuf yourself. Worth a try.

 

Baptistas,

You might go to the Lifeway website, and go to where you can send them an email, and ask them about the National Drama Service. They might could give you free stuff, since you are overseas and would probably have to translate a lot of the stuf yourself. Worth a try.

 

yes. It is a Baptist website.

 

Baptistas - Greetings. My father help pastor Bethel Russian Baptist church in Atlanta, GA for several years. I had the pleasure of meeting some of the members and they were the most wonderful and kind people I've ever met.

In my church, we do not use drama during our worship services. However, we have a very active Arts Ministry that produces various dramatic and musical productions. We also have a Sunday School class that focuses on Christianity & the Arts. The goal is to glorify God through the creative use of the artistic talent of our members. In addition, this is an excellent way to minister to those in our community who might never attend a church service otherwise.

I hope that this is helpful to you.

God's best to you,

FOS