Impact Ministries - The Rock Church Drama Club
1. What is the mission statement for IMPACT ministry?
The Mission Statement for Impact Ministries is borrowed from Bro Howi Tiller... "Altar Calls, not Curtain Calls". To borrow another quote from Pastor Vaughn Morton, "If you ain't got the anointin', you ain't got nothin'!"
2. How many people are involved in IMPACT ministry currently?
Currently we have 10-12 regular members attending our Drama Club meetings. This group is growing every month. Here we learn basic theatrical techniques such as blocking, voice projection, and stage presence. We also attend special seminars and conferences to enhance our abilities and skills. There is much more to drama than memorizing a script and wearing a costume.
3. What types of presentations do you give, i.e. skits, sticks, dramas, etc...?
Impact Ministries is really broken into, but not limited to several categories. Any major production can consist of a cast and crew of between 25 to 150 members. Live music, special effects, multimedia and video presentations. We have a lot of talent in the Rock Church that help out. Currently we have teams for announcements and special services called the Messengers, developed by Bro. Don Scott. This group usually consists of 4-7 people that perform small sketches and comedies. We have a Dowel Rod team called "Extended Hands". This group of young people perform to a song using painted dowel rods and/or sign language or both. The interpretation of the song is choreographed to help the audience "SEE" the message. This is all done without saying a word! Mini dramas, Mystery Dinners, performances in the park, monologues, and Sermon Accompaniments are all a part of this ever-expanding ministry.
4. What is your ultimate goal for IMPACT?
Our goals are to purposely reach for and affect the souls of men and through people that are passionate about this ministry. We would love to provide an "avenue" to restore the soul of man, whether saint or sinner, to a "higher" level of an understanding of Jesus, through drama. We'll make you laugh, and we'll make you cry, but rest assured, you will hear the doctrine and the message of what we believe as One-God Apostolics...that is our ultimate goal. We also look forward to Radio Dramatizations and getting this message out unto the world via the web.
5. Are you currently recruiting for more people to join your team? If so how many and what age groups?
ANYBODY and EVERYBODY is welcomed to be a part of IMPACT MINISTRIES. This is not a special exclusive club to join. I don't hold a degree in Dramatic Arts. We meet in the sanctuary 2 nights of the month. We post announcements to let everyone know. We are always looking for new ideas and need anyone from 9 days to 90 years old. Drama is acting out 'everyday life'. Every age group is represented.
If God inspired you to write a script or a special song, don't bury it in the dirt and waste your talent. Bring it to us. We have recruited the "Quiet and Shy" people to fill in a spot within a sketch and they were so scared, but afterwards, they volunteered for the next drama. As I mentioned before, there is SO MUCH dramatic talent in the Rock Church. Think about this, Bishop Wilson and Pastor Young use Drama almost every time they preach when they illustrate their sermons using a person from the audience or teach us an object lesson. This is all part of DRAMA.
6. List a couple of significant presentations or experiences that you have had while leading IMPACT ministry
I love working with the youth. What a challenge! Whew! I love to teach and watch someone who may not be used as a special singer or choir member, blossom as a drama minister. We fall hand-in-hand with the mission of the Rock Church of "Helping People Become..." and "Every member a Minister". Each drama member, on stage, becomes a minister of the Gospel. Every Drama Club member knows that their performance is not for their own glory, but for the Glory of God. We have witnessed the Holy Ghost move in and capture the audience in the midst of a scene where the cast couldn't even complete their lines.
Looking back over the years that we have been involved as leaders of Impact Ministries/Drama Department, our team has written and performed many sketches.
War of 2 Worlds, written by Bishop Wilson at Senior Camp 2000 was an incredible experience. That was my first major production as part of the Directors Staff. But one in particular is forever burned in my mind. It also personally showed me that GOD was in control of this one!
We were asked to come up with an Easter Production within 2 weeks. Oh boy, we were scrambling. I sat with my laptop at approximately 1:30 AM and the Lord impressed on me that he would be "Whatever I NEEDED Him to be". So I began writing a script about several people from different walks of life. From the beggar, a pregnant woman, some latch-key kids, to a woman that was in the midst of contemplating suicide. My mind was racing because I knew I didn't have a lot of time to get a cast ready, not to mention the music and that "perfect song" that was already recorded by "someone else". The very next morning, still very tired from the lack of sleep, I received a phone call, at work, from Bro. Matt Jones, our Music Pastor. We hadn't even talked about the script that we felt that God gave to us just a few hours before. I had asked him to think about a song that would fit our script when he interrupted me and said, to the effect, that, 'God gave him a song at about one o'clock in the morning'. He mentioned about a woman, some homeless kids and a troubled man. When he said the title of the song he just wrote, you can imagine that I was now wide awake with goose bumps on my goose bumps (like I have now!). The name of the song was called "I'll Be - Whatever You Need". With the help from Bro. Doug Salters, we directed, in my opinion, an awesome performance. I would also like to mention that five of the eight main cast members had never been in a major role before and performed wonderfully.
There are too many others to share. There may not be enough books to contain them all, but I would like to leave you with this thought...Jesus was consistently teaching and speaking with in the mode of a playwright. He did not have an oak pulpit on a platform. The world was his stage. From speaking hidden truths through parables, or flipping over the tables of the money changers in the temple, to gently placing a child on his knee even while rebuking the Scribes at the same time. Jesus not only told the story...He lived it! He made it real through his actions and His words...through the means of DRAMA. He left us his Script, the Word of God, to use as a template. On his final performance, he took a bow. Not a bow that gave glory to the "flesh of Jesus", but unto God. Then, he exited, stage...ah, er, UP! I can't wait for His encore!
Bro Chris Lombardo
The Mission Statement for Impact Ministries is borrowed from Bro Howi Tiller... "Altar Calls, not Curtain Calls". To borrow another quote from Pastor Vaughn Morton, "If you ain't got the anointin', you ain't got nothin'!"
2. How many people are involved in IMPACT ministry currently?
Currently we have 10-12 regular members attending our Drama Club meetings. This group is growing every month. Here we learn basic theatrical techniques such as blocking, voice projection, and stage presence. We also attend special seminars and conferences to enhance our abilities and skills. There is much more to drama than memorizing a script and wearing a costume.
3. What types of presentations do you give, i.e. skits, sticks, dramas, etc...?
Impact Ministries is really broken into, but not limited to several categories. Any major production can consist of a cast and crew of between 25 to 150 members. Live music, special effects, multimedia and video presentations. We have a lot of talent in the Rock Church that help out. Currently we have teams for announcements and special services called the Messengers, developed by Bro. Don Scott. This group usually consists of 4-7 people that perform small sketches and comedies. We have a Dowel Rod team called "Extended Hands". This group of young people perform to a song using painted dowel rods and/or sign language or both. The interpretation of the song is choreographed to help the audience "SEE" the message. This is all done without saying a word! Mini dramas, Mystery Dinners, performances in the park, monologues, and Sermon Accompaniments are all a part of this ever-expanding ministry.
4. What is your ultimate goal for IMPACT?
Our goals are to purposely reach for and affect the souls of men and through people that are passionate about this ministry. We would love to provide an "avenue" to restore the soul of man, whether saint or sinner, to a "higher" level of an understanding of Jesus, through drama. We'll make you laugh, and we'll make you cry, but rest assured, you will hear the doctrine and the message of what we believe as One-God Apostolics...that is our ultimate goal. We also look forward to Radio Dramatizations and getting this message out unto the world via the web.
5. Are you currently recruiting for more people to join your team? If so how many and what age groups?
ANYBODY and EVERYBODY is welcomed to be a part of IMPACT MINISTRIES. This is not a special exclusive club to join. I don't hold a degree in Dramatic Arts. We meet in the sanctuary 2 nights of the month. We post announcements to let everyone know. We are always looking for new ideas and need anyone from 9 days to 90 years old. Drama is acting out 'everyday life'. Every age group is represented.
If God inspired you to write a script or a special song, don't bury it in the dirt and waste your talent. Bring it to us. We have recruited the "Quiet and Shy" people to fill in a spot within a sketch and they were so scared, but afterwards, they volunteered for the next drama. As I mentioned before, there is SO MUCH dramatic talent in the Rock Church. Think about this, Bishop Wilson and Pastor Young use Drama almost every time they preach when they illustrate their sermons using a person from the audience or teach us an object lesson. This is all part of DRAMA.
6. List a couple of significant presentations or experiences that you have had while leading IMPACT ministry
I love working with the youth. What a challenge! Whew! I love to teach and watch someone who may not be used as a special singer or choir member, blossom as a drama minister. We fall hand-in-hand with the mission of the Rock Church of "Helping People Become..." and "Every member a Minister". Each drama member, on stage, becomes a minister of the Gospel. Every Drama Club member knows that their performance is not for their own glory, but for the Glory of God. We have witnessed the Holy Ghost move in and capture the audience in the midst of a scene where the cast couldn't even complete their lines.
Looking back over the years that we have been involved as leaders of Impact Ministries/Drama Department, our team has written and performed many sketches.
War of 2 Worlds, written by Bishop Wilson at Senior Camp 2000 was an incredible experience. That was my first major production as part of the Directors Staff. But one in particular is forever burned in my mind. It also personally showed me that GOD was in control of this one!
We were asked to come up with an Easter Production within 2 weeks. Oh boy, we were scrambling. I sat with my laptop at approximately 1:30 AM and the Lord impressed on me that he would be "Whatever I NEEDED Him to be". So I began writing a script about several people from different walks of life. From the beggar, a pregnant woman, some latch-key kids, to a woman that was in the midst of contemplating suicide. My mind was racing because I knew I didn't have a lot of time to get a cast ready, not to mention the music and that "perfect song" that was already recorded by "someone else". The very next morning, still very tired from the lack of sleep, I received a phone call, at work, from Bro. Matt Jones, our Music Pastor. We hadn't even talked about the script that we felt that God gave to us just a few hours before. I had asked him to think about a song that would fit our script when he interrupted me and said, to the effect, that, 'God gave him a song at about one o'clock in the morning'. He mentioned about a woman, some homeless kids and a troubled man. When he said the title of the song he just wrote, you can imagine that I was now wide awake with goose bumps on my goose bumps (like I have now!). The name of the song was called "I'll Be - Whatever You Need". With the help from Bro. Doug Salters, we directed, in my opinion, an awesome performance. I would also like to mention that five of the eight main cast members had never been in a major role before and performed wonderfully.
There are too many others to share. There may not be enough books to contain them all, but I would like to leave you with this thought...Jesus was consistently teaching and speaking with in the mode of a playwright. He did not have an oak pulpit on a platform. The world was his stage. From speaking hidden truths through parables, or flipping over the tables of the money changers in the temple, to gently placing a child on his knee even while rebuking the Scribes at the same time. Jesus not only told the story...He lived it! He made it real through his actions and His words...through the means of DRAMA. He left us his Script, the Word of God, to use as a template. On his final performance, he took a bow. Not a bow that gave glory to the "flesh of Jesus", but unto God. Then, he exited, stage...ah, er, UP! I can't wait for His encore!
Bro Chris Lombardo
posted by Chris Lombardo at
1:35 AM
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