Presentations
Evangelistic Theatre – Dramatize the life of Jesus or creatively present the gospel with a dessert theatre or dinner theatre presentation. Ask church members to invite friends, neighbors and coworkers. Encourage cast and crew members to leverage their participation as a key way to get their friends to attend the presentation.
Relationship-Building Dinner Theatre – Produce a dinner theatre presentation and focus the event on the relationship-building efforts of church members. Ask them to bring a friend with them as a way of making a connection with the church. Choose plays or musicals with a comedic streak as a way of “breaking the ice” with unchurched people.
Publishers
DramaShare – DramaShare.org is the world’s largest resource center for royalty-free Christian drama scripts, skits, sketches, sermon starters and full-length drama. DramaShare.org also offers ministry organization and training support for church drama ministries.
CrossPoint Script Service – Crosspoint Script Service publishes Christian drama for adults and students. With over 500 scripts, this resource features many scripts useful for seeker-oriented church services.
Jeannette Clift George Plays – Jeannette Clift George is the founder and Artistic Director of the A.D. Players, the Houston-based Christian Theater Company which offers plays throughout the world. Bible-based scripts—full-length plays, monologues, children’s scripts, one act plays and more—are available at her web site.
Lillenas Drama – Known for quality and variety, Lillenas Drama provides downloadable scripts, plays, sketches, worship resources, monologues, readers’ theatre and production resources. Lillenas Drama includes over 70 sketch collections, 40 plays and play collections, 15 how-to books, and over 60 program builders.
Pioneer Drama Service – Pioneer has a catalog of short comedies, musicals and plays appropriate for church and school settings.
Willow Creek Drama – Willow Creek Community Church sketches are a great source for innovative and seeker church drama scripts. Usually six to eight minutes in duration, these scripts present characters, people and life situations that make a connection. Willow Creek sketches are culture-based and topically-driven, making them especially appropriate for ministry to the unchurched. Most scripts list for $19.99 or $15.99 for WCA members.
Oral Interpretation Sources
Calvin Miller Books including:
- Apples, Snakes and Bellyaches
- The Book of Jesus: A Treasury of the Grestest Stories and Writings about Christ
- My Son, My Savior: The Awesome Wonder of Jesus’ Birth
- An Owner’s Manual for the Unfinished Soul
- The Singer Trilogy: The Mythic Retelling of the Story of the New Testament
- When the Aardvark Parked on the Ark and Other Poems
The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language by Eugene Peterson
Children’s Letters to God compiled by Stuart Hample and Eric Marshall (New York: Workman Publishing, 1991).
To the World’s Greatest Dad edited by Helen Exley (New York: Exley Giftbooks, 1992).
To the World’s Greatest Mother edited by Helen Exley (New York: Exley Giftbooks, 1992).
Theatre (Books)
Barr, Tony, Eric Stephan Kline and Edward Asner, Acting for the Camera, rev. ed. (San Francisco: HarperCollins, 1997).
Brook, Peter, The Empty Space: A Book about the Theatre: Deadly, Holy, Rough, Immediate (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1997).
Bruder, Melissa, A Practical Handbook for the Actor (New York: Vintage Books, 1986).
Litherland, Janet, The Complete Banner Handbook: A Creative Guide for Banner Design and Construction (Colorado Springs: Meriwether Publishing Ltd., 1987).
Naegelin, Lanny, and Ron Krikac, Getting Started in Oral Interpretation (Lincolnwood, IL: National Textbook Company, 1995).
Pederson, Steve, Drama Ministry: Practical Help for Making Drama a Vital Part of Your Church (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1999).
Robertson, Everett, The Dramatic Arts in Ministry (Nashville: Convention Press, 1989).