Massachusetts church hosts Christmas Dinner Theater
Hanson, MA
Calvary Baptist Church and Pastor Tim Shafer hosted a Christmas dinner theater for community outreach December 12, 2010, with 220 people attending, 45 visitors, and two decisions for salvation. The production, under the direction of Arlene Shafer, the pastor’s wife, was called “Four Tickets for Christmas.”
This is the second dinner theater for Calvary. Shafer says, “My friend John Arnold had effectively used a dinner theater approach for Christmas outreach, and so when I wanted to do something different from an ordinary cantata or program in 2009, we did our own dinner theater.”
That first production was a learning experience. Tim says, “The fellowship hall ceiling was too low, the lighting was poor, the room was too small, and since we didn’t have enough food for everyone, some people left without receiving the meal that they had paid for.”
However, the 2010 dinner theater program was done at the Halifax Country Club. The country club took care of preparing and serving the meals, which allowed the church members to focus on the details of the program. Preparation began early September and practices were held every Sunday for 3-4 hours for the entire cast, choir, and crew. Arlene Shafer observed, “I am so excited because most of our folks felt that this was too big for them to pull off, and none of us has had any training or background in theater. It was such a blessing to watch our members flourish and grow as they worked together on the program.”
The church also saw some unintended benefits. Shafer had challenged members to “adopt” a table by giving $100 so five friends could come. One member contributed 15 tickets for those who had fallen on hard times. Assistant Pastor Jeff Lavoie said, “I’ve talked about church unity for years, but I have never seen a church this unified. Everyone did their part — the director, choir, cast, and stage hands — but it didn’t stop there. Our people stepped up and brought their neighbors and friends, and those that couldn’t make it bought the tickets for the visitors — it was incredible!” Even some outside the church gave assistance.
At the conclusion of the program, Tim summarized the gospel message and extended further invitations to the Christmas services. He says, “The full result is yet to be fully realized. We know several who acknowledged their need of Jesus, and we believe there will be others as we begin to follow up. The result in the Calvary family is the synergy created and the confidence that a church of our size (about 130) could have accomplished such a great outreach ministry.“
Church presents Gospel According to Scrooge
Finleyville, PA
Pastor John Arnold and Crossroads Ministries have been hosting their annual Christmas dinner theater the past several years. This year’s edition, “The Gospel According To Scrooge” drew 1,100 people over the course of four presentations in December.
Pastor Arnold says the dinner theater is their best evangelistic outreach of the year. When performance practice began in September, so did the prayer for those who would be invited. Church members buy tickets for their guests, and only a few are left for the general public. One woman bought 70 tickets and brought her whole neighborhood. Arnold explains, “The aim is not to bring in the public but to bring those with whom we are building relationships and to give our people an opportunity to continue the conversation.”
Arnold also connects the dinner theater with other outreach ministries. The classic car people in the church were responsible for bringing 50 of their car friends. Arnold says, “There were some surprises. When I saw one man sitting there, I was taken aback. He is notorious as one in need of God. The man who portrayed Scrooge was an agnostic just two years ago. On Saturday evening, his family came all the way from Cincinnati and Columbus, OH, to see him and his wife as cast members. He told me that he really related to the part because his background was similar to Scrooge before he experienced a massive change in Christ.”