This past summer I went on a family vacation to the west side of the United States. Along the way we made various stops to visit different colleges and see different sights. One of these special places we visited was the Sight and Sound Theatre in Branson, Missouri.
This theatre is extremely famous for its work in bringing the Bible to life in the format of a musical. We happened to be coming through the city in the time of their production of “Jonah”, which is a very famous bible story about a man who survived for three days and nights in the belly of the whale as God’s way of protecting him from consequences of his bad choices.
The reason I have chosen to highlight this specific portion of our trip is because I am a Christian and I find productions like this one fascinating. But this musical was not like most Bible movies or productions that often come off as cheesy and lack convincing factors of realism in them. “Jonah” was told from a point of view that would not only reach the Christians who already know this story from the Bible and are just there for the telling of the story; but it also appeals to people from a secular stance in the sense that if there were any non-believers in the audience who came just to see a good show, that is exactly what they got.
The talent in this production was unbelievable. Both the acting and the singing were something you could easily hear in any secular Broadway show. So often in Christian ministry, the idea that talent comes second to the message (which it does) is so heavily drilled that there eventually is no concern for the quality as long as the message is reaching people. While there is an element of truth to this, what one has to realize is that sometimes the way your message will stick out in the minds of others is by putting on a mind-blowing performance. That is precisely what Sight and Sound did in this musical. They combined the powerful Bible story about obedience that would appeal to the people there for a great message, with the elements of great stage presence and sound quality for the people attending for the sole purpose of the show portion. By putting these together, Sight and Sound have a great ministry under their belt.
This really opened my eyes to see that even in the most “worldly” of places where there are a lot of secular messages being passed around, God still has a hand in every place of the world; and He is using the most unique ways and people to complete the work of His kingdom. It just goes to show that you don’t have to be a pastor or a worship leader or a missionary to play a part in the Lord’s plan; He’s going to use you right where you are, with the gifts He has granted you.
If you are ever traveling and have the opportunity to stop in and see a production by Sight and Sound, it is definitely a stop worth making.
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