When we heard about A Passion for Life 2022 our first thought was, “The Mark Drama! I wonder if there is a Mark Drama Director who is free?” A quick email to the team (info@themarkdrama.com) with some ideas of dates returned a green light!
Your first thought was drama, really?
“Yes!” and I am not the only one who thinks highly of The Mark Drama!
Richard Hagan of Emmanuel Church, Canterbury, says, “We have had more unbelievers come to Mark Drama than to any other outreach we have done.”
Jonathan Carswell of 10ofthose.com says, “If I am honest I went to the Mark Drama doubting how good it would be. I left in no doubt that it is absolutely outstanding.”
Another Church leader says, “When I look through my notes of all the outreach events we’ve done in the last few years, only against the Mark Drama have I written, ‘Must repeat.’”
Ed Pennington of Christ Church, Endcliffe, claims, “The Mark Drama is the best evangelistic event we have done.”
This kind of thing is barely ever said.
Seriously, who says this? When was the last time you heard things like this said of a church event?
Surely we must say to ourselves, that even if these claims were only half true (and I say from my experience they aren’t) we must make this a priority as a church!
So what are the nuts and bolts of it?
What is the Mark Drama? Simple – it is the whole of Mark’s gospel performed as theatre-in-the-round in 90 minutes by a team of 15 church volunteers. It is the word of God, it is Mark’s gospel, so we know it’s powerful; and the skill and care with which this drama has been produced do not get in the way of the gospel but make for what Vaughan Roberts says is, “both an excellent easy-invite, non-cringe evangelistic event for non-Christians, and an inspiring way for Christians to experience the power of Mark’s gospel freshly.”
But putting on a drama is impossible!
The first objection people often come up with is that putting on a drama is impossible for their church. Let me say that in 2022, covid almost made our production impossible. We almost cancelled our performances, but we were able to put on two events attended by about 150 and 130 guests, a great many of whom were visitors. I have just completed Christianity Explored with one guy who came to church through The Mark Drama and I am aware of at least a handful of others who have returned to church and are starting new investigations into the faith.
I have just completed Christianity Explored with one guy who came to church through The Mark Drama and I am aware of at least a handful of others who have returned to church and are starting new investigations into the faith.
Friends, God promises to supply our needs, and I can testify to that from our experience. But what is more, The Mark Drama has a number of innovative features that make this truly unique production a possibility.
Some common objections:
We don’t have any actors! This seems to be a problem but is actually the drama’s greatest strength. Normal non-professionals put this on. So for your team the invite is, “Come and support me” – which is a great invite.
Won’t that make it naff or poor quality or unprofessional? No, it won’t! It makes the production authentic! Did Jesus call qualified, professional disciples? No, he did not! The disciples in your church are perfectly qualified to play these roles. When they make mistakes and look silly, they are just like the disciples in Mark’s gospel!
But we are going to struggle to learn the lines and commit to a long schedule of rehearsals. We are busy people! Indeed! If this were the case it would put this production beyond the bounds of most churches. However, weeks of rehearsals are not required, the cast will do some very manageable learning (not lines!) in the 6 weeks leading up to the production, and then rehearsals are done over two evenings and a Saturday before the performances. This is all possible because the play is almost entirely ‘improvised’ based on Mark’s gospel.
We are going to need a lot of help. The Mark Drama will provide you with a director who will take you through the whole process. It sounds daunting but this process has been replicated time and time again to extraordinary effect. The Mark Drama is used internationally and now happens in over 20 different countries. It is possibly biggest in Germany and Australia where some churches often run The Mark Drama every year!
We are worried about dressing up. There is no dressing up – the beauty of The Mark Drama is that it strips all the unnecessary bits out of theatre. The team wears plain clothes so that what is put on display is simply Mark’s gospel. Some props are used but these are very minimal. The focus is on the gospel – the focus is on Jesus.
We are still worried about not having a team! Fair enough. The first time we put The Mark Drama on I was worried about the same thing. The Mark Drama requires a team of 15 people, 8 men and 7 women. What we did was work through our local gospel partnerships to do it together. Grace Church IOW is an FIEC church but we benefit from a very strong partnership with our friends at St James Church, Ryde and it has been a joy to put this on together. Glory to God!
We don’t have a venue! This can feel like a challenge though The Mark Drama tells me that the Drama has been performed in all kinds of spaces. We had the challenge of an awkward chapel space and St James’ building has pews. So we chose to hire a local secondary school, and then for our Sunday performance we hired the local Methodist church building. The Methodists were so pleased to be involved in supporting The Mark Drama that in the end they gave us the venue for free and we have a standing invitation to return.
Stepping off my Soapbox!
There’s more to say, but I’ll try to stop.
I love The Mark Drama not least because of the impact it has had on me and the team. One of the cast said to me after The Mark Drama weekend, “Oli, this has changed my life.” Such was the encounter with the Lord Jesus.
I cannot commend it highly enough. I am an evangelist for The Mark Drama because in it is the good news of my Lord.
Will you look at it? I doubt you will regret it.
For more information and help on how to put on The Mark Drama, visit themarkdrama.com
