At First Act Theatre Arts, we are excited and prayerfully looking forward, with abundant hope, that our next home is becoming a reality. Throughout the next year of our Capital Campaign, it is imperative that we make this journey rooted in Christ and the purposes created for us.
Let’s look at our Capital Campaign verse, 1 Peter 4:10… “God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.”
When digging into scripture from the Bible, it’s always good to get some context. So, let’s look at the verses that surround our Capital Campaign verse. In verse 9, it says, “Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay.”
Community at First Act is where it all starts. We are blessed that we get to use performing arts as an outlet to praise and honor God and shine the light of Christ out into the world. However, being in community with everyone is where relationships start and grow. We don’t just offer these classes, camps, and productions in our spaces, we do so with a cheerful heart and that is widely noticed and felt. Our world can feel dark and polarized at times. Some days it may feel like there is no cheer. Why would we cheer when there is pain, turmoil, grief, fear, and division around us? The Bible records many instances where undesirable circumstances are met with joy, patience, and cheerfulness which can show us that this world was never meant to end in doom and gloom.
In 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, it says, “Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” In trial and in gladness, we are called to be joyful, to pray, and to be thankful. As we move forward in this process, we do so cheerfully, although we know there may be pitfalls and frustrations, we keep our eyes fixed on the joy we have in
Christ which is the why behind what we do.
As we move into our next portion of scripture, we want to note that during this process, it will be essential for us to receive monetary gifts to reach our goal and secure our future home. However, there are many other gifts that will be necessary in this process. We are all provided in this life with many gifts. In the verse 1 Peter 4:11, Peter lists gifts such as speaking and helping others.
At First Act, young people grow in their communication skills. They use their skills in various ways, both within and beyond the walls of our Studio, to better and further their calling in this world. It is said that public speaking is the number one fear among Americans, this is over the fear of death, spiders, and heights. Each show season at First Act, we see upwards of 100 children and students stand up in front of a group to audition. They speak, sing, and dance in front of this group. They literally combat that number one fear over and over and over again! And they do so with cheerful hearts!
Also at First Act, our community is not a generic type. We have young people from all ages, races, socioeconomic status, ability levels, and identities. When this group of people come alongside one another to put on a production, each difference is utilized for a greater good. Our children and students work together to help each other make the show better just because they are in it together. When we help others, we not only honor God, our creator who made each of us uniquely and perfectly, we honor our calling in this world to shine the light of Christ Jesus, who is love and all things good.
As we enter and endure this race ahead of us, we encourage you to pray. If you want, you can set an alarm each day to pray at 4:10pm (our Campaign verse number) to remind you to make time. If you need help with ideas to pray for, we will get you started with 21 prompts. Pray that God will help us see our gifts and use them to continue building His kingdom here on Earth. At First Act Theatre Arts we believe every child deserves a place to belong, create, and shine. Together, we’re securing that place for generations to come.
“God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.” – 1 Peter 4:10
God hears all of our prayers (1 John 5:14-15) and we are confident that we will continue to be blessed on this journey.
We pray that our staff is full of God’s peace and encouragement. We ask God to bless their efforts that continue to make First Act run and thrive on a daily basis and beyond! We pray that our teachers and instructors are full of energy and joy as they meet with our students each week. May God give them grace, patience, and a loving heart and mind so that their light can shine into the lives of our students and those around us.
We ask that God covers our current young people with abundant grace and guidance. May they see His love and grace by examples around them and may they be changed by His great mercy, fervently excited to shine the light of Jesus each and every day. We also pray for students who haven’t met us yet, but will someday. May God provide them with a clear path to our organization and may they instantly feel peace and joy by being with us. May our resources and efforts in turn bless them and many others to come after.
We ask that the Holy Spirit moves mightily through our building search process. We need the next home for First Act to be one that will handle growth and last for many years to come! We ask that God does a great work in putting the pieces together so we know when and where to move, in His timing.
We ask God to bless the efforts of the Capital Campaign committee. Give them strength and hope to keep moving forward with the campaign, always looking for God’s direction and guidance in the process.
We ask for God’s hand of wisdom and grace to be upon the First Act Board members as they navigate the business of our organization. Help them to support our staff and families as they seek to keep this organization one that is needed in our community.
We pray that the Holy Spirit moves through not only our organization and search process, but also in the owners of our current space. May they see and feel God’s presence as the space becomes available. God works mighty deeds and we are all grateful to hear His call in our lives.
We ask that God provides energy and excitement in our realtor and lending teams as they support us in this process. Help them to know the importance of the mission of First Act and may they too see and experience the light of Christ through our partnership together.
We ask that our community, even those who have never heard of us before, see us and wonder where the joy is coming from. Spark their curiosity to want to get to know us and become part of our efforts in any way they feel called.
We ask that God continues to show up in the lives of our young people in this world. They are our future. With the light of Christ as their guide, may they continue bringing and displaying His positive message of grace and love to our world that so desperately needs it.
We ask that people in and out of our community are moved by the work of First Act and the light they see from our organization. May those who are able, give generously to support our next act. May God continue to bless First Act with generous donors as well as continue to bless our donors as they open their hearts to sharing their gifts.
We praise God for all of our gifts, talents, and abilities. We are so blessed to be able to work as a group, bringing together all of those abilities and shine the light of Christ in our classes, camps, productions, troupes, and more! May God continue to bless the HEART program and the students and families it serves as they are blessed by those experiences as well.
We are so grateful for our alumni and their families as they have been part of making First Act what it is today. We ask God to continue to help them shine His light even though they aren’t doing so on our stage anymore. We are blessed to have had their love and joy as part of our organization.
We ask that the Holy Spirit moves in and around our community as we seek for opportunities where designated funds are waiting to support us and our work. May God bless the efforts of the grant writers, giving them the words to say, and the patience and grace to work through sometimes tedious forms.
We are grateful for our Musical Theatre Troupe! Thank you God for this group that gets to share their talents with others not just in our community, but beyond! Continue to bless these young people and their Directors as they work hard and toward a common goal of shining your light to all!
We are grateful for our Dance Company! May the Holy Spirit stir up praises in the hearts of the company members, their Directors, and all that get to be witness to their witness on stage. May the joy and love of Jesus shine brightly to all of their audiences and beyond!
We are grateful for our Improv Troupe! May God bless the hearts and minds of these young actors and their Directors as they learn and hone this craft that is not only entertaining, but extremely helpful in our world. Give this group focus, patience, and grace as they work together and with their audiences.
We ask that God blesses our current productions with good health, focus, and energy as they work hard. May the light and love of Jesus shine through them as they step out on the stage and as they share their efforts with the audiences who will see them.
We ask the Holy Spirit to move through the young people and production staff that wait for their next turn to bring the joy of theatre to life. Bless our organization as we plan and prepare for all of our future productions and the many that will be involved.
We are grateful for our everyday lives and the places that we get to work, play, learn, and live. Thank you for the vast array of experience and backgrounds that we have at First Act. Please continue to bless our families in their everyday lives.
We are grateful for our country and all our freedoms. Although we may not always agree on the ins and outs of how business gets done, may God teach us to look through His lens of love, grace, and mercy so that we can continue moving forward together.
We are grateful for God’s amazing creation. Our world is home and its beauty is overwhelming. Thank you, Lord, for this place. Give us wisdom for how best to take care of your creation and to love it like you love us, unconditionally.
