Unfolding Drama
No Greater Joy Ministries is sending out this foursome (nine-some, if you count the kids) to minister the Word of God in drama. Pray for them as they go out with the ministry of reconciliation in Christ’s stead.
About eleven years ago when we were sponsoring a Missions Conference for young men here at Cane Creek, Gregg Rozeboom showed up. He was a quiet home-schooled boy, about eighteen years old. I noticed that he was quite serious, for when the other guys were all goofing off, he was following me around asking Bible questions. Over the next several years, he came back from time to time. If I had to pick one word to describe Gregg then and now, it would be “deliberate”. He deliberately got up early and sought God in the Scriptures and prayer. He deliberately maintained a cautious and circumspect relationship with the girls. He was deliberate in the company he kept and in the entertainment he allowed himself. He didn’t seem to do anything by chance or passion. He considered his ways and chose his course with care. Gregg eventually moved here and worked with some of the men, learning a little about the building trade. In time, he went back home and brought back a lovely wife. She, too, seemed to be a deliberate choice. He clearly didn’t look for her in the homely circle or the dummy crowd. Katie is as deliberate and serious as her husband—committed to the will of God with all her heart.
When Gregg bought land and said he was going to build his own house, I laughed at the ridiculousness of it. But he worked diligently, and he kept learning. He then sold that house and bought a more expensive lot, building a house that sold for more, per square foot, than any home had ever brought in that city.
For five years, Gregg went to the prison with me every Saturday and some Sundays. Again, he quietly listened and learned. Then about three years ago, when I was teaching a Bible conference in California, Gregg put together a gospel drama with his wife Katie, my daughter Shalom and her husband Justin. He was supposed to be teaching the kids while I taught the adults, but I noticed that my crowd grew smaller every day and his grew larger. Many of the adults preferred the dramatized gospel over traditional Bible teaching. Since that conference, Gregg and “his troop” have developed some costumes and props and have continued to perform for audiences.
He recently bought a house in Colorado and is remodeling it for resale. Like other things in his life, Gregg had deliberately planned to continue building houses until he owned a home free and clear and had enough investments to live comfortably while he then gave himself to ministry. He was recently invited to go to Alaska and perform his Bible presentation. In his own words from a letter he wrote to Justin he tells of God’s deliberate choice.
“This last trip to Alaska was life-changing for me. I carried the gospel message to churches and a Bible school, and I was amazed at the power of the message, even amongst Christians. Last October, when Katie and I were on our way home from Tennessee, she was so excited about the ministry we had done in there. She told me she was ready to do ministry full-time. I reminded her that I wanted to keep going with our original plan (a plan we came up with 5 years ago), which was to work for 8-10 years until we had enough money to build a dream home, and had enough money to minister full-time.”
In the meantime, God called Shalom and Justin to minister. Justin dissolved his business and made preparations to hit the road. Gregg continues his letter to Justin:
“When I called you guys a month ago and heard about your ministry plans, I was happy for you, but I told Katie that my plan was to keep working, and just do ministry on the side. Then we went to Alaska, where I was busy speaking and doing dramas every day. I saw a lot of lives changed by God’s Word. Seeing those lives so powerfully affected by the message changed me. Now, my dreams of getting rich and living in a dream home seem quite distant. In my heart that old goal was replaced with a new one—to preach the gospel.
In Alaska we mainly spoke to people at churches and a Bible school. Many commented after our presentations that they understood the gospel more clearly than ever before.
The most life-changing meeting for me was with a youth group of around fifty teens. You could have heard a pin drop throughout the hour-long message. There was a lot of emotion in the kids’ faces during that presentation, and afterwards, many of the teens spoke with me about the truth of the message they had heard. It was after this meeting that I knew in my heart that I wanted to spend all my time evangelizing. I don’t know how it’s all going to work out, but we are trying to finish this house as fast as we can so that we can devote our lives to the gospel!”
No Greater Joy Ministries is sending out this foursome (nine-some, if you count the kids) to minister the Word of God in drama. Pray for them as they go out with the ministry of reconciliation in Christ’s stead.
To view some of these living dramas, go to Nogreaterjoy.org and click on Podcast. Then, click on Unfolding Drama. If you would like to contact Gregg directly, go to www.unfoldingdrama.com
