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| Evang. Eddie Orok |
The Power of Together: How Collaboration Fuels Your Drama Ministry
Have you ever felt that your drama ministry could be more? That the message you carry powerful, but somehow, its reach feels limited? You’re not alone. Many ministers feel this way, and the answer, as powerfully explained by Evang. Eddie Orok, in a conference lecture at the ongoing 21st Eastern Regional Conference of All Nigerian Conference of Evangelical Drama Ministers (ANCEDRAM), often lies not in working harder alone, but in working together.
The core of his message was simple yet profound: if a drama minister is to fulfil their God-given mandate—their calling and purpose—we cannot overlook the power of collaboration and association.
More Than Performance: A Divine Tool
First, it’s crucial to remember that drama ministry is far more than just a performance. It is a divine tool. “Divine” simply means something that comes from God. Therefore, as drama ministers, we are carrying a tool from God Himself to communicate the gospel effectively and powerfully.
This naturally leads to a question: how do I ensure my drama is truly from God? Evang. Orok emphasised that it starts with our personal lives as ministers. But beyond that, it is also achieved through partnership with others.
Why We Can’t Do It Alone: The Biblical Blueprint
The Bible is full of foundations that show us God’s heart for teamwork. Before organisations like ANCEDRAM (a network of drama ministries) existed, the very idea was born from a biblical principle: collaboration is the action of working with someone to produce something greater than what you could achieve alone.
Several scriptures anchor this truth:
* Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 tells us that “Two are better than one… for if they fall, one will lift up his companion.” There is a “good reward” for working together.
* Deuteronomy 32:30 shows the exponential power of unity: “How could one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight?” Collaboration helps us achieve astronomically more than we ever could as a single entity.
When we collaborate on a godly foundation like ANCEDRAM, failure has no reason to thrive. We achieve a unity that is precious to God. As the Psalmist says, “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” (Psalm 133:1).
The Gifts of Association: Mutual Support and Sharpening
Being part of a larger association offers incredible benefits that protect and propel our ministries.
1. It Grounds Us in Faith: Ephesians 4:11-14 explains that God gave ministers to the body of Christ so that we would all “come to the unity of the faith.” This collective journey takes us to a place of maturity and perfection, ensuring that as drama ministers, we are “no longer children, tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine.”
2. It Provides Mutual Encouragement: Hebrews 10:24-25 instructs us directly: “And let us consider one another to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together.” In an association, we learn to encourage and support one another, rather than putting each other down or trying to show ourselves as better. We are called to meet together, to support, and to inspire.
3. It Allows Us to Share Gifts: We all have different talents. 1 Peter 4:10 says, “As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” Collaboration is the perfect platform to use our diverse gifts for a common goal. It’s the practical outworking of the proverb: “As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend” (Proverbs 27:17). We make each other better.
4. It Enables Resource Sharing: The early church modelled this perfectly. Acts 4:32 says, “Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul… and they had all things in common.” This unity of purpose allows resources—ideas, props, stages, audiences—to be shared, helping to spread the ministry’s impact to diverse places we could never reach on our own.
Taking Practical Steps: How to Start Collaborating
Knowing the why is important, but what about the how? Evang. Orok suggested these practical steps:
1. Join a Network: Actively seek out and join a network of drama ministers like ANCEDRAM. Don’t remain isolated.
2. Organise Joint Programs: Plan events, workshops, and outreaches with other ministries in your area.
3. Attend Programs and Mentor Others: Be present at others’ events. Offer guidance to upcoming ministers and be open to receiving it from those more experienced.
This all reflects the beautiful picture painted in Romans 12:4-5: “For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.”
We possess diverse skills, talents, and functions, but through collaboration, we discover our unified strength. Ultimately, by choosing to link arms with other believers, we do more than just put on a better show; we fulfil God’s eternal call for unity and powerfully accomplish the mandate He has placed in our hands.
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