“Where Is the Sheep?” Cantonese Children’s Gospel Drama
Two Saturdays ago (12 September), our Cantonese congregation co-hosted the children’s gospel drama “Where Is the Sheep?” with DrEAM (Gospel Drama Joint Ministry). The drama was performed in our church’s Worship Centre.
Two weeks before the performance, only about 30 people had registered to attend. By the Monday before the performance, the number had increased to around 50, still well below the Worship Centre’s capacity of approximately 120 people. It was not until Friday evening that the number of registrations finally exceeded 90.
On the day of the performance, I returned to church around midday. After printing the response forms, arranging parking spaces with some brothers, and doing some simple decorations, the audience began arriving at around 2 pm, ready to watch the gospel drama.
The DrEAM team had done a great job creating an engaging atmosphere. At the reception desk, they gave out sheep headbands for the audience to wear, helping everyone get into the spirit of the drama. My wife had reminded me that I had a T-shirt with a sheep design on it, so I put it on and added a sheep headband. I got right into the spirit of the event and happily played the part of a sheep as I welcomed the audience.
Welcoming the audience was certainly not a one-person job! Brothers and sisters from the Young Workers Fellowship served as ushers and also provided refreshments and drinks for everyone during the interval. Brothers and sisters from the Pastoral Ministry Team also helped with the venue setup and took the opportunity during the break to chat with the audience, build relationships and connect with them. Others came along simply to support the performers and encourage them in their ministry.
In the end, including guests who had not registered beforehand, more than 120 people came to watch the gospel drama. Whether children or adults, I could see how engaged and entertained they were throughout the performance. The response forms we collected also showed very positive feedback about both the drama and its gospel message.
The message of the drama was simple and clear: we are all like sheep, and we need a shepherd. Our Shepherd is the Lord Jesus. In the Gospel of John, Jesus says:
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”John 10:11
He also says:
“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.”John 10:14–15
Jesus repeatedly reminds us that He is our Shepherd—the Shepherd who laid down His life for us.
Brothers and sisters, is Jesus your Shepherd? Are you following your Shepherd? How will you respond to the Shepherd who laid down His life for you?
「羊咩咩呢？」粵語兒童福音話劇
兩週前的星期六(12/9)，我們粵語堂和DrEAM(福音話劇聯合事工)合辦了「羊咩咩呢？」兒童福音話劇，在我們教會的敬拜中心上演。
正式公演前的兩個禮拜，只有約三十人報名參加。去到公演前的星期一，也只有約五十人報名，與敬拜中心坐位數目約一百二十人還有很大距離。直至星期五晚上，報名人數終於超過九十人。
公演那天我大約中午回到教會，列印聚會回應表、與弟兄安排泊車位、簡單佈置場地之後，大約二時許，觀眾開始到達教會，預備觀看這福音話劇。
DrEAM團隊有很好的準備，預備了大量可以給觀眾扮成羊咩咩的頭箍在接待處送給觀眾，讓他們可以戴上投入以參與話劇之中。當天我太太提醒了我有一件有羊圖案的T恤，我穿上了、加上戴著羊咩咩頭箍，我自己也很投入地扮作一隻羊咩咩去招待觀眾來賓。
招呼觀眾來賓的又怎會只得我一個呢？有職青團契(Youngworkers fellowship)的弟兄姊妹負責擔任招待司事，他們也預備茶點及飲品在中場休息期間給觀眾來賓享用。另外也有傳道部的弟兄姊妹幫忙佈置場地，和在中場休息時間跟觀眾來賓交談、建立關係。還有一些弟兄姊妹到來支持劇團演員的演出…
結果，連同沒有報名的來賓，我們有超過一百二十人觀看這福音話劇。觀眾來賓，不論是兒童、或是成人，我都看見他們的投入和享受在其中。在收集到的回應表中，也看到他們對話劇和信息正面的反應。
此話劇的信息很簡單清晰，就是提醒我們都是羊咩咩，需要牧羊人，而我們的牧羊人，就是主耶穌。在約翰福音的記載中，主耶穌說：
我是好牧人；好牧人為羊捨命。
約翰福音 10:11
我是好牧人；我認識我的羊，我的羊也認識我，正如父認識我，我也認識父一樣；並且我為羊捨命。
約翰福音 10:14-15
主耶穌反覆提醒我們，他是我們的牧羊人，是為我們捨命的牧羊人。
弟兄姊妹，主耶穌是不是你的牧羊人呢？你有跟隨牧羊人嗎？你怎樣回應這位為我們捨命的牧羊人呢？
