What is dance ministry?
We serve a BIG God and He can use anything and anyone to speak to people! The Great Commission that Jesus gave to us in Matthew 28:19-20 says: "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." As Christians, we have all been given this calling to go, disciple others and preach the good news, but to where, to who, and how is what changes from person to person. For me, dancing is one way that I disciple others, and share Jesus with people. I have been given this gift by God and I chose to give it back to Him.
There are many different aspects to dance ministry. The arts have the ability to influence every sphere of life (family, celebration, religion, trans-media, economy, education, and government), and dance is special because it is a universal language. I've met teams who have choreographed dances depicting the gospel and have taken them to nations like China where the name "Jesus" cannot even be spoken. The arts can break barriers in a person's mind and cut straight to their heart. My roommates went on a dance missions trip to China where they performed for a group of Chinese business men, who were very stoic in their suits, as they watched. By the end of their dance that portrayed the gospel the men were weeping because they were so touched by what they saw, which led to further conversations and questions about the gospel.
Dance can also be used to portray people stories, which can move in peoples hearts in amazing ways as well. My dance company, Ad Deum, went on tour to Mexico and performed a dance called Rwanda Cry by Steve Rooks. My director, Randall Flinn, shared the story behind the dance with the audience about a women that Steve met that was full of joy and life. You would think she had an amazing life with no hardships, but then she shared her story. She grew up in Rwanda and when she was a young girl, her whole family was slaughtered before her eyes. When the men went to kill her, they recognized her because she was famous for her dancing. They told her that if she danced for them, they wouldn't kill her. So she literally danced for her life in front of the soldiers that had just murdered her family that lay scattered on the ground around her. She pleased them, and they spared her life. Sometime after that, she met Jesus, and the true, deep joy that goes beyond circumstances, is what you see in her today. Steve was so touched by her story that he wanted to create a dance about it.
Randall shared this story with the audience and then the dancers did the dance afterwards. When the show ended, a young man came up to my director with tears in his eyes. In broken English, he shared that the dance saved his life. Randall thought that he misunderstood him, but the man again said that the dance saved his life, and proceeded to share with him that he was going to go home after the performance and kill himself. He said that if this women could fight for her life after so much tragedy that he had no right to take his own. You never know when one story, one dance, one performance, one friendly smile can change a persons life forever. I know that for everyone involved in that trip, all of the hardships the dancers went through, all of the their time spent rehearsing in the studios, and all of the money spent to travel there, everything was worth it for that one man.
Another aspect of dance ministry is teaching. To me, teaching dance is about so much more than dance. Yes, I want my students to train with excellence and improve, but I am much more concerned about their heart and their identity as a person. I ask God to create an atmosphere of joy, peace, and no stress. I try to encourage them so they can grow in confidence and freedom to be exactly who they were created to be, because those things will have much more impact on their lives than doing a perfect pirouette. For some students, dance class is a place where they can be free from their everyday responsibilities and be refreshed. For some students, it is a place they can find healing and worship God. Some students break through fears that they have of performing, failure or doing different dance steps. And some students just want to grow in dancing and it is my hope that they gain a little extra from God while there their, whether it is in a Christian or secular environment.
And these are just a few of the many ways that dance can be used as ministry. Again, it is about so much more than just dance! For me, I have been called to share the gospel and dance is just one of the instruments God has so graciously given me to do it with!
If you want to hear more about what I am doing you can email me at: emily.runyeon@gmail.com
And if you are interested in partnering with me to share the gospel and supporting me financially you can do it here by clicking on "Partners" on the Aaron+Hur webpage. Everything that I do here is volunteer based and all money will be put toward my discipleship training school (dts) that starts April 7th. This will allow me to continue working here the next 7 months with YWAM as a teacher for the campus and for my dts, and when we travel to the nations of Brazil, Chile, and the numerous cities throughout the Midwest in the United States this summer!
In my next update, I will share more details about what I have been doing here in Kona specifically. Stay tuned!
There are many different aspects to dance ministry. The arts have the ability to influence every sphere of life (family, celebration, religion, trans-media, economy, education, and government), and dance is special because it is a universal language. I've met teams who have choreographed dances depicting the gospel and have taken them to nations like China where the name "Jesus" cannot even be spoken. The arts can break barriers in a person's mind and cut straight to their heart. My roommates went on a dance missions trip to China where they performed for a group of Chinese business men, who were very stoic in their suits, as they watched. By the end of their dance that portrayed the gospel the men were weeping because they were so touched by what they saw, which led to further conversations and questions about the gospel.
Dance can also be used to portray people stories, which can move in peoples hearts in amazing ways as well. My dance company, Ad Deum, went on tour to Mexico and performed a dance called Rwanda Cry by Steve Rooks. My director, Randall Flinn, shared the story behind the dance with the audience about a women that Steve met that was full of joy and life. You would think she had an amazing life with no hardships, but then she shared her story. She grew up in Rwanda and when she was a young girl, her whole family was slaughtered before her eyes. When the men went to kill her, they recognized her because she was famous for her dancing. They told her that if she danced for them, they wouldn't kill her. So she literally danced for her life in front of the soldiers that had just murdered her family that lay scattered on the ground around her. She pleased them, and they spared her life. Sometime after that, she met Jesus, and the true, deep joy that goes beyond circumstances, is what you see in her today. Steve was so touched by her story that he wanted to create a dance about it.
Randall shared this story with the audience and then the dancers did the dance afterwards. When the show ended, a young man came up to my director with tears in his eyes. In broken English, he shared that the dance saved his life. Randall thought that he misunderstood him, but the man again said that the dance saved his life, and proceeded to share with him that he was going to go home after the performance and kill himself. He said that if this women could fight for her life after so much tragedy that he had no right to take his own. You never know when one story, one dance, one performance, one friendly smile can change a persons life forever. I know that for everyone involved in that trip, all of the hardships the dancers went through, all of the their time spent rehearsing in the studios, and all of the money spent to travel there, everything was worth it for that one man.
Another aspect of dance ministry is teaching. To me, teaching dance is about so much more than dance. Yes, I want my students to train with excellence and improve, but I am much more concerned about their heart and their identity as a person. I ask God to create an atmosphere of joy, peace, and no stress. I try to encourage them so they can grow in confidence and freedom to be exactly who they were created to be, because those things will have much more impact on their lives than doing a perfect pirouette. For some students, dance class is a place where they can be free from their everyday responsibilities and be refreshed. For some students, it is a place they can find healing and worship God. Some students break through fears that they have of performing, failure or doing different dance steps. And some students just want to grow in dancing and it is my hope that they gain a little extra from God while there their, whether it is in a Christian or secular environment.
And these are just a few of the many ways that dance can be used as ministry. Again, it is about so much more than just dance! For me, I have been called to share the gospel and dance is just one of the instruments God has so graciously given me to do it with!
If you want to hear more about what I am doing you can email me at: emily.runyeon@gmail.com
And if you are interested in partnering with me to share the gospel and supporting me financially you can do it here by clicking on "Partners" on the Aaron+Hur webpage. Everything that I do here is volunteer based and all money will be put toward my discipleship training school (dts) that starts April 7th. This will allow me to continue working here the next 7 months with YWAM as a teacher for the campus and for my dts, and when we travel to the nations of Brazil, Chile, and the numerous cities throughout the Midwest in the United States this summer!
In my next update, I will share more details about what I have been doing here in Kona specifically. Stay tuned!
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