(From my column “Looking Forward and
Glancing Back” in the SGT monthly newsletter, July, 1987. Bracketed
information has been added.)
God gave us
a plan for “Harvest Time”—to fill the seats at Stained Glass Theatre. The plan
was simple. We were to reduce our various ticket prices to one low price of
$2.00. We felt God telling us that if Stained Glass Theatre is to be a true ministry, then it must be affordable
for everyone. Our goal would be to insure that no one paid more than $2.00, and
many would come free as others purchased tickets to be given away. Although the
plan was simple, it was frightening since it required a step of faith. If we
were having difficulty meeting the bills with a $5.00 ticket, how could we
possible make it with a $2.00 ticket? I did not know, but God knew. His economy
is always better than ours.
We put the
plan into effect in January, 1987, as we opened BIRDS DON’T FLY AT NIGHT.
And just as god had shown us in the past that obedience brings blessing, He
again taught us that lesson. We obeyed, and we had the “Harvest Time” we once
longed for. All seats were sold for every performance. One full house would
purchase tickets for others, and it just mushroomed. By the end of the run, we
were letting people in free whether they had tickets or not because all tickets
for every seat for every show had been bought and paid for by others. It was
exciting! It was wonderful! We went into the theatre for each performance
hardly able to believe our eyes as the crowds came. Every night was a full
house—all seats taken, filled. It was wonderful!
Indeed, it was “Harvest Time.” And that
was only part of the excitement, for it was during this time that the money to
purchase new lights began to come in almost overnight, even before we knew we
had to return the borrowed lights we were using. It was simply another example
of the miracle-working power of our Lord!
Over the
past twelve issues of the SGT newsletter, we have been looking back to share
the struggles and blessings, the hard times and the good times, from our beginning
to the present. As we've looked back, we've seen God’s grace, His
lovingkindness, and His miracles. Yes, we have
struggled, but through the struggles, we have grown as God met our needs
and kept us going. We have learned over and over again to trust our Heavenly
Father to care for us and to nurture us. So for SGT it has been a birthing
time, a growing time, and a maturing time. Truly it has been a great time!
[The final show of this Harvest Time season was GOD’S MIGHTY OAK, the true story of the two men who founded Southwest Baptist University, Abner Ingman and James Maupin. We have some pictures from that production.]
Terry Beasley (Abner Ingman) and Jim Dunn (James Maupin) |
[The final show of this Harvest Time season was GOD’S MIGHTY OAK, the true story of the two men who founded Southwest Baptist University, Abner Ingman and James Maupin. We have some pictures from that production.]
Linda Meyers (Mrs. Staples), Jim Dunn (Maupin), Ron Laws (Mr. Staples), and Denise Schriver (Alice Staples) |
They were doing the RB pose even then! |
Well, everyone except RB, I guess. |
Ron Boutwell as Old Ingman |
[The quote at the top of the page was from this scene in GOD'S MIGHTY OAK.]
COMING NEXT: A
GLIMPSE OF THE “PROMISED LAND”
The stories change from past tense to
present tense as Ron Boutwell writes about the beginning of the 1987-88 Season
of Praise.