Joyful noise

April 24, 2005

JOEL DAVIDSON/Frontiersman reporter

WASILLA - Stephen Shrimplin is pulling out all stops in an effort to create a high-tech, multi-media musical about a larger-than-life subject - God.

Shrimplin is the music minister at the First Baptist Church in Wasilla. For the past three months he's spent long nights working with a 40-member choir, while employing digital movie images and dramatic sporting events to create the multifaceted production. The goal is to unveil a dramatic presentation entitled "Experiencing God: The Musical," which runs Saturday and Sunday, April 30 and May 1.

"It is very captivating," Shrimplin said Thursday, "We've been rehearsing every Sunday night. We rehearse this coming Wednesday and then a dress rehearsal Friday."

While the musical itself is a technical achievement, the overall goal is simple.

"The bottom line is that God would be glorified," Shrimplin said Thursday. "We want people to come in contact with God."

Whether the musical delivers a heavenly encounter remains to be seen but one thing is for certain. The 21st-century show shares a few similarities with old-time tent revivals. Shrimplin said he hopes the event both inspires the faithful while drawing the unsaved into the fold.

"We want to invite as many people to come so they can experience God," Shrimplin said. "We want people to come in contact with God."

To that end, each performance, Saturday and Sunday nights, will conclude with an altar-call, giving people a chance to give their life to God.

Shrimplin said the defining moment of the show occurs when the video image of British runner Dereck Redmond shows him tearing his hamstring during a race in the 1992 Olympic Games. Redmond's father is shown running from the stands to help his son finish the race.

"That's probably one of the more gripping scenes," Shrimplin said, adding that it is a reflection of our relationship to God. "It captures the essence of the musical."

Shrimplin doesn't know how many people to expect over the weekend but he said the church holds about 300 people.

"We were just going to have one performance on Sunday," he said. "But we decided to have the Saturday performance to really reach out to the community so other people from other churches can come."

And what happens after Sunday?

"We're planning to take this out on the road," Shrimplin said. "We're loading up our choir and going up to Montana Creek to present the musical there. We wanted to do missions to smaller churches in small communities."

Shrimplin said he wasn't sure if the road tour would continue after its stop in Montana Creek, but left open the possibility.

Regardless of how many performances, Shrimplin said he is proud of all the people who helped make the musical happen.

"By and large, it's just a bunch of amateurs that have come together to use their God-given talents."

Contact Joel Davidson at 352-2266, or joel.davidson @frontiersman.com.