KIT 'n' Kaboodle_Mental Health Edition

Ministry Resources 8 Worship in Ukraine

KIT Photo Safari

3Evening with Kingdom Impact Theater Season 4Kenneth Young: Faith in Activism

Testifying with Artists Across the Globe

MEET OUR ENSEMBLE

HAL & OLIVIA

We greet two new members to our Ministry Accountability Team, an advisory council to guide creative and business processes while keeping the ensemble focuses on personal and ministry spiritual growth. Hal Lentz is chief executive officer of NHISWRK, based in Sterling, CO. Hal specializes in non-profit management, communication and strategizing capital campaigns.

Olivia Yeung is a staff accountant with GW & Associates in suburban Chicago. Olivia specializes in preparing fiscal operations.

1723 Roosa Lane

Elk Grove Village, Il 60007

630-632-7775

www.kit-ministries.com

CORE CREATIVE ENSEMBLE

Michael Edgar Myers

Founding Artistic Director

Vikki J. Myers

Co-Founder, Worship Director

Garlan Garner

Musical, Technical Director

The Personal KIT: Michael Edgar Myers TAKING A STROLL THROUGH YOUR MIND

“Be transformed by the renewing of your mind” was Apostle Paul’s core instruction to leaders planting a multicultural firstcentury church in Rome. In this century, the advice is life-changing.

The phrase is bottom line counsel when talking with youngsters about life choices. It’s a core principle when speaking with church leaders seeking to recharge their ministries. It’s the foundational passage when employing Scripture application to mental health awareness.

Being aware of mental health applications in Scripture has become an intentional pursuit of Kingdom Impact Theater Ministries. If COVID is pandemic, its stress and anxiety side-effects among teens and adults is epidemic. Scripture should not only be read anew, but revisited afresh no matter how familiar.

Our credo, “The best script is Scripture,” perhaps has no stronger purpose than in May dubbed Mental Health Awareness Month by the National Alliance on Mental Health (NAMI). Our “May-Day” mission is to help Believer and Non-Believer grasp how Biblical insights complement any scientific, medical or therapy-engaged counsel. Some call it “neurotheology” connecting spirituality and the brain.

We double this connection by using this reborn edition of The KIT ‘n’ Kaboodle magazine, and our next online program, “An Evening with Kingdom Impact Theater: Faith & Resilience” Each offers provocative, artistic Biblically-based tips to bolster mental health. Like Proverbs 17:22 “A merry heart doeth good, like medicine.”) So, smile!”

The catalyst for this commitment is three-fold:

• PROFESSIONAL: how the theater and music work we have traditionally provided are integral in social and emotional healing;

• PASTORAL: how the stress of ministry obligations can negatively impact the health of pastors, families, and congregations;

• PERSONAL: how learning family history, paired with academic study, and specific Scriptures have eased burdens and stigma.

We realize some struggle with an idea that mental health issues might provide “entertainment.” Yet, when we read how King Saul asked the harp-playing shepherd David to soothe his savage beast, we’ re reassured that psalms, hymns, spiritual songs are not reserved for concerts or Sunday worship engagement. They’re heaven-sent instruments of healing each day.

The Apostle Paul wrote to the congregations of churches in Ephesus and Colossae to “speak,” “teach,” “admonish” each other through “ songs, hymns and spiritual songs” to show gratitude and enrich their lives.

These passages best express the purpose of “An Evening with Kingdom Impact Theater,” the online “Christian variety show,” that airs the third Thursday each month at 7:17 PM Central (USA). The program embodies our Four -E mission to Entertain, Educate, Equip and Empower viewers, who are Christfollowers, and individuals interested in learning more about Christian faith.

What began as a holiday season experiment at the end of 2020 is now in its second season, attracting viewers and participants from across the globe. Response has been so encouraging, that the evenings have grown into a stable of anticipated “mustfind online” programming.

Each episode is thematic, anchored in a core Scripture passage that influences the selections of KIT Ministries music, characters, theater scripts, interpretative Scripture readings; plus contributions from fellow departments in Artists in Christian Testimony Intl. Interactive content includes “Voices from the Pulpit,” talk-show conversations with clergy and ministry leaders, who connect the content with current events; and “The Afterset,” a post-show Q & A between the audience and the cast.

The entire second season, through December 2022, has been scheduled. Guests are continuing to commit to programs through December 2022. Highlights of previous programs are being edited for on-demand viewing. Viewers may easily register and reserve viewing space for each show that is hosted on Zoom and simulcast on Facebook Live.

See the season schedule (above) and register now

Faith & Resilience

May 19, 7:17 PM

CAMILLE MYERS

Community Collaboration

Team Lead

Kenneth Young Center Schaumburg, IL

Camille shares insights into music as therapy, and stress relief among “adulting collegians” and middle school students. twitter.com.camiimyers

LaDAWNE JENKINS

Community Engagement Initiatives

Rush University Medical Center, Chicago

First Lady of Faith

Community Church, Itasca, IL, speaks of managing stresses in ministry and in daily employment.

Prof. Etta M. Oolgy, Speech Patholojest

KENNETH YOUNG: FAITH IN ACTIVISM

Kenneth Young (1926-1986) was a husband, father, Veteran, scholar, advisor, friend and pastor. His faith in Jesus Christ shaped his participation in community activities and response to personal health struggles.

While Senior Pastor of Our Saviour’s United Methodist Church in Hoffman Estates, he was a volunteer board member on the Elk GroveSchaumburg Township Mental Health Center.

He was advisor to the CEO and leadership team as an advocate to provide quality and compassionate mental health care for the most vulnerable in the community.

Upon his passing from cancer at the age of 60, the center was renamed in his memory as Kenneth Young Center.

THE COMMUNITY KIT

FAITH: TAKIN’ IT TO THE STREETS

Despite inconvenience, grumbling and occasional controversies about not “going to church” to go to church since the pandemic began, there have been side benefits of takin’ the Gospel message out of the building and into the streets.

Among the benefits has been realizing non-church people are more eager to speak about matters of faith than church-people sometimes think. Not only to speak about faith, but to seek such conversations.

Kingdom Impact Theater Ministries became aware of these desires through engaging with two non-church agencies in our community: The Kenneth Young Center in Schaumburg, IL, and the Interfaith Council in our home community, Elk Grove Village, IL.

With the Interfaith Council, KIT consults with churches and local agencies to outreach to people without residences, and to use social media to inform residents about live and online Services of Worship and community services (e.g., food pantries). These steps raise awareness to all unaware how churches are involved in day-to-day community life.

Since 2016, KIT Ministries has consulted with educators, students, parents and community leaders as the Faith Sector representative on the Coalition for Positive Youth Development (CPYD), an affiliate with the Kenneth Young Center. (See Box.)

Through CPYD, KIT ensemble members have provided information about spiritual matters at non-church community ceremonies. They are often approached with questions about faith and scriptures, or asked to pray on the spot to offer comfort and encouragement to individuals wrestling with issues such as suicide or negative self-image. These discussions have been enlightening to KIT co-founder Vikki J. Myers. “You would not believe the number of people who came by the booth just to talk and ask for prayer because they were surprised to see ‘ministries’ at an event outside the church,” she says.

An outgrowth of both events is the development of a new KIT Ministries educational offering, ‘Resilience through Faith,” a workshop designed to bring specific Scriptures into public discussions concerning suicide prevention, substance abuse recovery, human sexual relations, or gender identity. “Resilience through Faith” offers Scriptural foundation to five tools recommended to improve mental health.

PASTORS ON THE MENTAL HEALTH EDGE

Pastors fully human, after all are not immune to mental health struggles.

Imagine a pastor’s life as family guide at home, and at church add to that the time to prepare a weekly message applicable to eternal life, a live viewing audience and the times we’re living.

Now add COVID protocols, building and ministry reorganizations, Zoom fatigue, deaths without funeral closure and repetitive grief. It’s little wonder clergy not only burn out, leave, stray or worse. Headlines over the past two years have reported suicides of three notable pastors or pastor’s children. Without excusing the behavior, the “fully human” pressures of leadership have also been cited as causes of marital infidelity, emotional abuse of personnel and many other indiscretions pastors are expected to be immune from, yet fall victim to.

“Who Prays for the Pastor?”

Listen or Purchase

In addition to reading the entire book, Michael has created five segments as Soundcloud Devotionals

Listen to the devotionals free, then visit Amazon to purchase the paperback or the audiobook

Why make these observations? To remind us 1) that pastors need prayer and tangible support and from family and flock, 2) that pastors must confess weaknesses, take time off and delegate work, heeding Jethro’s advice to overworked son-in-law Moses, “You will certainly wear out both yourself and these people who are with you because the task it too heavy for you...you cannot handle it alone.” Indeed, for church health, many denominations insist on sabbaticals.

Author Fredrick Ezeki-Okoye shares modern ramifications of clergy burnout with personal anecdotes and antidotes in his book, “Who Prays for the Pastor?” which is available on Amazon. The audiobook is among a series narrated by KIT artistic director Michael Edgar Myers Sample devotional questions are free on Soundcloud

Practical Resources and Downloads

These are a few resources we use to create mental health management material with Biblical insight. Please review them, but more than that, use them in good health:

 Mental Health First Aid 8-Course Training Program to provide help

 Suicide Prevention

Awareness: Warning signs, community impact

 How to Combat Zoom Fatigue 6 refreshers from Harvard Business Review

 Emotionally Healthy Spirituality for churches, individuals

 Virtual Clergy Support

Monthly online safe haven conversation with resources for pastors

MEDITATIONS, ESSAYS FOR DAILY USE

“

THE GOD ASK”

Monthly, One-time, Periodic Special Project Partners

Kingdom Impact Theater Ministries has been a staff department of A.C.T. Intl since 2017.

As our fully accredited 501 (c) (3) parent, A.C.T. Intl disciples KIT Ministries’ core ensemble in financial and other missionary business matters.

A.C.T. Intl manages offerings and monetary gifts to KIT Ministries and holds KIT accountable for setting budget, raising support, and pursing ministry goals. Our 2022 goals include:

1. Providing stipends for college interns to managing our social media and marketing projects (such as this publication)

2. Upgrading technical equipment of online programming;

3. Covering expenses and stipends for personnel to create and perform live and online programs as requested.

If you would like to support KIT through ACT :

 Follow this link to offer a financial gift;

 Follow this link to request a conversation with a KIT ensemble member.

Thank you for your support.

GETTING OUR A.C.T. TOGETHER

Our ever-evolving partnership with Artists in Christian Testimony Intl has taken on shared-performance opportunities.

In recent months, A.C.T. Intl, and KIT Ministries have expanded exposure of each other to the public and fellow departments of the global ministry. Among those outlets:

• Two A.C.T. YouTube Channels

 ACT Artists features performances and inspirational talks on the arts in ministry that previously received limited viewings at “The Gathering,” A.C.T.’s annual networking fellowship conference;

 ACT Intl Podcast features samples and insights on ministry from individual artists, breakout session trainings and commentaries by A.C.T. founder and president Rev. Dr. Byron Spradlin.

• “The A.C.T. Moment” on “An Evening with Kingdom Impact Theater”

KIT’ s monthly online variety program features samples of A.C.T. mates whose work is compatible with the monthly theme. Recent spotlights:

 Cellblock Creations, a Florida-based ministry that enables incarcerated individuals to develop their artistic skills to obtain passive income;

 “Remove the Mask,” an award-winning film about love by Taffiney Nolan Williams.

 ServeUkraine, a music ministry in Ukraine that has persisted in evangelizing through musical worship despite threats from Russian military. See Page 10.

Support A.C.T. Intl any time by purchasing through smile. Amazon.com and designating Artists in Christian Testimony Intl as your charity. Shop Amazon as usual, just be sure to switch to smile.amazon.com before checkout.

ART THERAPY IN PSALMS OF YOUR HAND

If admitting mental health struggles is difficult for most people, it’ s more-so in Christian families: blood-kin or church-kin.

There is stigma that such struggles are from unconfessed wrongdoing, such as accusations made by friends in The Book of Job. Today come claims of lack of faith or prayer. “Real Christians don’t have mental illness,” They say.

To the contrary, Jesus points out, “(God the Father) makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” Jesus’ point, as Job

discovered, is to stay in communication with God rather than withdraw.

Communication with God includes prayer, which even medical practitioners point out can be beneficial in physical healing. Besides prayer, the Original Testament, in particular, notes the impact of journaling, music and visual design as artistic

stress relief, notably in Psalms, sometimes called “The Blues Songs of The Bible.”

In Psalms, David merges music and literature writing emotional poetry with instructions for musicians to compose as the lyrics lead. Sample: “5 Psalms for People Struggling with Anxiety and Fear.”

BIBLE TALES

Here are examples where Psalms might be used as “art therapy.”

1. Read or listen to a psalm each day and journal of its application to daily events. Substitute your name, churches names, or names of loved ones to make the writing more personal. Sample: Daily Audio Psalms which combines creative reading with music.

2. Draw or color pictures that come to mind as you read Scripture and make your own image posts.

3. Listen to instrumental or reflective psalms, hymns and spiritual songs before going to bed, starting the day, or doing tasks at the computer or around the house. Samples: DonMoenTV, Our Daily Bread Playlist

VIDEO: The Bible Project Story of Job

Any Christ-follower slightly familiar with Scripture has a cursory knowledge of individuals who wrestled with perceived mental disorders. Such illustrations are mostly recalled for their dramatic storylines, especially Gospel witnesses of Jesus expelling demons from others.

Closer explorations of New and Original Testament writings reveal not only miraculous interventions, but practical guides as applicable in this millennium as in the millennia Before Christ. These “mental health” related Scripture anecdotes may find contemporary parallels and bring others to mind.

David the Shepherd plays music for King Saul: Backdrop for how music improves mood swings is written of in 1 Samuel.

Jesus Drives Evil Spirit from a Child: Gospel of Mark illustration of intercessory prayer (and fasting) especially for struggling children.

Mary Magdalene Stories: Gospel accounts in Luke and Mark highlight benefits of mentoring, friendships and a relationship with Christ.

THE LEADERSHIP KIT

EXERCISES IN RESILIENCE TO “WORK OUT” YOUR FAITH

Resilience” is defined as the ability to bounce back from adversity. The Bible is THE story of resilience, for “Resilience” starts the same as “Resurrection.”

While Psalms, Job, the Gospels, Acts abound with examples of people bouncing back from near-death and emotional anguish, three passages speak to us as faith exercises to “work out.”

1. MINDSET

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you are involved in various trials because you know the testing of your faith produces endurance.”

James 1:2-4 (New International Version)

MEANS: Trials force creativity; creativity resolves issues; resolution is resilience.

2. ACTION

“Let us keep paying attention to one another, in order to spur each other on to love and good deeds, not neglecting our own congregational meetings, as some have made a practice of doing, but, rather, encouraging each other.”

THE PERFORMANCE KIT

THebrews 10:24-25 (Complete Jewish Bible)

MEANS: Physically meet when able. Take advantage of technology to keep in touch between meetings but don’t use as high-tech fig leaves. Staying home is like Adam and Eve trying to hide.

3. SELF-CONTROL

“Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. “ 2 Timothy 2:23 (New International Version)

MEANS: Watch your speech children are; nonBelievers are, especially in social media. Politics, public policy and gospel witness don’t mix.

RETHINKING WORSHIP IN WAR

he concept of “worship wars” is a long-running semantic debate in American churches. The “battle” is steeped in disagreements about choosing musical genres for congregational gatherings. The battle lines are timeworn. They have been

• generational (teenager Issac Watts hated hymns; his father told him to write something better),

• instrumentational (organ, piano, drums have all been “of the devil”),

• theological (“Is the phrase ‘Good, good father,’ REALLY in the Bible?”)

However earnest such disagreements are, that these issues can be divisive in the house of The LORD seems inconsequential in the face of actual warfare with bombs, tanks, rifles and mines as churches in Ukraine have endured most of 2022.

Ukrainian churches know the power of music as a weapon in

warfare, and have enlisted American churches as musical warriors to call upon The LORD to intervene and encourage the people.

Fred Heumann, a colleague of KIT Ministries through A.C.T. Intl, has served as a musical missionary in Ukraine for years. When the Russian invasion broke out, Fred sent a list of songs sung in houses of worship in Ukrainian asking congregations across The Earth to learn and sing in solidarity.

Some songs are influenced by American churches, but many are unique to Ukraine. For now.

A link to the playlist is embedded in the map above. Listen and learn. If there must be worship wars, let them be The LORD’s, not ours.

View on YouTube

Return to live presentations introduced new friends, resumed previous connections: 1) Good Friday Worship with JL Ravago and guitarist Robelle of New Abbey Covenant Church; 2) combined messages from pastors EJ Ravago (New Abbey, Waukegan) and Lamarr Lark (Connection Church, Libertyville); 3) Musical leadership with Vanetta Pinn and Andre DeMesquita; 4, 6) Palm Sunday praise concert at Bellevue Baptist Church, directed by KIT Musical Director Garlan Garner; 5) newest KIT ensemble musicians, drummer Cory Tyson, pianist Collin Clausen.

1. Tell us your most helpful faith-based mental health resource (Book, movie, song, app or company.)

2. Complete Survey Monkey Survey to enter drawing.

3. Tune in “An Evening with Kingdom Impact Theater” on Thursday, May 17, 7:17 PM to view the drawing.

The KIT ‘n’ Kaboodle News, Thoughts & Prayers a publication of Kingdom Impact Theater Ministries

1723 Roosa Lane

Elk Grove Village, Il 60007

630-632-7775 www.kit-ministries.com

Ministry Accountability Team

Jules Burke

S.M.A.R.T. Productions Westchester, IL

Marva Chubb-Schulz Educator, Missionary Romeoville, IL

Darryl Jenkins

Senior Pastor Faith Community Church Itasca, IL

LaDawne Jenkins Rush University Medical Center Chicago, IL

Hal Lentz

Capital Campaign Developer Sterling, CO

Vanetta Pinn

Prayer Intercessor Elk Grove Village, IL

Doris Reynolds Educator

ABOUT KINGDOM IMPACT THEATER MINISTRIES

Kingdom Impact Theater Ministries is an ensemble of theater missionaries who use performing arts to entertain, engage and educate for community outreach and leadership training.

KIT Ministries is based in Elk Grove Village, IL, a northwest suburb of Chicago. KIT was founded by Michael Edgar Myers and Vikki J. Myers, professional actors in the Chicago theater community, as an educational tool and a bridge between church ministries and industry professionals who are Christ-followers.

How To Invest in the Dream

Old School Check Contribution: Payable: KIT-Ministries/Myers Memo: (5640kitministries)

Artists in Christian Testimony Intl P.O. Box 1649 Brentwood, TN | 37024 United States

Electronic Contribution actintl.givingfuel.com/kitdonations

KIT Ministries is supported by taxdeductible donations as a department of Artists in Christian Testimony Intl, a 501 (C) 3 not-for-profit organization since 1973. Please consider a one-time or on-going contribution to enable Kingdom Impact Theater Ministries to present the gospel without finances becoming a stumbling block.

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