The company I work for (Abra-KID-Abra) provides After School Enrichment Programs and Character Building Assembly Programs to schools throughout the area. We also do week long Summer Camps, all based on Performance Magic, Circus Skills, Puppetry and Comedy.
We, "Bring out the Star in each Child."
We work with a lot of Church schools (and various Jewish Synagogues and Organizations). The boss asked me if I thought there was a market working with the Churches themselves, including those that don't run schools.
I know that most Christian churches run Vacation Bible Schools and have other meetings and socially enriching entertainments. Do any churches use, hire, or would consider using performers that are not "Christian" themed.
Our "Say no to Drugs" 0r "Bully Free Zone" programs would be appropriate, but we use performance magic to make the points, and I know anything using the "Magic" word is considered by some to be Non-Christian.
Any ideas or thoughts?
Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :
We had an area "Magician" perform for us, as a church, for a event we sponsored (not in the church during church time, but an outside activity), and it was well received. My church is pretty conservative, but I don't think that aspect would be a problem for most (some prefer you call it "illusionist" though, if it makes them more comfortable with the idea)
Our Children's ministry groups are always looking for fresh ideas, and things that would appeal to both our kids and non-churched kids (that they invite). However, I don't know if the two topics you posted here would be of interest. What are the "character-building" programs to you have? Things that cover universally - accepted values, like honesty and integrity or respect?
Posted by Shigosei (Member # 3831) on :
I don't know any Christians who do not see a strong distinction between stage magic and occult magic. Illusions are perfectly acceptable, particularly if you make it clear to the kids that it's just a trick (which I think is a good thing when performing for children anywhere).
Posted by kmbboots (Member # 8576) on :
When I ran a children's ministry program, I would often hire secular performers for special, events, fundraisers, and so forth.
Posted by Dan_raven (Member # 3383) on :
I just ran into a man at a convention who started chatting with a Magician I had performing next to me. The man made it very clear he was a "Christian Illusionist." When we goofed and called him a magician, he became quite upset.
Posted by Ron Lambert (Member # 2872) on :
We used to have a professional magician, Felix Lorenz, who was quite well known in our area (Detroit and suburbs). Besides performing at parties, he also performed at area churches of various denominations. He was a Seventh-day Adventist, and eventually became the pastor of a church. He used magic tricks at times in evangelistic campaigns and church sermons, to add a little interest and entertainment while explaining Bible topics. Of course, he always made it clear what he was doing was mere tricks, and not any kind of occult magic.
Posted by Lupus (Member # 6516) on :
I'm with the rest of the group...I think many churches would not have a problem with it (though some might).
I remember having some sort of magic show when I was in youth group...though churches will most likely want to stress that they are "tricks" not actual magic.
Posted by docmagik (Member # 1131) on :
There's a ton of market with churches.
You can gain a lot of insight into the ins and outs of markets you can perform for by visiting some of the web's more active magician forums (Not magic forurms, but the forums for perfomers and more serious hobbyists).
I reccomend The Magic Cafe. They're friendly, and do a good job of dividing up topics. I generally find I don't even have to start a new thread--I can use the search feature and find a ton of info.
Posted by romanylass (Member # 6306) on :
That sounds like the kind of thing we'd hire when we have the annual meeting and need the sunday Schools kids entertained so the teachers can go to the meeting. Go for it!
Posted by Belle (Member # 2314) on :
We would not hire you. Mainly because we're cheap and only use volunteer labor from our church. We do however, feel that we should be offering stuff they cannot get in a secular setting. Our goal is to offer religious-themed content so we would not hire a secular performing group.
However, that's not to say it couldn't be a market possibility with other churches.
Posted by C3PO the Dragon Slayer (Member # 10416) on :
I remember several different magicians performing at my church a couple years, but that was for a church Boy Scout Blue&Gold banquet.
Posted by Dan_raven (Member # 3383) on :
Thanks a lot all of you. We already do a lot of Blue & Gold. That might be a place to start asking about developing the market.
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