Visual Word Mime Team Statement of Faith
1. We believe the Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, are verbally inspired of God and are the revelation of God to man. They are the infallible Word of God and His revelation of Himself to all of creation and the authoritative rule of faith and conduct for mankind.
 2. We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, and in His victorious and atoning death through His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and in His personal return to power and glory.

To: Youth Interested in joining Visual Word Mime Team
The first goal of Visual Word Mime team is to be a discipleship program.  Our goal is to guide youth into a growing walk with Christ.  No person is perfect, and all will fail at times in their Christian walk, but we endeavor to challenge the youth on the team to grow in their walk.  Within any group of young people, there will be different levels of maturity; some will come from spiritually stronger families and some from non-Christian homes.  A team member must be willing to take a Christ like stand with others on the team and to challenge each other in their spiritual walk.

This team provides an excellent opportunity to come alongside other Christians to help them in their walk.  At times, we all need encouragement and we all need to be challenged.  We will accomplish this through peer mentoring, Bible Studies, and adult leadership.  Any youth may be suspended for missing practice, missing programs, or for inappropriate behavior with or away from the team.  Dismissal will usually stem from a lack of willingness to change inappropriate behavior rather than specific incidences.  There may be times that a youth is dismissed from the team.

To aid us in accomplishing our fist goal of discipleship, our second goal is to be a ministry team.  As a ministry team, we will have regular group Bible studies.  Youth are expected to have daily quiet time and prayer time.  Scripture memory work will also be part of our spiritual preparation for mime programs.  It is very important that the youth on the team understand the need for individual spiritual growth. The youth is expected to be an active member of the youth group from their church and in Sunday school.  Membership on this team is for the youth to actively seek a closer relationship with Jesus Christ and is for the more mature in their faith who exhibit a desire to serve Jesus Christ.

 Dexter Christian Church sponsors Visual Word; and we have members from other area churches.   Our mime programs are usually on Sunday mornings or evenings, but we go on some trips that involve the entire weekend.  Presentations are made at churches, nursing homes, schools, prisons, street missions, and anywhere we are invited to present our program.  A presentation usually runs an hour.  The team will arrive one to two hours before a presentation and it is often an hour after a presentation before we leave.  When possible, we will make several presentations in a single day.  We divide the year into two seasons: late July through November and January through early June.  We ask that our team members commit for an entire season.  A typical schedule for a month will include two weekends of practice, one weekend doing programs, and one weekend that is free.  The youth on Visual Word are dedicated and have to make personal sacrifices, but service without sacrifice is not really service at all.  The team will supply white makeup, gloves, shirts, shoes, capes, and other props.

 Team members will be encouraged to share their personal faith and testimonies at some of the programs.  They are expected to always be ready to give their reason for hope.  Although I believe that our youth are very special people, it is not because of their personal talent as mimes or as speakers; it is because they are God’s children trying to learn more about HIM through serving HIM. The team is based on service and commitment to God.  If you have a heart to serve God, do not let Satan deceive you into believing that you are not good enough, none of us are good enough.  It is through HIS leading and HIS power that our presentations are successful.

To become a member of Visual Word, the youth must be a born again Christian who recognizes Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.  A nomination form from the youth’s pastor or youth leader must be submitted.  This is an important part of the process and we encourage the person filling out the nomination form to not do so unless they are convinced in their heart that this person has a sincere desire to serve God.  We ask that the person filling out the form not be a family member.  Membership on the team will be determined by a committee of the adult leadership of the team.  That committee may also include men from the leadership of Dexter Christian Church or Bible Christian Church.  There may be times that a youth will be allowed to join the team during a season, but it is preferable that new members start at the beginning of a season.

If you are interested in becoming a part of Visual Word Mime Team, you need to spend time praying about that decision.  Is your reason to be on the team to serve God and learn more about Him through this ministry or is it that it looks like fun?  This can be a hard question to answer.  We certainly believe that the team members have fun, but the goal remains to challenge them to grow in their personal walk with the Lord.

It is necessary that the team members and their parents commit for the youth to attend all practices and presentations for a person to be a member of the team.  Due to the high level of choreography of our mimes, it is important that all team members be present at practices and presentations.  We do demand a great deal of time and believe that both the youth and parents need to be committed to that time demand.  We understand that conflicts will inevitably arise, but through good communication and scheduling, conflicts can be kept to a minimum.  If a conflict does arise, the youth is expected to communicate the conflict to the team leaders as soon as possible.

Visual Word Mime Team     Nomination for Team Membership
This form should be filled out by a leader from your church.
We appreciate your time and cooperation in filling out this nomination form.  All nomination forms will be kept in confidence; candidates will not be allowed to see them.  Please mail this form to Jim Fanning, PO Box 171, Dexter, KS 67038.

 Name of Candidate: ______________________________________ Date: ___________

Your Name: __________________________  Your Church Duties: ________________

 Your Phone Number: _______________________        __________________________
                                                                                                    Signature
 Please answer the following questions on a separate paper.
1.  In what manner do you know the candidate?
2.  Please describe what you know about the candidate’s spiritual maturity and his/her daily    Christian walk.
3.  Is the candidate currently attending and actively involved in a church and/or youth group?   If yes, please list activities.
4.  Briefly describe how this candidate responds to authority.
5.  Briefly describe how this candidate interacts with peers.
6.  Please share any observations regarding the candidate’s use, knowledge, and application of the Holy Bible in their life.
7.  Team members should exemplify Christ-likeness in the areas of speech, life, love, faith, and purity as described in 1 Timothy 4:12. Please discuss the candidate’s strengths and/or struggles that you have observed in each of these five areas.