Rising Stars: Meet Kelli Park

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kelli Park.

Hi Kelli, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
We started in December of 2018. My husband and I wanted to create a space for kids ages 5-18 to gather and learn about Jesus and to also learn about, and engage in, musical theater. We envisioned a youth group that worked together to learn a musical theater show each semester, and then perform it for their family, friends, and the community.

Musical theater has such impactful skills and lessons to learn, and we hoped to encourage kids to use their God-given abilities to learn those skills and lessons, and to make a difference in the world with them. In December 2018, we started a website for Joyful Light Youth Theater, and we prayed that God would provide enough kids to create a group large enough to learn and perform the show Peter Pan JR. He did! We had 28 kids join us that semester, and off we went.

We had two, week-long day camp summer camps in the summer of 2018, and then added another church partnership in the fall so that we could have two nights and locations for families to choose from. Since then, we’ve grown to having 350 kids at Joyful Light this semester. We’ve had incredible leaders step up to lead, teach, and learn alongside the kids God brings to Joyful Light. They love Jesus and want kids to learn about Him through this unique vehicle of musical theater.

Some of our leaders have a background in singing, dancing, and/or acting, and some don’t, but they have learned alongside the kids and grown to know and love the unique pairing of Christian ministry and discipleship with musical theater.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Yes and no. The Lord has been gracious to us every day of this journey, and of course, there have been bumps and obstacles. Navigating the challenges of the pandemic was tiresome, but we felt clearly called to continue. Kids needed community during that unprecedented time, and we knew that we had to get creative to work around the challenges that the pandemic presented.

Our slogan is “Gather. Grow. Give.” Since gathering, an essential piece of what we do was more challenging, we utilized video conferencing to continue rehearsals. We met outside and even did a summer camp performance out in the rain one July! There were days that we wanted to quit, but the Lord sustained us and made a way to press on and through despite our circumstances.

Another challenge has been operating nomadically, as we don’t have a location of our own. We have had different host churches over the past five years, but being without a permanent home certainly has its challenges. During a performance month at the end of each semester, the 350 kids perform 26 performances. Our audience sizes range from 150-350.

With our unique building needs of a stage large enough for 50 kids to dance, and seating for 350 at a time, we know finding a more permanent home is a unique challenge that only the Lord can provide an answer to. Until He provides that, should He see fit, we trust His lead with the temporary host churches and schools who are able to house us semester by semester.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I work with other adults who know and love Jesus and are passionate about integrating our faith with musical theater for kids. We specialize in creating a unique community of Christ-followers who want to humbly serve kids and each other in collaborating around musical theater to encourage kids in their God-given gifts to impact the world.

Whether kids end up at Sight and Sound Theater, as a church worship leader or teaching pastor, or as a mom singing to her little ones while rocking them to sleep, we trust that our faithful Father God will use kids’ journey at Joyful Light to change the world.

Networking and finding a mentor can have a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
I’ve heard it said that we should always have someone ahead of us and someone behind us in our journey. The Lord has provided mentors for me (those ahead of me) in my dad, my mom, my husband, and friends who are further along in the journey of life and are passionate about their faith and integrating unique ways of sharing that faith. He’s provided an abundance of young adults (those “behind” me) who are passionate about their faith and how musical theater is equipping them to share their faith in a uniquely engaging way.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.joyfullighttheater.org