Souled Out hopes to shine out at Olympics
___By George Henson
___Staff Writer
___HONEY GROVE--People will be coming to Salt Lake City from around the globe in quest of gold, but the Souled Out drama team prays they will take home Jesus as well.
___The Honey Grove thespians of Allen's Point Baptist Church have been selected to go to the 2002 Winter Olympic Games Feb. 12-18 as a part of a ministry called Global Outreach. T
he group will perform on the Olympic stages and do personal witnessing while handing out tracts and hot chocolate.
___The Texas teens also will work as volunteers for the Olympic Committee, a requirement for all groups allowed access to Olympic stages, and will perform in some local Baptist churches.
___Kim Barnes, director of the team, sees God's hand in the endeavor.
___Souled Out previously had prepared to work with a church in Utah in an outreach ministry unrelated to the Olympics. Part of that preparation included education about how to share their Christian faith with Mormons.
___But when the invitation from that church fell through, Barnes was left wondering why the group had that specific preparation.
___"We knew God had a plan for us. We had done so much work to prepare, but we didn't know how all this preparation for ministry to Mormons was going to be used since we weren't going to Utah," she said.
___Shortly thereafter, Global Outreach contacted the group about Olympic ministry. After making application and submitting a video of performances, the group was accepted.
___Many of the troupe of 30, however, won't be able to participate. Only eight youth can be a part of the team, because only those who are sophomores in high school or older are eligible. That means scripts had to be rewritten for smaller numbers and some people had to learn new parts. But Barnes said the youth are more than willing to do the work.
___While only 30 percent of what is presented on stage can be overtly Christian in nature, moral living in general can be evidenced throughout, she explained.
___One of the things the group wants to emphasize is the security that comes from knowing Christ, a concept not taught in Mormonism.
___To raise funds for the trip, the group is willing to come to other churches and perform. The love offerings and T-shirt sales from these events will help fund their Olympic ministry. For more information, visit the drama squad's website at www.souledout-youth.org or call (903) 378-3298.
___
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