Jesus on every street corner

By Keela Keeping

FROM THE STREETS of Athens, to the slums of Africa, and from the hype of Youth Convention Alberta, to the heartbreak of the Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, the DRIME team is celebrating 10 years of pursuing their mission of making Jesus inescapable.

What initially began as 10 students attempting to creatively share their faith, has become an official ministry of B.C.'s Trinity Western University (TWU) that uses choreography and street drama to reach people in Brazil, Russia, Ireland, Ethiopia, Argentina, and of course, North America.

"Presenting the Gospel in a visual way allows people to relate to the characters we portray -- to their struggles and fears," says Tanya Steinhilber, founder and director of Disciples Ready in Mobile Evangelism (DRIME). "A powerful connection is made as people begin to see how God can work through common struggles and bring freedom."

Steinhilber was only 17 when she began attending Northwest Baptist College on the Trinity Western University campus. It was there she was encouraged to be part of field education, but at the time, there were only opportunities in local church ministries, and nothing met her heartfelt desire to reach downtown Vancouver's hurting city culture. Therefore, when Steinhilber requested to start something radically different, the leadership readily agreed.

After rehearsing three new performance pieces -- one composed by Steinhilber herself -- the newly assembled drama team went downtown to Robson one Saturday night to share a message of eternal love and hope through skits choreographed to popular music. "The rest," says Steinhilber playfully, "is history."

Today, 10 years later, when they're not overseas, a much larger DRIME team can still be found on the streets of downtown Vancouver every Saturday night, faithfully sharing their urban blend of street evangelism with by-passers. Steinhilber's vision and leadership has seen DRIME grow to include 50 TWU students -- 21 of whom are currently on the ministry team -- 200 alumni, a DRIME base in Brazil and many DRIME training workshops which are continually sprouting up all over Canada.

"The goal at the beginning was just 10 people trying something creative to share their faith," explains Steinhilber, who interned at TWU in 2001. "Definitely as it's grown, the vision has become to see that not only happen in Vancouver, but basically to happen on every street corner -- whether that's in the rest of Canada, in the U.S., or whether it's international. So we won't feel like we're out of a job until we see Jesus represented on every street corner."

Steinhilber invites the local community to participate in 'Beyond Celebration' in Abbotsford on October 1. The evening will include art, photography, dramatic readings and video clips displaying a decade of DRIME ministry. Dramas and worship will also be a part of the evening, presented free of charge at Northview Community Church. Contact: info@drime.com or 604-888-6243.