Two decades ago the use of drama in Sunday services was relatively rare. When it was used, drama was usually limited to a children's Christmas pageant or disciples in bathrobes and sandals appearing at the Easter sunrise service.

That was then. This is now.

Today, dramatic presentations in Sunday morning worship services are becoming as common as praise choruses or keyboards. Crossing geographical and doctrinal boundaries, the use of drama has mushroomed in recent years.

Why the sudden surge of interest? LEADERSHIP asked Steve Pederson, director of drama at Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Illinois, about this renaissance in church drama.

Steve has been producing dramatic presentations in church settings for over twenty years. His early efforts included a Christian theater in the basement of an urban church in Minneapolis. From there, he went on to earn advanced degrees in theater and served fourteen years as a faculty member at Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa. ...