A Mimeistry Memorial

The Book of Joshua records the how the children of Israel entered the land that God had promised them. Their leader Joshua is commanded to build a memorial (Joshua 4) to serve as a reminder of what God has done for His people in the time between the dry crossing of the Read Sea and the crossing of the Jordan River. Transitioning from Mimeistry to Innovo Physical Theatre, we too feel to do what Joshua did, thanking the Lord for what He has done thus far. We are confident in the call of the Lord for the future of this community and see this change not as an end, but as the beginning of a new chapter in our ministry. We would like to remember the good things that God has done for us, in us, and through us.

Before we start, we just want to acknowledge that there are a great many people that should be named in a memorial like this. However, for the sake of readability and space, we will keep the points relatively name-free in shortening our main points.

So, starting with some names, we want to thank God for the direction, vision and pioneering of Todd and Marilyn Farley, and their influence in the lives of people all around the world. As founders of Mimeistry in 1982 they began a beautiful journey that changed many. Todd's authorship of books like The Silent Prophet, Prophetic Gestures and The Circle of the Arts have shaped and impacted the Church forever. We thank God for their performance, mentoring and teaching through which many have come to Christ, been formed, inspired and changed.

We thank God for the many who have come alongside Mimeistry. We think specifically of Nick & Jacque Hyde, Vicki Kendrick, Jeff & Julie Welch, Cary & Kelly Reif, George Baldwin, Michael Watt, Pete & Pat Grey, Scott Wasson, Danielle Van Der Meijden, Jeff Bieber, Coertze & Helene Peters, Anny Escaño & Rommel Ruiz, Gary & Jessica Ostrander, Irene Binder, David & Sara Van Akkeren, Paul & Anita Fischer, Joannah Gleaser, David & Elaine Fischer, and Ric & Vikki Marchi. We are thankful for the many partners who have worked with us, for people like Larry & Joan Dempsy, Melea Brock, Steve Fry, Carman, the faculty of Exaltation, the Andersons, Ray Boltz, Dave Buering, Vicki Ann Campbell, Rodney Purvis, Colin & Yvonne Williams, Liz Dimmel, Jim & Dolly Gilbert, Yvonne Peters, Jeff Parrott, Janine Meyers; our international representatives in Holland, France, New Zealand, South Africa, England, and Belgium; and the many churches who have supported us.

We want to thank the Lord for His revelations concerning the arts. We are thankful for the wholeness he has granted to so many who has embraced the freedom of movement in worship. We are thankful for the blessings so many now reap for embracing the command to praise with the whole body praise. We are thankful that He continuously assists those who trust in Him to fulfill the dreams of their hearts. We are grateful for the financial support we have received to continue in this unique art form.

We want to thank the Lord for sending us to those church leaders who so often exclaim, “I always dreamed of this but never knew that this actually existed.” We are thankful for God’s favor in allowing us to be light in the lives of secular artists and the arts world. We are thankful for the opportunities to be the voice in the wilderness that cries out, “you are meant for more”. We are thankful for the many He has called into His Kingdom through this ministry.

We are thankful for the many who has allowed us in their churches and on their pulpits; the many who have looked to us for direction. We are thankful for those who God send to us to study, and the many who have gone from us to start their own ministries. We are thankful to Him for the many who have helped in the most practical of ways. We are thankful for the many who have given of their free time to listen and befriend us, the many who have faithfully supporting our students.

We are thankful for what God has done through this ministry and its founders Todd and Marilyn Farley. We have seen how He has touched and changed people in over 38 nations. Through this ministry God has turned the life of a suicidal boy around. God touched a 90-year-old woman in Moscow (before the fall of the Iron Curtain), who after a performance said, “Today the Lord has answered my prayers. I have seen and understood the suffering of our Savior.” He moved a pastor to tears that then cried the congregation to silence while embracing the performer after the portrayal of Jesus’ forgiving power. He has touched a woman who couldn’t look at any man, to reach for her husband and find him beautiful again. He moved countless children, young, adults and older persons to recommit their lives to Him. He received homeless hundreds into His Kingdom after a performance in a rubbish district (dump heap) in Mexico. He opened the Swiss prison system to ministry, after their prison officials saw what Christian ministry was about.

Thank you Lord for those who you will envision to assist us in the future, and may we, like Joshua reply, “Whatever you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go.” (Joshua 1:16)

In Memory,

Theo & Jolie Williams
Directors of Mimeistry / Innovo Physical Theatre

Top