In July, 11 members of Nazarene Youth International from Tibás, Costa Rica, were able to share the gospel at the Children of the Great Artist festival at the Eugene O'Neill Theater.

Roughly 500 people attended the event, where they heard about the great artist, the Lord.

“In this, which was the fifth edition of the festival, Jesus was spoken of openly for the first time, and we had the opportunity to do it as a church, all for the glory of God!” said Hugo Miranda, Tibás church youth pastor.

The festival is a program of Children of the Great Artist, a social project that aims to empower individuals for comprehensive development through education, art, culture, sports, health, spirituality, and values.

The volunteer team helped by setting up the stages while others assisted the participants who performed at the show. In addition, they collaborated by taking photos and ushering people to their seats. At the beginning of the event, they welcomed participants with a short biblically based message.

Pastor Walter Caravaca said that the church was able to participate in the event as a result of work the church has been developing for five years. They have been carrying out strategic evangelistic activities that have allowed them to open spaces in the community to share God's love through events such as the Children of the Great Artist event.

“This process has not been easy,” Carvaca said. “This year, the Lord allowed us to establish a relationship with community and government leaders to generate an alliance for the children, youth, and families of our community.”

The Children of the Great Artist program’s success has also opened doors for the church to embark on the New Family program, which offers holistic development and family support for refugees. It also includes workshops on theater, dance, musical education, chess, as well as teaching values through soccer.

“As a church, we are very happy and excited as we see a great opportunity for creative evangelism by actively engaging with the community,” Caravaca said. “It opens up many possibilities for us to reach places and people that we would never have imagined before.”

He added that the vision of the Tibás church is to be a living, united, holy and growing church that knows and shares its identity and seeks to impact its community through the compassion and love of Christ.

“In accordance with this vision, which is grounded in our Nazarene identity and in the commission delegated by the Lord Jesus Christ to go and make disciples, we have given ourselves the task of generating spaces so that the church can grow holistically, creating a positive impact in our community,” Caravaca said.

--Church of the Nazarene Mesoamerica Region