Easter Musical

More than 2,000 people attended a five-night production in Tacoma, Wash., of "He Has Risen," an Easter musical portraying the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The actors in the musical were all youth.

With a passion for youth ministry and music, Kenneth Aiolupotea coordinated the youth from the Tacoma Samoa Church to present an evangelistic Easter musical at the Mount Tahoma (Wash.) Church. Soloists and participants ranged in age from 8–22.

The musical was a venue for young people to participate in ministry and experience a change themselves. "As a result of this musical, a lot of the youth in our cast desired to get to know Jesus more through Bible study," says Aiolupotea. "They are forming groups to read through Desire of Ages and The Great Controversy together."

Musical organizers say many people who came to the first weekend of performances returned with family and friends to share the experience of the production, which brought laughter and tears to the audience.

Many behind-the-scenes individuals contributed their time, skills, props and costumes from various churches in the Washington Conference, making this a conference-wide ministry effort. This production, say organizers, was laced with tiny miracles and promptings from God through all phases of the plans and the outcome.

Featured in: June 2011