I’d venture a guess that roughly everyone in Brooklyn, Iowa not only knows Josh Gerard, but they also know he’s a man of the theater. This year, our pastor put on a second Christmas play that he wrote, and it was another smashing success. Between the laughs, the audience was reminded of the gospel and the real reason for the season.

Sharing his faith and entertaining at the same time is a passion Pastor Josh has had for a long time. With this year’s play, It’s a Wonderful Christmas Story, he told the tale of a dad who is visited by an angel after showing some confusion about the meaning of Christmas. A mashup of several classic holiday movies ensues. Josh was happy to direct a fantastic group, many of which included those from our church family.

An article about Josh and his many roles in life was published in The Poweshiek County CR. We’d love for you to read this article, which includes a powerful testimony of God’s guidance. You can see Josh’s response in the photos below.

If you missed the play, watch the New Beginnings Facebook page over the Christmas holiday for a recording that will be available for three days only. In the future, we hope to offer Josh’s faith-based plays as downloadable PDFs in a shop on the website, so stay tuned! It’s our hope that many other churches and theaters can put on his productions and share a fun, inspirational time for their community.

We’re really proud of our talented pastor, whose show, A Carol Play, was performed at the Brooklyn Opera House over the weekend. Josh wrote the play as a fresh take on Dicken’s classic A Christmas Carol, with an emphasis on the true meaning of Christmas. Several from our church family had a role in this Christian comedy, and they had a lot of fun during each performance.

A Carol Play was a family-friendly event, complete with goodie bags for the kids. For a discounted ticket, attendees could bring in a canned food item for the Brooklyn pantry, and we’re happy to report that donations far exceeded expectations. Our community seemed to soak in the comedy as well as the quieter moments from the stage.

Tracey said, “It was so surreal to see this play that Josh wrote 15 years ago brought out of the vault! He did a fantastic time writing and directing, and the actors’ delivery was amazing! It was a full house! Lots of laughs!”

Here are some photos of the highlights, taken by our very own Tracey Gerard.

Pastor Josh has a long history of acting, directing, and writing plays. We hope he continues impacting our community with this work! (Or should we say “play”?)

God bless us, every fudge.