Hospitality of Performance

“Buy the Air Jordans,” He Said

When I first began performing The Pro Kids Show outreach in schools in the fall of 1994, my business partner, mentor, and creative director—Steve—gave me some great advice:

“Buy the coolest, most in-style shoes you can afford. You’ll immediately connect with the 6th graders.”

Back in ’94, that was for sure the Jordans.

So I did. I spent the $125 I couldn’t afford. At the time, it seemed like a ridiculous amount of money for athletic shoes—in my Johnston & Murphy mind.

You see, at that time many elementary schools were K–6th. Meaning Kindergarten through sixth grade. So the shoes gave me immediate “street cred” with the 6th graders—especially the boys.

As I would learn over and over again in the following years, Steve was right.

As I stepped into the audiences (for years I started the show coming in from the back squirting water!) and made my way to the stage, sure enough, the 6th graders ooh’d, ahh’d, and pointed at my shoes.

As I jumped onto the stage, I immediately held the attention of 500 kids and parents. The kids leaned in—to use the modern term. Some of those hard-hearted, arms-crossed parents also sat up and paid attention.

“Who is this modern-day pied piper?” they pondered as the fun began.

Lately, I’ve been thinking about those moments—first rehearsed in imagination, then in actual rehearsal, then lived out in hundreds of real spaces over 36 years.

It’s in those spaces—some sacred, some secular—that hospitality of imagination came to life for me and for them. Moments where audiences became curious enough to stay and open enough to encounter something beyond themselves.

Creating Space for Encounter

When Jesus sat down to eat with tax collectors and sinners, the religious leaders couldn’t understand it.

“Why does he eat with them?” they muttered.

But Jesus knew something they didn’t: transformation rarely happens through condemnation. It happens through invitation. And Jesus was great at inviting.

The table wasn’t just a place to eat. It was a carefully crafted space where outcasts could feel seen, where the isolated could experience belonging, where the proud could be humbled and the humble lifted.

In the Scriptures, you’ll notice that Jesus didn’t wait for people to clean up before He welcomed them in. He welcomed them in so they could be transformed. Biblical hospitality doesn’t demand conformity first—it creates the conditions for encounter.

The work here at New Dimensions Evangelism—that’s what we’re trying to do every single time we create a resource, write an article, or step in front of an audience.

I am not just “performing” at people. We’re creating space for them—a space where God might show up in ways they never expected.

The Stage as Sacred Space

I’ve often said that what I do is “education through entertainment.” But maybe it’s more than that. Maybe it’s evangelism through hospitality.

Every event—these aren’t just performances—they’re acts of radical welcome.

We’re saying: Come as you are. Bring your doubts, your distractions, your defenses. You’re invited in.

And in that space, in those moments, something extraordinary happens.

Kids who’ve been told to sit still and be quiet are invited to participate, to laugh, to imagine. Parents who’ve been running on empty are reminded of joy.

Communities fragmented by politics and division share a moment of collective wonder.

And in the middle of it all, the Gospel—not always preached at them, but offered to them—with the gentle generosity of a host extending an open hand.

But here’s what I believe: the Church has always been called to lead with imaginative love.

We worship a God who:

• Spoke creation into existence (imagination)

• Became flesh and moved into the neighborhood (hospitality)

• Fed 5,000 with five loaves and two fish (generosity with what we have)

• Died on a cross to reconcile us to Himself (self-giving love)

Our calling isn’t just to tell people about this God. It’s to show them—by the way we create spaces, extend invitations, and welcome the stranger.

When we lead with imagination, we’re not just solving problems or filling seats. We’re creating moments. We’re setting tables in the presence of people’s doubts, fears, and indifference—and trusting that Jesus will show up.

Your Part in the Story

Just as I invite audiences to come along with me while I’m sharing from the stage, I invite you to continue to be part of this story.

Every time you pray for this ministry, you’re participating in this act of hospitality. Every time you give, you’re helping us extend an invitation. Every time you share what we’re doing, you’re extending that invitation even further.

You’re not just supporting a small ministry that does big things—you’re partnering in the imaginative work of making space for God to move. To move in hearts that haven’t felt wonder in years… or perhaps ever.

And that matters more than you know.

Because somewhere, a person is going to laugh at something I do or say on stage. Or perhaps lean in and truly listen to a story of truth.

And in that laughter or listening, a hard heart will crack open. Through that door, the Spirit will move—gentle, surprising, undeniable.

Not because of my “performance,” but because of the space.

The hospitable, imaginative, prayerfully prepared space where encounter with Jesus becomes possible.

May your own life be a place where others feel welcomed, where wonder awakens, and where Christ is encountered—not as an idea, but as a presence.