Charis Bible College Wows Big Crowds During July 4th Celebration

‘In God We Trust’ Show Attracts Thousands of Participants

Trevor Phipps

Over the last few years, the Charis Bible College has started to become known as a prime spot for entertainment.

The college’s production company, headed by Robert and Elizabeth Muren, has gained popularity with their one-of-a-kind live productions.  This trend was showcased in impressive fashion during last week’s July 4th and Independence weekend celebration.

The college hosts live productions every few months that are open to the public. In early June, the campus put on “In God We Trust,” which is their annual show that celebrates Independence Day.

Since the Fourth of July fell on a Tuesday this year, Charis held two performances; one on the Sunday before the Fourth, and another showing  on the actual holiday. Despite doubling the number of performances from previous years, the college hosted crowds of  3,000 attendees for both performances.

Every year, the college features “The Heart of Christmas” in December and “God With Us” around Easter time, along with the Independence Day production. Each of their shows tie in stories of family, history and the bible to create a production filled with various forms of entertainment.

The large 3,000-plus seat auditorium is filled with top notch technology that helps the college’s production team tell the stories. Each show integrates filmed acting on three giant screens, as well as doing live acting.

During the shows, actors fill the aisles of the auditorium so that the audience feels like they are on set and involved in the production. The shows include acting, various songs and large dance numbers, as a part of the performance.

For “In God We Trust,” the producers picked a story and songs to accompany it to help get people into the patriotic spirit. Before the show started, spectators were given a program along with a small American flag to wave during the patriotic songs enveloped into the production.

The story follows a family with a father and husband who is in the military. And even though he signed up for the military to do “logistics,” he finds himself in a scary situation after he gets deployed to Afghanistan.

His wife finds out through another military wife, that her husband turns up to be missing in action. But the wife, who is involved in putting on a Fourth of July production for her church, keeps the secret to herself.

The storyline continues to show how various characters use their faith in God to help them through troublesome times. The performance is filled with moments where members of the audience laughed, cried, cheered, and jumped up to sing along.

A Detailed Glimpse Into Great Historic and Patriotic Moments

The show not only told a harrowing tale that way too many veteran families can relate to, but it also incorporated patriotism and famous historical moments. The performance rehashed several well-known historical stories.

Famous speeches in history, such as “I Have a Dream” delivered by Martin Luther King Jr. and the Gettysburg Address given by President Abraham Lincoln, were strategically mixed into the storyline. The performance also told the story of Francis Scott Key drafting the lyrics for the “Star Spangled Banner” and the infamous battle of Fort McHenry where Key drew his inspiration for the song.

Overall, the musical performance did an exquisite job of helping the audience get into the patriotic spirit of the Independence Day holiday. Famous songs about the country including “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee,’ “America the Beautiful,” “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” “America the Beautiful,” and “God Bless the U.S.A.,” were intertwined into the show.

During each song, audience members were encouraged to stand up and sing along to the patriotic songs while the lyrics for each one appeared over the three big screens. At the end of the performance, the theme songs for each branch of the U.S. military were played while veterans of each branch were asked to stand to be acknowledged.

For those who missed the performance, they have the opportunity to purchase the musical on DVD. All three of the annual performances put on by Charis are available for purchase on DVD on campus or on the Andrew Wommack Ministries website.

The college’s next big event coming to the area is the “Healing is Here” conference, which takes place Aug. 8-12. The Truth and Liberty Conference is slated for Sept. 7-9 this year.

On Sept. 21-23 will be the “Charis Vision Conference” followed by the “Women Arise” conference on Nov. 2-4. The college’s next live musical performance will be “The Heart of Christmas” which takes place on Dec. 8-10.