An Unlikely Sanctuary: Examining the Impact of Church-Based Youth Arts Programs in the Current Educational Theatre Landscape

Abstract

When school leaders opened the doors to greet students at the start of the 2025-26 academic year, they also encountered a new set of circumstances impacting public education. Stakeholders across the country are engaging in conversations about the potential ramifications of decreasing student enrollment due to population decline, the end of COVID-era relief funds, and shifts in governmental policies that could deeply impact school funding.

For many arts educators, however, these conversations debating school budget cuts, as well their potential implications for arts programs, are all too familiar. Yet even in these times of uncertainty for arts education, some students are finding opportunities to take the stage in an unlikely place—the evangelical Christian church.

In this essay, I examine the way some evangelical churches provide spaces for children and teens to engage in the arts, especially focusing on large-scale Christmas spectaculars and innovative arts festivals. These faith-based performance opportunities hold the potential to shape how young people think about the nature, scope, and purpose of theatre in ways that could impact these future artists and theatregoers.