This is another Frank and Edith skit that has them talking about a missionary that they just heard speak at their church. They discuss how important mission work is to them, and how they should support this particular missionary, because he gave such a good presentation. Of course, they come up with reasons not to, and talk themselves out of it completely. You will either laugh at their reasoning, or realize you do the same thing.
This THANKSGIVING DAY skit will also work for anytime, but the story begins as siblings, Jason and Tori are complaining about what Mom is fixing for Thanksgiving dinner. The setting then switches to a couple of homeless kids who just had a meal at a shelter and were very thankful. The story goes back and forth with ungrateful kids with nice clothes, and then the opposite response when a missionary kid, Adam passes out stuff to kids in a poor country. Adam comes back home and shares with the American kids what he learned about being grateful for what we have.
This is a story of three missionaries who are arrested for sharing the gospel with the natives who come into their clinic. They are told they must promise to never speak of Jesus again and must turn over all their Christian literature, or they will die. Two are willing to follow their terms and leave the country while one feels she must remain strong and not back down. The only problem is that she has a young son, who they have in the next room. The others try to persuade her to think of her son and to go with them. The boy is brought in to say good-bye and the sketch ends with a gunshot heard. An optional ending is attached where the son demands to be shot with his mother, but a big storm hits and they are able to escape.
Cast of six. (4 males, 2 females. Gender can vary and the script be adjusted) About 12 - 15 mins.
Another THANKSGIVING DAY skit with Jason and Tori and friends learning gratefulness. After learning that they will spend Thanksgiving serving food at the homeless shelter, they are very upset and complain. Suddenly Jason finds himself at the shelter with all his friends, and they are all homeless. All he gets for a Thanksgiving dinner is a roll, but he is so hungry, that it tastes wonderful. After living like them for a time, he finally wakes from his dream and vows to change his attitude and be grateful for the things he has.
The Church Army is an organization that is still going strong today. Similar to the Salvation Army and started around the same time in England, this story is about Wilson Carlile, the founder and an amazing man who began this ministry. The play begins with Wilson as an old man on a train telling his story to a stranger. Then the play goes into flashback mode as we see him as a young man and we learn how it all began in the late 1800's. This would be a costume piece and it should reflect that time period and perhaps British accents as much as possible. There are many scene changes, so if you have a large stage area, you may want to keep the train scene permanent and perhaps even the living room set. A very large cast, but many actors can play multiple parts as a large majority of the characters are only in one scene. The play runs close to 90 minutes or longer, but scenes can be cut to make it shorter, and this could also reduce the cast.
28 characters plus extras. (at least 12 male roles, at least 6 female roles) Many parts could be either gender. About 90-95 mins as written.
This play is available for free to any member of The Church Army. If you are in The Church Army and wish to produce this play for your organization or to promote the work, then contact The Church Army headquarters for your free copy.
Gladys wanted to go to China as a missionary, but she could not get any missionary society to accept her with her limited skills and knowledge. She saves up her money in England, and buys a ticket on a train across Russia in 1932. She gets held up there, and they do not want to let her go, thinking she can work for them as a machinist in their factories. She escapes with some help on a Japanese ship and gets to China. Once there, the local mandarin asks her to be the official foot inspector, to stop the foot binding of women and girl's feet. She sees a woman selling a small child and buys her for ninepence. She stops the riot in a prison by just praying, walking in and taking charge. She ends up with a home full of orphans and leads a young woman to Christ who was cruel to little girls. The mandarin converts to Christianity, and in the final scene, Gladys takes 100 orphans across the mountains to the Yellow River during the attack of the Japanese. After praying for help, a Chinese soldier shows up to help them get across the river to safety. This is the same story that you may have seen in the Ingrid Bergman film, "The Inn of the Sixth Happiness", but this play is based on her biography not this movie. (Gladys is a big part for an actress, she is in every scene)
Cast of 20 (10 male, 4 female, 6 children) with as many child extras as you can come up with. Approx. 45-50 mins.
Hudson was a young man who struggled with the Christian life of his family. His mother spent an afternoon in prayer for him and he finally comes to the Lord at the same time. Once he is saved, Hudson feels the call to go to China as a missionary. In a flashback sequence, young Hudson is working for a doctor who keeps forgetting to pay him, and Hudson will not remind him, but asks God to take care of it. Later, an older Hudson almost dies from an infection he incurred, and he cuts open the wound to let blood and poison out. In act 2, Hudson is in China, wearing Chinese clothes and his hair dyed black with a queue (pigtail), which meets with various reactions. Maria loves him, and he has written to her and asked her to marry him. Her sister is happy, but not the mistress of the house: Miss Aldersey. She over reacts and forbids her to accept his proposal, and dictates the letter of refusal for her to write. (a great part for a good actress) The narrator gives the outcome which is a happy one and the play ends with Hudson back in England speaking about the need for more missionaries in China. Four young people come up to join with him.
Cast of 26 (15 male, 10 female, 1 narrator) with a few children (the segments with the children can be easily omitted without changing the message in the story - making it 4 males less) (some parts can be doubled) Aprox. 75-90 mins.
This is a 30 minute sketch about a missionary who just returned from China and a reporter interviewing him/her. The scene is broken up with short scenes about Hudson Taylor's life taken from the play, "Hudson Taylor: Called to China". The stage needs to be divided so that you keep the interview going on one side and do the scenes from Hudson's life on the other side.
Cast of 8 with at least 4 males and 2 females. 30 minutes.
This is a short one-act play in just a few scenes. The play begins with George, a young German in England, studying to be a pastor but not even knowing the Lord. At a bible study, he sees a man praying and it just makes a lasting impression till he also gets saved. The final scenes deal with George and his wife, Mary as they discuss how they can trust God for his salary and for providing for the orphans. Good parts for dialects as George is German and Mary and others are English. A walk on part for an old Cockney woman is fun. Includes a narrator.
About 25 mins. 6 adults (2 women) and several extras. (one girl) Plus a narrator.
