Acting evangelist brings new life to Hebron
Published in The Pike County Journal-Reporter,
February 7, 2001 – page 1B
"What
do you do for a living?" asked the alert nonagenerian. The question came as a surprise to Evangelist
Dwain W. Penn as it was habit for him to visit the lady and many others in
nursing homes every week since April, 1992.
He
stammered for only a moment. "Exactly what I am doing now," came his
witty retort. She knitted her eyebrows with a confused look." The pay must
be awful!" she laughed." But the benefits are out of this world!"
added Penn, grateful for the opportunity to bring some joy into her life.
Penn
is not your ordinary evangelist, or minister, or preacher. He was cut from a distinct and rare
mold. Born June, 1955 in North Upson County,
his parents were staunch democrats.
"Mama
wanted to name me Dwight to match the given names of my three siblings, all
starting with a 'D'," explains Penn, "But Daddy didn't want a son
named after a Republican President - so they settled on Dwain."
Penn's
upbringing in rural Upson had a lot to do with where he is today. He is a successful evangelist traveling
around the country doing one-man Bible and secular dramas.
"I
am tremendously successful," notes Penn, "simply because I am exactly
where God wants me to be, doing what God wants me to do." However, to the eyes of the world, Penn and
success appear to be very far apart. He
lives a very simple life in a rural section of southern Pike County.
Penn's
walk with God began in 1977, his senior year in college. He was brought to the cross of salvation as
his mother was dying of brain cancer.
The spiritual calling to preach followed the next year. Yet, as with most young men, Penn wanted
further proof of God's will and postponed that decision for five years. By 1986, Penn started preaching on the
streets of downtown Thomaston and other cities, being arrested once in
Milledgeville. Later the same year, a
rural Upson church invited him to conduct a six-day, seven-message
revival. Months later, no other
invitations to preach were received.
Prodded
by God's Spirit, Penn began, on January 1, 1988, memorizing parts of the New
Testament. Five months later, June 14,
he introduced his unique ministry to the area with the premiere of The Apostle
Paul on Prayer Mountain. The people were
mesmerized and inspired by the young man's sincerity and authenticity of his
portrayal.
Immediately,
Penn began to work on another drama and premiered Father Abraham just five
months later. Jesus was added the
following Easter. Since that fateful
late spring evening in 1988, Penn has presented over 240 dramas in 85 churches
spanning 11 denominations scattered among seven southern and mid-western
states. The success of the ministry
prompted Penn, a college graduate with a degree in architecture to leave a
$20,000 per year job ten years
ago.
Penn
has added more dramas as God leads him and sometimes by request of others. King David was added after a woman's request
following a Christian Arts Revival in New Orleans. "She liked the way Paul danced during
the drama," Penn recalls fondly.
After building a replica of the Ark of the Covenant during the winter of
1995, Penn premiered King David on Palm Sunday at The Bright Star Church in
Douglasville. This followed another
premiere, Isaiah, at the same church on Palm Sunday of 1994. "Isaiah came about because a seminary
teacher expressed her fondness of this prophet and his writings," explains
Penn. Since 1995, no other Bible dramas
have been added to the ministry.
"Joshua may be my next major Bible
drama," says Penn. "It will
give me the opportunity to tell the exciting story of the Exodus and utilize
the Ark built for David. Each drama
takes about 6 months to create with all the writing, memory work, props,
costume, make-up and research of the right music for the soundtrack."
Even
to this day, Penn remains busy. He has
added St. Nicholas, Abraham Lincoln, Rev. Walter Dubois, a humorous southern
preacher from New Orleans and Jonathan Edwards, a stoic 18th century
puritan. For the year 2001, Penn plans
to add Charles Wesley, an 18th century Methodist preacher and Ebenezer Scrooge,
Charles Dickens' annual penitent.
"I
am very excited about Scrooge," says Penn.
"His costume will allow me to do Beethoven on the side and
eventually add Quaker William Penn to the ministry, perhaps next year." William Penn's life closely parallels that of
the Apostle Paul. Both were imprisoned
for religious reasons and did most of their writings while incarcerated. Of course, Dwain's reason for doing William
Penn goes beyond religious tones. They
are related. Twelve generations ago,
Dwain's forefather was the brother of William's grandfather. The brothers married sisters making their
lineages of closer relation than any two other Penn lineages since. "It will be nice to do Cousin Willie!"
comments Penn.
Meanwhile,
Penn, as a full-time evangelist, creates other ways to supplement his
income. He was recently called as the
preacher at New Hebron Baptist near Concord.
Fortunately for his ministry, the church meets only once a month, every
third Sunday at 3 p.m. He also cleans
houses, though more as a ministry than a source of income as he sometimes
charges as little as $1 per hour. He
sells blank audio tapes to local churches, makes and sells anointing oil and
videos of some of his dramas, and sells copies of the books he has written.
"Next
to ministering in drama, I enjoy writing," says Penn. "I have been writing for over 30 years,
penning my first novel at the age of 14."
Penn's prolific writing is evident in his books. He has published seven
in the last 30 months and he continues to write short stories, novels,
newspaper articles and pen quarterly newsletters for his ministry, The Gospel,
and New Hebron Baptist. Most of his
books can be purchased in Zebulon at M & M's Office Supply and a free
subscription to his newsletters can be requested by writing The Gospel, P. O.
Box 101, The Rock, GA 30285.
"If
God is not first in everything that I do, then it is all in vain," reasons
Penn. "I am grateful that God has
helped me in these efforts and He alone continues to bless."