A BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF THE GOSPELER 

                On June 9, 1955, Dwain W. Penn was born in Upson County in West Central Georgia.  At the age of 22, as a Junior in college, Penn entered the Christian faith through salvation while his mother was fighting a losing battle with brain cancer.  Fourteen months later, Penn heard the audible voice of God urging him to enter the ministry.  Desiring a clear confirmation of the calling, Penn waited five years during which, on January 1, 1982, he began a three-year project copying  the King James Bible.  Halfway through this task, Penn surrendered his will in June, 1983.        Penn wanted all the tools that God's Word allowed for the great task that was ahead.  On Thursday, July 7, 1983, while visiting a Christian retreat in Bradenton, Florida, Penn experienced the baptism of the Holy Spirit.  Greatly humbled by this blessing, Penn did not flaunt the gift, but used it wisely to strengthen his prayer life and daily communion with God.

                Like Peter after the day of Pentecost anointing, Penn began preaching the gospel anywhere and everywhere he could.  In May of 1985, he embarked on an exciting calling to preach on the streets of downtown Griffin, Macon, McDonough, Milledgeville and Thomaston.  He was briefly arrested in Milledgeville for his bold proclamations. 

THE GENESIS OF THE MINISTRY OF DRAMA 

                Penn received an invitation from a rural church in Upson to conduct a six-day, seven-message revival during November 1986.  He was convinced that this would be the start of a successful evangelistic ministry.  No other invitations followed early the next year.  Grieved over the lack of opportunities to preach, Penn poured his heart out to God in a stark, wintry prayer closet in 1987.

                "Commit parts of the Bible to memory" was the Spirit's gentle prodding.  Eager to obey, Penn started within months memorizing the book of Romans.  In the middle of the third chapter, a mental roadblock was encountered prompting Penn to start over January 1, 1988, with the book of Ephesians.  Ninety days and 155 verses later, the work was finished.  Further prayer closet guidance led Penn to present Ephesians and about 3 dozens other Pauline scriptures in a one-man Bible drama depicting the imprisoned Apostle in a Roman jail.

                The premiere was held Tuesday night, June 14, 1988, at Prayer Mountain Church in Meansville, Georgia.  The response was overwhelmingly positive which encouraged Penn to grow the ministry as God allowed.  Within a year, Penn added two more dramas which opened doors to minister in numerous churches in Ohio, Louisiana and throughout the Southeast.  Growth of this ministry was so rapid, it allowed Penn to quit a $20,000 a year job in 1990 and enter the full-time faith ministry.

                To help Penn focus on the priorities of ministry while living a "life poured out", he started a visitation ministry in April, 1992, at a nursing home in Thomaston.  The outreach has grown to include a total of three nursing homes as well as visits in private homes.  The potential growth of Penn's ministries is perhaps unlimited as he constantly places his efforts in God's hands to allow only God's best to emerge.

                And even though there appears to be an end to what this faithful gospeler plans to do, he is careful not to stay the hand of God working daily in his life and he is willing to respond to any request from any area of the fields of art and Christian religion.  The final impact of any work, whether God-inspired or not, must ultimately revert back to the genesis of humankind and God's purpose for creation.  Indeed, any and all works are without merit unless it fully expresses our dependence on God and His desire for us to constantly fellowship with Him.  Every drama and ministry option does just that.