Fire in our hearts - The Jesus Army

FIRE IN OUR HEARTSCOMMUNICATE!a world of videos and high tech computers. God communicatedvisually; through creation, and in water baptism, oiland wine. Christianity was full of visual symbols.So we began to develop our media technology using film,sound and lighting. Techno took us down two lines:videographics and computerised music. John ‘Perceptive’ andhis boffs could handle the first. For the second we drew onJez who gingerly introduced Noel to a world of modern dance;of jungle, rave, ambient and house music; of drum machines,sequencers and samplers. Noel was interested, for he hadsomething (in the Spirit) up his sleeve.We’d done prophetic drama many times now since we filledWestminster Central Hall with smoke in 1989. The risk ofusing drama was that a serious message could degenerateinto mere entertainment. It also took a lot of time in propmaking, organisation and rehearsal.Our dramatic presentations needed refocusing to communicatethe gospel effectively. We’d gained new skills and betterequipment. We also wanted to harness the creative energyof the youth. Was it time for a big project? A presentationthat would speak into the current mood?The idea evolved of a multimedia event using videographics,film, sound, light displays — the lot; powerful images showingthe beauty of creation and its devastation; sights that capturedthe desperate need of humanity; songs that spoke ofGod’s love; colourful celebrations of a new brotherhood. Allfrom the gut, raw and in tune with the cries of the people.The vision caught on.361