Eric Reamer's Illustrated Illusions, and Ministry by Effect, is a national evangelistic ministry, designed to bring the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a needy world via the use of visual object lessons and optical illusions. It is the secondary goal of Ministry by Effect to strengthen and encourage the existing body of Christ through the no-compromise preaching of the Word of God, and the teaching of that Word through the use of modern stage illusions.
The answer is both yes, and no. The word "illusion" can be substituted for the word "magic", as the word magic is defined as using normal, everyday objects - coupled with a talent in the area of sleight of hand, for purely entertainment purposes. It MUST NOT, however, be confused with the word "magic" as that which the Bible condemns. Illusions have absolutely nothing to do with the use of supernatural occultic practices, the dark arts, or drug induced psychosis. There is positively no employment of witchcraft, sorcery, or anything else that would be considered an abomination to the Lord involved in the illusions that Ministry by Effect performs!
First, let me state that I love to preach the Word of God! Fewer things give me greater pleasure than to open the Bible, and share His Word with the world. However, I believe firmly in the use of illusions, and many of the other visual arts, as they are employed to teach the Word, for two reasons.
Primarily, I use illusions to get the attention of those who would not normally listen. I am an evangelist. I do not feel it necessary to "evangelize" the existing body of Christ. I do wish, however, to reach those who have not yet accepted the Lord as personal savior. It is a fact that people who would NEVER step foot in a church to hear a preacher, will come to one of my outreaches, because the medium is somehow "less threatening". Make no mistake, I never hide the fact that I am a preacher of the Gospel, and there is no mistaking that fact once you've experienced the first illusion of any of my programs!
And secondly, I use the illusions to ensure the retention of the message. It is a well-documented fact that people, young and old alike, learn more and recall that which they learn longer, when it is associated with a visual activity. Having been guilty of walking out of a sermon and forgetting 5 minutes later what the pastor was preaching on, I will gladly do whatever is necessary to assist the people to recall the message for a longer period of time. It is not uncommon for people to come to me a year after they last saw my program, and discuss with me a point of last year's sermon.
(Chuckle) While I do perform quite a bit for the children of America, the messages I bring are specially designed to meet the needs of the entire family. I believe it is a gift the Lord has blessed me with to not only address, but truly understand the issues that are faced by teenagers and adults. When given the opportunity to speak to a higher educated crowd, people are often surprised at the depth of the message as it is conveyed through the use of illusion.
This is, of course, one of the most frequently asked questions, and perhaps one of the most difficult to answer. First and foremost, the answer is this: when I am asked to come in for a single service at a local church, I ask that the church take up a love offering on behalf of my ministry. If the church is able, I ask them to also assist me in covering the travel expense and lodging required to get me to their location. These costs are not mandatory, and set in stone - it is my purpose to share the Gospel - not collect from the church. I have found, however, that most churches are not only prepared to meet such basic needs, but expect it as well.
When called upon to do multiple day crusades, Vacation Bible Schools, or Bible Camps that require a longer block of time, there are times that taking an offering would not be appropriate. During such times, I am more than happy to discuss our basic financial needs, and have met with great success in dealing with hundreds of satisfied clients along those lines.
My absolute primary goal is to share the life-changing Word of God with as many people as the Lord will allow, using whatever means the Lord will bless, to further the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
In the short term, I desire to build up our network of Bible believing churches who support the cause of our ministry. To do that, we are constantly receiving referrals from pastors who have had us, and calling upon those referrals to also have us come and minister in their church.
In the long term, it is my goal to gather those supportive churches into teams of like-minded people, who will support the idea of sponsoring our large, city-wide evangelistic outreach program. This is an established, and extremely effective full evening outreach that is held in a neutral theater or stage of some sort. We employ several of the most baffling and entertaining large stage illusions, including the use of a 7 foot guillotine, the production of a human being from a tiny model of a church, and many, many more. Each of these illusions are designed to relate a specific point of the "sermon", and each leads in a dramatic way to the final point of the program... where a decision is to be made by all in attendance. Already, this program has had tremendous success in the cities of Austin, Texas - Lynch, Nebraska - Colby, Kansas - Lansing, Michigan - and several cities in Colorado.
There are several ways to get in touch with Eric Reamer's Illustrated Illusions. Any one of these ways will produce either an immediate dialogue, or a speedy response:
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Eric Reamer’s Illustrated Illusions
P.O. Box 1505 |
Eric Reamer’s Illustrated Illusions
P.O. Box 71573 |
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