Through the Side Door

Through The Side Door

The Arts Open Young Minds to the Gospel

“Sometimes, the best way to engage someone isn’t to come head-on with the information you’re trying to get across,” says Brian Marshall, Director of Christian Student Fellowship and Lewis House at the University of Kentucky. “That’s why what FPA does on so many campuses is so powerful. It comes in the side door, through the arts.”

Earlier this year, more than 600 students attended Fellowship for Performing Arts’ production of The Screwtape Letters at the University of Kentucky. The event cost the university nothing, and students paid less than $10 per ticket. Support from generous donors makes these Campus Initiative performances possible.

When FPA brought The Screwtape Letters to the University of South Carolina in March 2026, one female college student shared:

“You know how a picture is worth a thousand words? It’s like each scene is worth way more. When you take words from a book and you put it into a scene in a play, it creates this whole world that you might not have thought of.”

For many students, FPA’s productions spark deeper reflection and conviction. Savannah, a student at Dallas Theological Seminary, wrote to us after attending The Screwtape Letters:

“I have been deeply impacted. We sat there absolutely stunned. Deeply convicted, sincerely inspired!”

And the conversations continue long after the curtain falls.

“The fact that there’s spiritual meaning underneath it gives you great conversations on the ride home,” said Lu Lu, a freshman at the University of Kentucky. “You can talk about it for days to come!”

Across the country, students are wrestling with life’s biggest questions. As Brian Marshall said, “FPA allows people to engage with these huge ideas, the truth of the Gospel, in ways that maybe a traditional sermon just can’t quite do.”

Your generous support makes this work possible. Thank you for opening the “side door” with us.