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SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Luz de Vida Methodist Church has discovered a new way to preach the gospel through theater. What began as a pastoral dream has become a formal ministry that blends faith, creativity, and community transformation into “Homiluz.”
“We wanted to share the Word of God through dramatized preaching,” said ministry team member Mercemar Rodríguez Santiago. “It wasn’t enough to simply read the biblical text literally. We wanted to apply it to the problems society faces today, like mistreatment, gender violence, suicide, grief, and the abandonment of our senior citizens. The idea was to deliver a message (that) anyone could identify with.”
The project’s name, Homiluz, reflects its mission.
“The word is born from the union of ‘homiletics’—the study of preaching—and the name of our church, Luz de Vida,” said María del Carmen Sánchez Camacho, pastor of the congregation. “We wanted to formalize a ministry that, from the pulpit, would reflect the light of Christ.” The Spanish word luz means “light.”
Another key concept was dramaturgy. “The term comes from the dramaturgs, the writers of dramas and plays,” Sánchez Camacho explained. “By adopting that approach, we understood that preaching must be attractive and relevant to new generations. Today, more than ever, we need to speak in a language that makes sense to our youth and children.”
Workshops have become the heart of the theater initiative.
“From the very beginning, we created a safe environment where participants could share their own life experiences,” team member Natacha Rodríguez Carrasquillo said. “They wrote monologues on themes such as grief and suicide. That was healing and transformative, because it allowed them to connect their faith with very personal experiences.”
Although the leadership team initially thought the project would attract mostly young people, most participants were older adults.
“They discovered talents they didn’t even know they had and embraced this ministry as their own,” Rodríguez Carrasquillo said. “It has been a rewarding experience across all generations.”
Children also found their place in the project.
“They were spontaneous and fearless,” Rodríguez Santiago said. “They improvised faster than the adults and even surprised the workshop leaders. It was wonderful to see how naturally they flowed.”
The process came with its share of obstacles. For José García López, the greatest challenge was time management.
“While we were attending training workshops, we also had to create scripts that contextualized scripture in today’s reality,” he said. “It was very demanding and taxing, but we presented everything in prayer and felt God’s guidance. The most beautiful part was how this process created a united, intergenerational community.”
An unexpected roadblock unfolded on the opening day of their first theater production, Echoes of the Cross, inspired by the seven last words of Jesus.
“There was a massive power outage across all of Puerto Rico that left us in uncertainty until just a few hours before showtime,” Sánchez Camacho said. “Finally, the electricity came back just in time, and we were able to present two sold-out performances.”
Participants appreciate the applause, but the team also celebrates the personal growth they see.
“People who had only worked in costume or backstage stepped forward to try acting,” Rodríguez Santiago said. “The most beautiful surprise was seeing hidden talents revealed when people dared to say yes.”
Rodríguez Carrasquillo noted that the impact was also spiritual.
“During rehearsals, there were moments of healing and transformation,” she said. “At the performances, people came forward to accept Christ. We saw God’s purpose fulfilled perfectly.”
Identity and mission
The ministry has also developed a visual identity. Rodríguez Carrasquillo explained that its logo combines the church’s symbols and a theater light with the phrase “Living the Word,” inspired by Romans 12.
The title Echoes of the Cross was also chosen with care. “The words of Jesus on the cross still resonate today,” García López said. “We wanted a name that reflected that eternal echo which continues to inspire us.”
The team hopes the project will extend far beyond the church walls.
“Our hope is for this to become a permanent ministry of the church,” Sánchez Camacho said. “We want to take dramatized preaching into housing projects, community centers, and public spaces. Theater can reach people who would otherwise never step inside a church.”
For the Luz de Vida congregation, Homiluz has become more than just an artistic project. It has created a space for healing, learning, and intergenerational connection.
“What began as a workshop has turned into a ministry that blesses lives,” Rodríguez Santiago said. “And the echoes of the cross will continue to be heard wherever we carry this message.”
