A community for the calling few of us share alone.
We are Christian theatre educators — teachers and directors, designers and scholars, storytellers all — who have given our vocations to forming students and telling stories that glorify Christ. Most of us have done this good work faithfully on our own campuses, often with few collaborators who share both the craft and the calling behind it.
So we gathered. We come from different schools and different corners of the discipline, drawn together by a shared conviction: that the work entrusted to us is better done in one another's company. In establishing the Association of Christian Theatre Schools, we are not assembling a society of strangers — we are naming a community that, in many ways, already existed, and committing ourselves to its future.
The Association of Christian Theatre Schools (A.C.T.S.) is a professional community of faculty and staff who teach and support theatre at Christian colleges and universities. While our community is rooted in Christian theatre schools, we also welcome Christians serving in other sectors of theatre — including faculty and staff at nonsectarian and other post-secondary institutions — who are aligned with our mission or interested in supporting it.
"We guide and equip Christian theatre faculty to grow spiritually, artistically, and vocationally — creating spaces to teach better, lead stronger, and dream bigger, together."
S.T.A.G.E.S.
Six convictions spell out our name and steady our work — from the classroom to the stage.
Scripture-Rooted Service
We root our work in Scripture and the hope of the Gospel, serving our Creator through the arts.
Together in Community
We foster authentic relationships among faculty who share faith and vocation, built on connection, prayer, and mutual encouragement.
Artistic Collaboration
We believe educators flourish when they create together, and we make space for the shared ventures and workshops that renew our passion for the craft.
Growing Continuously
We commit to one another's professional and spiritual growth — staying sharp, grounded, and growing.
Equipping Educators
We exist to serve faculty: equipping, refreshing, and inspiring those who lead the next generation of theatre-makers.
Story-Driven Service
We believe theatre shapes communities; by investing in educators, we multiply their power to tell stories that speak truth to students and audiences alike.
Signed August 14, 2026, at Westmont College.
A working draft, and proudly so. Sixteen founding members signed the charter as a beginning, not a finished decree — entrusting what we started to God, to one another, and to all who follow.
Our Covenant
As founding members, we made these commitments to one another:
- We will show up for one another — offering encouragement, prayer, and honest friendship across the miles between our campuses.
- We will share generously — our resources, our expertise, our hard-won lessons, and our creative work.
- We will create together — pursuing collaborations and shared ventures that none of us could stage alone.
- We will keep growing — staying sharp in our craft and grounded in our faith, and helping one another do the same.
- We will tell the truth in love — about our work, our struggles, and our hopes for this community.
- We will steward this beginning — giving our time and care to build A.C.T.S. into something that will bless those who come after us.
"Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands."
Psalm 90:17 — our declaration, August 14, 2026
The charter is still becoming what it will be. We're shaping our rhythms together — an annual in-person gathering and regular virtual check-ins between them — and building the guiding documents (bylaws, a membership structure, a shared statement of faith and values) that will give A.C.T.S. lasting form.
The company that signed our charter.
Sixteen educators. Fourteen campuses. One shared calling.
The founding company, in alphabetical order
- Bryan BoydGeorge Fox University
- Kris DietrichAsbury University Co-Convener
- Valerie FlowerEastern University
- Starr GarrettCampbellsville University
- Braden GowensBelhaven University
- Bradley GriffinPepperdine University
- Stewart HawleyUniversity of Mobile
- Jonathan HicksWestmont College Co-Convener
- LuAnn JenningsCovenant College
- Alecia JuelfsUniversity of Sioux Falls
- Rhett LuedtkeHope College
- Tracy ManningTaylor University
- Terry OlsonArts Instigator
- Justin Poole
- Peter SenkbeilConcordia University Irvine
- Josiah WallaceJohn Brown University
Names link to each member's faculty page, or to their email where no page was found. Two entries are still unlinked pending confirmation — see note to Kris.
The 2027 Gathering
2027Exact dates to be announced
Our first gathering was a beginning: a charter signed, a mission named, values agreed upon. The 2027 gathering is where that beginning becomes something durable — welcoming institutions beyond our founding fourteen, finishing the governance work we started at Westmont, and turning shared convictions into shared initiatives: collaborative productions, faculty workshops, mentorship, and resources every member campus can use.
A few things worth knowing.
Who can join
A.C.T.S. is rooted in Christian theatre schools, but we also welcome Christians serving theatre at other institutions — including nonsectarian campuses — who share our mission or want to support it.
How we gather
An in-person gathering once a year, plus regular virtual check-ins between them, so the community endures between events — not just at them.
Where we're headed
Bylaws, a membership structure, and a shared statement of faith and values are all in progress as we build A.C.T.S.'s lasting form.
Help us learn
We're gathering input on the health of theatre departments at Christian colleges. Take the short survey ↗
The Green Room
A private space for founding members and stewards — the member contact sheet lives here. Enter the password from your welcome email.
Want to learn more?
Whether you're curious about membership, want to help shape the 2027 gathering, or just want to say hello — reach out to either of us.