Send us a text

"We face unanswered prayer through sadness and loss, searching Scripture for resilient comfort — Paul’s thorn, resurrection hope, shared grief. Question: When prayers end in "no", how does God’s grace sustain faith?"

We share a hard week with our Plays On Word family: praying for baby Samuel, grieving with James and Sara, and holding to the comfort God promises when the answer is "no". Scripture, story, and prayer lead us to a hope that outlasts storms, diagnoses, and silence.

• the God of all comfort amid affliction
• storm updates and travel plans put on hold
• the story of our dear brother James Serpico
• pleading for a miracle and facing a "no"
• Paul’s thorn, weakness, and sufficient grace
• the Gospel as hope stronger than death
• Joseph and Job as patterns for endurance
• community duty to help by prayer
• a closing prayer and blessing over the grieving

To find out more, check out our Plays On Word website at: https://playsonword.org/

(Please click on the underlined links below.)

EP 120

Ep 121

Plays On Word Newsletter Sign Up: https://playsonword.dm.networkforgood.com/forms/newsletter-sign-up
To Support Plays On Word Radio & Plays On Word Theater, please visit: https://playsonword.networkforgood
The Plays on Word Theater team is always setting up new performance dates! If you want us to visit your church/venue/community, please reach out with your inquiries here: https://playsonword.dm.networkforgood.com/forms/event-submission-form

Plays On Word website
Plays On Word YouTube
Plays On Word Facebook
Plays On Word Instagram
Email us: team@playsonword.org

Send us a text

"Imagine if your name meant “God is with us!” This is the meaning of our dear Brother Emmanuel Agyemfra's name. We visited with him on our last Christmas Joe Tour. Listen in!"

We sit down with Pastor Emmanuel to trace a faith journey from a Ghanaian living room church to Korean seminaries to New Jersey congregations, and we cast a vision for bringing Plays on Word Theater to Ghana. Along the way we explore “dinner church,” bivocational ministry, and how unity in Christ thrives across many languages.

• early discipleship in a home church in Ghana
• starting a campus fellowship and owning calling
• bivocational mentors and NGO-minded service
• seminary studies and ministry posts in Korea
• transition to New Jersey churches and community care
• dinner church as practical evangelism and hospitality
• vision for a Ghana theater outreach powered by Scripture
• diversity as a gift and unity in Christ as center
• language, culture and the shared “hallelujah”
• closing prayer and pastoral blessing

Information for Emmanuel’s church, Leonia UMC, is in the show notes.

(Please click on the underlined links below.)

Leonia UMC Church: https://leonia.church/

Plays On Word Newsletter Sign Up: https://playsonword.dm.networkforgood.com/forms/newsletter-sign-up
To Support Plays On Word Radio & Plays On Word Theater, please visit: https://playsonword.networkforgood
The Plays on Word Theater team is always setting up new performance dates! If you want us to visit your church/venue/community, please reach out with your inquiries here: https://playsonword.dm.networkforgood.com/forms/event-submission-form

Plays On Word website
Plays On Word YouTube
Plays On Word Facebook
Plays On Word Instagram
Email us: team@playsonword.org

Send us a text

"Today we look back on our time with our dear brother Vinnie Whitehead. His life touched multitudes of people for eternity. He is now in glory with his Lord, and we look forward to seeing him again."

A good life leaves footprints you can follow in the dark. We remember Arthur “Vinnie” Whitehead — coach, teacher, elder, and friend—and trace the quiet choices that turned classrooms, gyms, and retreats into places where faith took root. Grief is honest here, but hope has the last word. We share the first handshake that felt like a challenge and a welcome, the late-night Bible study with an open door that drew men into Scripture, and the simple ways one person’s courage can become a community’s backbone.

You’ll hear how a high school coach redirected a student from detention to Fellowship of Christian Athletes and changed the arc of a life. We revisit ministry threads that span Calvary Chapel Old Bridge, Crossfields, and local camps, and we include Vinnie’s own testimony—from a religious routine to a living walk with Jesus, through battle and breaking, to a faith rebuilt by steady, verse-by-verse teaching. It’s a picture of discipleship that grows slow and strong: prayer, Scripture, accountability, and service.

This is also a frank look at time. Tomorrow isn’t guaranteed, relationships need repair, and the Gospel is too good to hoard. We hold sorrow and joy together, anchored by the promise of resurrection and the conviction that a life can preach long after the voice is quiet. If you’ve ever wondered whether small acts matter, this story says yes—welcome the newcomer, open your Bible, keep the door ajar, and finish strong.

If this tribute encouraged you, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review so more people can hear Vinnie’s legacy and meet the hope that carried him. Then tell us: whose faith shaped yours, and how will you pass it on? Let us know here: https://playsonword.dm.networkforgood.com/forms/podcast-reviews

(Please click on the underlined links below.)

Calvary Crossfields interview #1
Calvary Crossfields interview #2

To honor Vinnie’s life and legacy, and in gratitude for the faith and values he lived out, donations in his memory may be made to a ministry close to his heart: Fellowship Of Christian Athletes - New Jersey: https://www.fcanj.org/donate

Plays On Word Newsletter Sign Up: https://playsonword.dm.networkforgood.com/forms/newsletter-sign-up
To Support Plays On Word Radio & Plays On Word Theater, please visit:

Plays On Word website
Plays On Word YouTube
Plays On Word Facebook
Plays On Word Instagram
Email us: team@playsonword.org