Tours: More Locations.

The Magi production will also be taking a swing through Florida, Georgia and Alabama. Take a look at what's behind Magi, and check below to see if the Word Life group is coming to a church near you.

Tours: Harry Bollback remembers the beginning.

Word of Life has been involved in a variety of musical groups and dramatic productions over the years, including Tours around the country and Gospel Productions, based at the Florida campus. This year the ministry is moving away from hosting productions solely at the Florida location, and Bible Institute students will instead be touring several cities with a production called Magi.

Don Lough, Jr. and Harry Bollback sat down with Mike Calhoun, executive assistant to the president, to talk about this new time for Word of Life.

Mike: When did the tour idea originally come to you?

Harry: In 1975, Jack Wyrtzen asked me to take a group of Collegians out. He took one group, and I took the other. We called it The Living Christmas Tree. Basically, the students stood on risers and held a string of lights that one of the guys would plug in every once in a while. When I got back, Jack said, “What do you think?” I said, “Jack, it was terrible. Honestly, it doesn’t look like Word of Life — no class.” That’s when Jack said to me, “Why don’t you do something about it?” I said, “I’ve never done anything like this.” 

Mike: That’s when Let Freedom Ring was born, right?

Harry: Yes. I had the advantage in that 1976 was a big year, and the story of Let Freedom Ring was a very patriotic story. Jack traveled with me and did a 10-minute Gospel message at the end. We started out on spring break in 1976. The response was overwhelming. We had taken a giant step of faith. We were in every giant theater you could think of and filled them. We had more than 90,000 people come to see it. There were hundreds of decisions. I decided while I was on that tour to write Ring the Bells.

Mike: How many nights in a row would you tour?

Harry: The full tour would be about 40 days.

Mike: About how many nights were you and Millie on the road?

Harry: I think about 120 days a year.

Mike: Over the course of all your tours — I have heard you talk about the numbers....

Harry: Leander Chute was on the tour with me and would count the tickets every night. He was very precise, so believe me when I tell you that he counted more than two million tickets of those who attended all of our presentations.

Mike: What was the largest audience you ever had?

Harry: I think the largest audience we had was at Madison Square Garden — not in the big Garden, but in the smaller, 7,500-seat auditorium. We did three Christmas programs. We had about 21,000 people that day. We did it just like this: We opened the back door and let everybody out and then would bring them in by a different door.

Mike: Would you do it again?

Harry: Definitely! But remember, I did not do it by myself. I had a great team!

Were you involved in Tours or Gospel Productions in any way? We want your stories and your photos! Send them along to alumni@wol.org or post on our Facebook group. We are hoping to tell many stories from throughout Word of Life’s years of productions in an upcoming issue. Please send your memories, even if you only have a few words to say.

Click here to read what Don Lough Jr. has to say about the new production.
Click here to see when and where Magi will be headed.

Tours: Don Lough, Jr. shares his vision.

Word of Life has been involved in a variety of musical groups and dramatic productions over the years, including Tours around the country and Gospel Productions, based at the Florida campus. This year the ministry is moving away from hosting productions solely at the Florida location, and Bible Institute students will instead be touring several cities with a production called Magi.

Don Lough, Jr. and Harry Bollback sat down with Mike Calhoun, executive assistant to the president, to talk about this new time for Word of Life.

Mike: Tell me about your passion for getting Bible Institute students into churches and communities with the new Christmas presentation Magi.

Don: It is important to me that we build close relationships with churches. As a ministry, Word of Life desires to serve the local church, and I believe this is one of the ways we can assist churches in reaching their communities.

Mike: Is this presentation a tool for evangelism?

Don: Yes. This program will be a great blessing to believers of all ages. However, it will also afford an opportunity for believers to bring friends to a quality Christmas program where they will see and hear a clear Gospel presentation. We are building specific aspects into the program just to keep children engaged. This is a family experience, and it was created with the family in mind.

Mike: I know another goal you have is for us to reconnect with our Bible Institute alumni.

Don: We are serious about reaching out to our alumni and reconnecting with them. We have asked Mike and Amy Bush to oversee this area for us, and they are aggressively reestablishing contact. I want to do more of this as we are on the road with this presentation.

Mike: I understand you have some history with Tours even as a child.

Don: Starting when I was about 10 years old, my father directed the Collegians, and I had the privilege of traveling on Tours such as Ring the Bells and His Truth Goes Marching On. It was an amazing experience to be up close and personal with Bible Institute students and Uncle Harry and Aunt Millie. What a joy it was to see so many come to Christ night after night. The periodic rides in the Chutes' green RV were a bonus!

Mike: Where do you anticipate taking the Christmas presentation?

Don: We will begin this year with one group in New York and New England and another in Florida and Georgia. However, I foresee us covering much of the East Coast and the Midwest as we move forward. Even this year, there will be a second Bible Institute ensemble going to the Midwest during the same timeframe. They will just not be doing the Magi presentation.

Were you involved in Tours or Gospel Productions in any way? We want your stories and your photos! Send them along to alumni@wol.org or post on our Facebook group. We are hoping to tell many stories from throughout Word of Life’s years of productions in an upcoming issue. Please send your memories, even if you only have a few words to say.

Click here to read what Harry Bollback had to say about the beginning of Tours.

Click here to see when and where Magi will be headed.

Tours: A New Frontier.

Word of Life is hitting the road again, this time for a special Christmas production called Magi. With a cast and crew made up of Bible Institute students and Word of Life staff, come experience a unique blend of music, drama and multimedia with one purpose in mind: to share the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Magi will be reconnecting with local churches with these special presentations this Christmas season. For more information, visit wol.org/Christmas.

Dates and Locations:

Dec. 6: Chicopee, Massachusetts
Dec. 7: Springfield, Massachusetts
Dec. 8: Worcester, Massachusetts
Dec. 9: Weymouth, Massachusetts
Dec. 10: Providence, Rhode Island
Dec. 11: Scotland, Connecticut
Dec. 12: Hartford, Connecticut
Dec. 13: Clinton, Connecticut

2014 Tour: Northern New England, western Pennsylvania
2015 Tour: Western New York, northern Pennsylvania, Indiana/Michigan

Were you involved in Tours or Gospel Productions in any way? We want your stories and your photos! Send them along to alumni@wol.org or post on our Facebook group. We are hoping to tell many stories from throughout Word of Life’s years of productions in an upcoming issue. Please send your memories, even if you only have a few words to say.

Click here to read what Don Lough, Jr. and Harry Bollback have to say about this new production.

Fall tours: Are any coming to a town near you?

The New York campus is sending three Collegian tour groups, made up of 20 students each, throughout the Northeast this fall. From November 30 to December 9, these groups will minister to local churches and Christian schools and share about the ministry of the Bible Institute and Word of Life as a whole.

Each group will offer a concert, special music, short dramas, testimonies, Sunday School classes, and programs for school chapels. Check out where these groups will be visiting to see if you can stop by and be encouraged, or if you can introduce someone new to the ministry of Word of Life and the Bible Institute.

Group 1
November 30: Poughkeepsie, New York
December 1: Allentown, Pennsylvania
December 2: Allentown, Pennsylvania; Piscataway, New Jersey
December 3: Piscataway, New Jersey; Jersey City, New Jersey
December 4: Jersey City, New Jersey; Paterson, New Jersey
December 5: Paterson, New Jersey; New York City
December 6: New York City
December 7: New York City; Long Island, New York
December 8: Long Island, New York
December 9: Long Island, New York

Group 2
November 30: Syracuse, New York
December 1: Syracuse, New York
December 2: Syracuse, New York; Rochester, New York
December 3: Rochester, New York
December 4: Rochester, New York; North Buffalo, New York
December 5: North Buffalo, New York; South Buffalo, New York
December 6: South Buffalo, New York; Jamestown, New York
December 7: Jamestown, New York; Watkins Glen, New York
December 8: Watkins Glen, New York; Binghamton, New York
December 9: Binghamton, New York

Group 3
November 30: Pittsfield, Massachusetts
December 1: Willmantic, Connecticut
December 2: Willmantic, Connecticut; Warwick, Rhode Island
December 3: Warwick, Rhode Island; Providence, Rhode Island
December 4: Providence, Rhode Island; Boston
December 5: Boston
December 6: Boston; Worcester, Massachusetts
December 7: Worcester, Massachusetts; Springfield, Massachusetts
December 8: Springfield, Massachusetts
December 9: Springfield, Massachusetts

For more information and specific locations (or to ask about hosting a group), please email Micah Melville at micahm@wol.org, or get in touch at studentministries@wol.org.