The Birth of the Mime Ministry in Ghana

In most recent times, one new strategy for the propagation of the gospel of Jesus Christ adopted by some contemporary christians is the use of mime. This has joined the rap gospel and other modern mediums of reaching out to a wide range of people with the scriptural messages.

Mime is a form of entertainment in which a performer plays a character or tells a story without words by using body movements and facial expressions. It is usually a performance done without speaking.

In an exclusive interview with one of the prominent mime artiste in Ghana, Mr. Francis Jilac popularly known as J Mime, Campus Radio gathered that the stage act traces its origin to ancient Greece with its initial name as Painto Mime where it was used primarily for comic performances.

The transition from the concept comedy to the christian evangelism style was engineered by twin brothers.
This was followed by budding mime acts, notable amongst them are J Mime, Mr. Mime GH, Ike Infinity, N.K Mime, L.K Mime, 3C Mime who can be described as the pioneers of the Mime Ministry in Ghana.

Mimers dress up mostly wearing white gloves, and paint their faces white which enables the artistes to clearly portray the expression of which ever message they want to convey to their audience. Mr. Jilac added that they don't wear mask because it denies the audience the true facial expressions of the performer.

"The vision of the Mime ministry in Ghana is to one day demonstrate the power of God through mime for the lame to walk, blind to see, deaf to hear and a whole lot the spirit of God wants to manifest", he said.

The sustainability of this ministry is dependent on the Holy Spirit and for this reason they pray, fast and read the Bible to draw inspiration to be a blessing to the world.

Mr. Francis Jilac believes that the originally known choreography in church is no more an  entertainment or variety makers of a program but is now a full ministry the LORD is blessing thousands and millions through.

The Mime artiste has featured in numerous Christian programs including the "Sex in your closet" held by Minister Majid Michel and Pascal Amanfo at the Ho Technical University and the Acoustic Hangout held at the Galaxy Lodge in Hohoe.

Other mime artistes have participated in high profile programs organised by Celestine Dinko, Steve Crown and Joe Praise from Nigeria. Aseye whose stage name is Mr. Mime performed at the Action Chapel.

Mr. Jilac has asked those hearing about mime for the first time to visit his YouTube channel (Francis Jilac) to increase their knowledge and understanding of the Mime Ministry.

By: Angmortey Kwabena Raphael 
(Campus Radio Ghana)