Lauren Minke believes she was meant for the stage.
The 19-year-old Fort Worth resident says she’s been singing since she could talk. Her first appearance was in The Wizard of Oz when she was 6.
She credits her passion for theater to one of her biggest supporters – her great-grandmother. Minke remembers visiting her great-grandmother’s house to rehearse or sing songs from her performances.
However, tragedies test her relationship with art and her Christian faith. The pressures of high school and community theater and the death of her great-grandmother culminate in Minke’s decision to take a break from it all.
“I hate to say it, it was, ‘If God loves me, why would he take her away from me?'” Minke said. “Because she didn’t just leave.” It was that she got Alzheimer’s and forgot who everyone was and then left.
Her year off ended in 2023, when she saw that a performing arts ministry was holding auditions for “Footloose,” a musical she and her great-grandmother often watched together. Minke decided to take a leap of faith and give it a try. This summer she is performing the role of Aunt Lulu in the cast.
Since then, Minke has continued to sing, dance and act in shows with STAND Performing Arts Ministry. The Fort Worth nonprofit provides a space for both children and adults to participate in both popular and original religious productions. Minke shares how the organization rekindled her passion for the arts and religion, and how it helped her grieve the loss of her #1 fan.
“We all use our gifts to worship God because he is the one who gave us our gifts,” Minke said.
STAND Ministry of Performing Arts
Visit the nonprofit’s website for information about classes. Click here to learn about upcoming auditions. Contact [email protected] for other inquiries.
STAND Performing Arts Ministry, located in north Fort Worth, began in 2005 as a group for children and teenagers that would perform at schools, Christian festivals and churches in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, according to Jesse Beebe, president and founder .
In 2010, the non-profit organization grew to include its adult and children’s groups. STAND Ministries now stages popular productions such as Little Women and The Drowsy Chaperone. Beebe also creates original productions using hip-hop and pop culture to teach messages from the Bible.
Although STAND Ministries is rooted in faith, participants do not have to be religious to be part of the organization, Beebe said.
Beebe, who is an ordained minister with 25 years of experience in the performing arts, said that sometimes the competitive nature of theater can affect an actor’s confidence. She hopes that providing devotions and prayers at the beginning and end of each rehearsal lifts and builds the actor’s self-esteem.
“If kids come out of a theater program, sometimes not all the time, they feel self-deprecating because they don’t think they’re as good as that guy or that girl,” Beebe said. “We want them all to know that everyone is unique and everyone has a special gift.”
Minke said she experienced that pressure in high school and community theaters. Before joining STAND Ministries, Minke thought she wouldn’t have a shot at professional acting.
“I had a theater director who told me outright that I would never do anything professionally in the theater world. It gave us a lot of confidence and self-doubt,” Minke said.
Through STAND Ministries, Minke said she slowly regained her confidence through starring roles in the nonprofit’s productions. Minke plays Mrs. Peacock from “CLUE The Musical” and Pugsley from “The Addams Family.”
Being part of the group also helped her cope with the loss of her great-grandmother. Hearing how other participants turned to their faith during difficult times also strengthened her faith, she said.
“Having that community and understanding that other people around you have the same ideals of abiding love,” Minke said, “having people like that following those patterns around you. … It fills your spirit.”
Marissa Green is a member of the America Report corps reflecting on the faith of the Fort Worth Report. She can be reached at [email protected] or @marissaygreene. At Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
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