Based in Istanbul, StoryBox mixes a little bit of local musical influence into their blend of Western rock/pop. In Turkey, set lists usually contain well-known Turkish pop, Western covers and original tunes - many of which tell stories. Between the songs, you can also be sure that someone will tell a story or two as well, and in recent years shows have added more dance and drama elements.

Check them out on Nimbit or ReverbNation, StoryBox uses a mix of English and Turkish pop/rock and stories (sung and spoken) to share the faith. Check out the StoryBox website.

Tour Highlights

A 5-person Canadian band that wanted to glorify God via music joined us on this tour, leading to a very Canadian incarnation of Storybox! The tour was delightful; we worked our way up from Antalya to Bursa. We played in several bars, one of Turkey's top clubs, university amphitheaters and local churches. We had some encouraging opportunities to share in the days when we walked around the cities advertising our concerts. Several groups of university students had deep conversations with us, came to our concerts, and were still eager to hear more about the gospel message!

On the 23rd of April every year thousands of pilgrims (the majority Muslims) celebrate Saint George's day. A traditional pilgrimage takes place on Büyükada, one of the islands 30 kilometres off the coast of Istanbul, Turkey. People from all walks of life come to climb one of the hills to the 12th Century Greek monastery of Saint George. There, they pray that their wishes would come true or to get a particular blessing. Local believers come to share to these often-desperate people the Hope we have in Jesus. Evangelism includes distributing literature, offering prayer and using the creative arts.

Tour Highlights

The outreach this year included face painting, drama, singing and prayer teams. The teams were able to connect with many pilgrims, hand out tracts, and receive their information so that the local Bible Correspondence Course could follow them up. It also coincided with the national Children and Youth Day, so it was a good reminder of how important it is to minister to the youth of this country.

Based in Istanbul, StoryBox mixes a little bit of local musical influence into their blend of Western rock/pop. In Turkey, set lists usually contain well-known Turkish pop, Western covers and original tunes - many of which tell stories. Between the songs, you can also be sure that someone will tell a story or two as well, and in recent years shows have added more dance and drama elements.

Check them out on Nimbit or ReverbNation, StoryBox uses a mix of English and Turkish pop/rock and stories (sung and spoken) to share the faith. Check out the StoryBox website.

Tour Highlights

This incarnation of Storybox was definitely diverse - it featured three Kiwis, three Americans, two Swiss, two Canadians and one apiece of English, French and Turkish! Despite the diversity, 4 of the 6 band members had played in Storybox before, making for polished performances. Half hte songs were either sung in Turkish or had a strong Turkish feel to them. The band traveled out from Istanbul along the east coast. They were able give out many of the More than Dreams videos and also, after concerts, discuss and pray about spiritual issues with young people.

Bizim Psikolog (Our Psychologist) is a play styled on day-time Turkish talk shows.
Guests come and share their problems with two psychologists. We then see them put this advice into action back home. In between scenes, a live band plays well known songs. All the actors are Turkish nationals, and our team (plus equipment!) helps form the band with some of the church’s musically gifted young people.
Although the play itself doesn’t preach Jesus, Pastor Ahmet, as one of the play’s psychologists offers biblical wisdom and we see how it transforms home situations. After each performance he also makes it clear that the church cares for their city.

Tour Highlights

One highlight of the tour was the young Turkish believer who interned with us. When she was distributing pamphlets in a Kurdish neighborhood, a man asked her if she was Kurdish, and she said she was Arabic. The man was touched, given the historic animosity between Arabs and Kurds. Despite some fights and tensions, the shows were well-received and were good ways connecting locals with churches in the area. The mayor was very positive about our performances and one new local believer believer got to sing Kurdish songs as part of the play. Check out a video from the tour

What do you get when you throw together 6 dancing, singing, fire-spinning, viola playing, guitar-strumming TACO members and one awesome drummer from Nashville? Impact Performance Group! This tour was a weird mix of music, mime, dance, fire twirling/juggling and drumming. This kept things interesting and allowed us to use the incredible power of telling stories via drama.

Tour Highlights

Due to increased restrictions, we couldn't explain the meaning of the piece in most venues, but everywhere we saw people moved by the drama of salvation. Hopefully, the dramas will have planted seeds that local believers can follow up. We were able to put on more than 10 performances, mostly in universities, but also in a prison, a hospital and an orphanage. In the prison, we were able to connect with the audience and share openly about Jesus Christ. Three guys at the end promised to contact us when they got out of jail and the prison staff were very appreciative.

Based in Istanbul, StoryBox mixes a little bit of local musical influence into their blend of Western rock/pop. In Turkey, set lists usually contain well-known Turkish pop, Western covers and original tunes - many of which tell stories. Between the songs, you can also be sure that someone will tell a story or two as well, and in recent years shows have added more dance and drama elements.

Check them out on Nimbit or ReverbNation, StoryBox uses a mix of English and Turkish pop/rock and stories (sung and spoken) to share the faith. Check out the StoryBox website.

Tour Highlights

A team of musicians and technicians joined StoryBox for a two week tour in southern Kazakhstan. We supported the ministry of the church in a small town and their rehab centers for people suffering from drug and alcohol addictions. We played 13 concerts over 10 days; The greatest part of the tour came from the conversations with people after the concert sharing stories and talking about the messages hidden in the stories shared from the stage.We were able to pray with women who were struggling to support their families and with prisoners who expressed an interest in the rehab center. Check out a video from the tour

Artslink is the term TACO uses for a yearly group of Christian visual artists who they bring to Turkey. The goal is to connect with the Turkish people via the medium of art.
The last couple years, the group has worked in Cappadocia. They create artwork for an evangelistic exhibition held at the end of the time, while building relationships with local artists. They spend their time creating art, exchanging ideas, sharing meals and cups of tea with friends, meeting many new people, and praying for the town.

Tour Highlights

Local believers were present both nights of the exhibition and were able to start new relationships. The team reconnected with a sculptor friend from the previous year. He was interested in spiritual topics and took a Bible to compare with the Koran. Two of the team members were a married couple with two children, and via their children they were able to establish relationships with local children. The event was a blessing, where God allowed the team to create art, pray, study the Bible, share testimonies and build on work done the previous year.

Combining live music (storybox.org.uk) and unicycling (unishow.org) - along with dance, drama and other elements such as an illusionist on occasions always turns a few heads.

Tour Highlights

The tour was being sponsored by various local groups as an anti-addiction campaign. We were also keen to use extensively for the first time a DVD called `Fresh` done by the well-known Christian group called The Tribe; the DVD focuses how the Gospel offers an answer to the problems young people face including drugs, alcohol, peer pressure, etc. We handed out the DVD after performances. The tour reached thousands of people around Turkey and gave us many opportunities to clearly preach the Gospel. It was especially powerful to be able to do this during the month of Ramadan.

One Life: Dustin connects with his audience speaking from his own experiences dealing with: rejection, parents divorce, suicide, relationships, purity, perseverance, becoming a world champion and more. One Message: to live a life surrendered to Jesus Christ. One Wheel: Dustin illustrates his life and message through a one-of-akind presentation using the tool of extreme unicycling to captivate youth of all ages. Check out the UniShow website.

Tour Highlights

Lebanon was a new locale for Unishow, and we encountered many obstacles in our 10 days; it took us three days just to assemble all our props. However, we were able to reach close to 1,000 people. One local church in particular did a great job on advertising our show and inviting everyone up to a follow-up event with food and a movie. The concert was a good way for them to gain visibility in their community. We also gave performances out in the mountains in the middle of no where, and finished up with a huge, successful show on the Beirut Boardwalk looking out over the Mediterranean Sea.

The "Suitcase Sideshow" is a traveling marionette theatre designed to go into hard-to-reach places and bring the message of the Gospel in a new and captivating way. It's a theatrical performance spoken in the culture and language of the people that consists of three stories of Jesus, slightly modernized and adapted. Check out the Suitcase Sideshow II website.

Tour Highlights

The Gospel message was very clear, so we were not sure how people would react. It was amazing to see how Jesus' careful answers and wisdom from these familiar stories silenced and amazed the crowds. As an onlooker pointed out, “It's impossible for them to disagree with his words.” One of these stories was the woman caught in adultery. People laughed or jumped back in amazement when Jesus said, “He who is without sin, throw the first stone.” It was great to see the weight of these words on totally fresh ears. You can watch the English version of the show by clicking the video link. Check out a video from the tour

Combining live music (storybox.org.uk) and unicycling (unishow.org) - along with dance, drama and other elements such as an illusionist on occasions always turns a few heads.

Tour Highlights

This tour consisted of 13 shows in 7 cities, with acoustic performances by Storybox, Dustin and his unicycle, and Katie performing one of new dances. In the first half of the tour, we were delighted to be sponsored by the mayors of these mostly-Muslim provinces. We met personally with many of them and found them receptive to our performances with their message of Hope. In Northern Bulgaria, we worked with friends there to create shows that were very Gospel-centered, where we handed out surveys and literature after the shows. Hopefully there will be fruit!

One Life: Dustin connects with his audience speaking from his own experiences dealing with: rejection, parents divorce, suicide, relationships, purity, perseverance, becoming a world champion and more. One Message: to live a life surrendered to Jesus Christ. One Wheel: Dustin illustrates his life and message through a one-of-akind presentation using the tool of extreme unicycling to captivate youth of all ages. Check out the UniShow website.

Tour Highlights

We partnered with a local contact in Kosovo in order to do about 11 shows with unicycling, fire arts and music. The shows were significant because Kosovo is heavily Muslim and a Christian brother had recently been beat up for his faith, so that some Christians had stopped attending church out of fear of violence. Thus, we hoped to encourage the local church by openly proclaiming Christ's name. We were very warmly received and got to have many good conversations with young people in the local coffee shops. We also put on a performance especially for 2-6 year-olds, which was a delight. Check out a video from the tour

Wherever the singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jon Simpson has been – and he’s been around the world – he has been an artist who gets to the emotional core of his subject matter.
Simpson’s creative melodic rock possesses a poignant resonance that is part plea for a better world, and part determined declaration to do something about it. Check out the Jon Simpson website.

Tour Highlights

Coming after a revolution, the team (composed of Jon Simpson and several other dancers and musicians) hoped to share God's peace to a weary, war-torn people. We went to a couple prisons. Here they did a new drama illustrating God's forgiveness and healing. The room was totally hushed; it was incredible to hear people whispering His name in shock and amazement as they saw Him arise from the dead and offer forgiveness. In these prisons, very hard places, there were two ladies, each working alone, sharing with all their might. It was a great privilege to help them.