“Every single person in the congregation, from the youngest to the oldest,
was transfixed on the puppets”

We had always used small glove puppets in our youth work and were always looking out for new ideas to share the Gospel in creative ways. When Beverly was a teenager, she attended a Girls’ Brigade District Parade service and a puppet team were leading the service. She remembers looking around the Church and watching every single person in the congregation, from the youngest to the oldest, transfixed on the puppets and totally engaged to the Biblical message. She felt God speak to her in the service telling her that He wanted her to start a puppet group to reach more people with the Gospel.

It wasn’t until several years later, now married with two young sons in tow that we both felt that God was speaking again saying that He wanted us to start a puppet group and that the time was right. So, in 2003 we began searching online to find a supplier of professional puppets and found One Way UK, based in Reading at that time. We were concerned about how we would be able to finance a puppet group with very little money, but we knew that if this is what God wanted, we needed to do it and not put it off any longer. In that same week, we received an unexpected grant, so we knew that this was right.
We purchased two puppets and made a simple stage out of plastic drainage pipes covered in fabric. God is so good! He always provides.

We started up a youth puppet team made up of the older girls from the Girls Brigade company based at a church in Hythe, Southampton. The youth team take part in church services and community events. The growth of Praizin’ Hands didn’t stop here as in 2008 we were then prompted to set up a schools project team to put on puppet presentations on a wide range of social issue topics such as bullying, internet safety, looking after our world and drugs to support the PSHE curriculum. This team has expanded over the years and we are currently able to offer schools in Hampshire a choice of 27 different topics to choose from. This team is made up of a small group of adults who work in schools all year round.

When we started Praizin’ Hands Puppet Group, we knew very little about puppetry and what was involved but knew that we needed to develop our skills and build on a firm foundation for the puppet group. We initially attended a Training Day to learn the basics, then a regional training event before attending the annual One Way UK Puppet Festival. All the training we have received from One Way UK has been the very best and we are so grateful to them for their ministry, resources and training as without them we wouldn’t be where we are today. The use of puppets has enabled us to reach groups of people in our local community who may not have heard the Christian message. Using parody songs is a great way to engage people as they recognise the music and want to stay and watch. We have a faithful God and we are excited about God’s plans for the puppet group in the future.

To find out more about the Praizin’ Hands Puppet Group visit their website at www.praizinhands.org.uk