Christian ballet company seeks to reach people through the arts

November 8, 2022

PEORIA, Ill. — Samaritan Ministries International (samaritanministries.org), a health care sharing ministry that is dedicated to delivering a Biblical approach to health care, is proud of their hundreds of thousands of members who find unique ways to share the Gospel. The example of one member, Dan Stayskal, owner of White Thorn Events, shows there is no limit to creative ways of spreading the message of salvation.

White Thorn and Ballet Magnificat, a premier Christian ballet company, are presenting “Most Incredible Christmas,” a “Broadway-style event inspired by extraordinary and familiar Christmas traditions from around the world.” Their performance is being given at 7 p.m. EST December 6 at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland, Florida, with in-person, livestream and on-demand viewing. “Most Incredible Christmas” is about “a town’s contest to find the most extraordinary and incredible thing about the Christmas season.”

“Members who use their many talents to share the Gospel through new mediums are so encouraging,” commented Anthony Hopp, Samaritan’s chief purpose officer. “We are so fortunate that we are able to cheer our members on as they go out and share the Good News through their passions. The health care sharing community is a tight-knit group, and all of us are so thankful for members like Dan Stayskal who go out into their communities and make a difference.”

An information technology expert by trade, Stayskal is the father of seven children, five of them girls. In 2016, Stayskal began looking for a way for one of his daughters to use her ballet talent to serve God. She fell in love with Ballet Magnificat and participated in their summer intensive, which draws several hundred dancers from all over the world. Stayskal’s daughter secured a spot in the trainee program and now tours with the company.

“These dancers are not dancing for their own fame or fortune,” Stayskal commented. “They are all dancing to bring glory and honor to Christ, and that is why I believe so many people attend their events.”

Stayskal decided to bring the company to Florida. When he approached the local theater, they laughed and said no one would come. That didn’t stop him. He rented the theater himself and the performance brought in more than 900 people, some of whom traveled over 100 miles.

The health insurance that Stayskal’s employer provided started to cover things that violated the Stayskals’ beliefs, so he began investigating other options.

Several co-workers were doing the same, and one of them mentioned that he was trying Samaritan Ministries by switching one family member over. When Stayskal checked back with him a year later, his co-worker’s whole family had joined Samaritan and were loving it.

That was enough for the Stayskals and they joined. Within their first year of membership, one of his daughters developed temporomandibular disorder, also known as TMJ.

“I learned that I had picked the right organization, because some (other health care sharing organizations) do not share TMJ treatment,” Stayskal said. The treatment cost was over $6,000. “Financially, it’s really saved us.”

“We often hear from our members about how they were initially reluctant to give up health insurance and their surprise at having such good experiences with Samaritan,” said Hopp. “People need to know that they don’t have to stay in bondage to an expensive system that increasingly violates their faith.”

In 2021, Ballet Magnificat began touring again and White Thorn Events partnered with Classical Conversations, a leading homeschool organization with more than 50,000 members throughout all 50 states. They promoted a livestream pre-show and intermission.

“We were shocked when over 700 households from all 50 states and five nations tuned in for the event,” Stayskal commented. “With that success, we learned that by partnering with several national nonprofit organizations, we could reach exponentially more households with our events, and ultimately with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”

This year, Samaritan Ministries will be one of the nonprofit organizations promoted during the livestream of Ballet Magnificat’s production of “Most Incredible Christmas.”

“I love the idea that God’s gifts to his children can be utilized to create spectacular presentations that point individuals to Him,” Stayskal said. “At the end of an event, when individuals come forward to pray with the Ballet Magnificat performers, with some of them giving their lives to Christ, I realize that it was worth every hour, every minute, every sleepless night of planning and preparing for that event!”

To purchase in-person or online tickets for “Most Incredible Christmas,” go to WhiteThornEvents.com/most-incredible-christmas. For more about Stayskal and White Thorn Events, see the November Samaritan Ministries newsletter.

Samaritan has a membership of 280,901 individuals from 83,032 households.

Samaritan has no limited enrollment period. Government exchange-based health insurance requires signups to occur only during open enrollment periods unless one qualifies for a special enrollment period due to a “life event” such as losing coverage, getting married, moving, or having a baby.

Samaritan Ministries health care sharingoffers additional advantages:

• No network restrictions. When medical care is needed, Samaritan members choose the health care provider, hospital, and pharmacy that work best for them.
• The direct-sharing approach allows members to not only help fellow believers with their medical financial needs but to pray for and connect with them on a regular basis.
• Monthly shares are hundreds of dollars less per month than insurance.

Learn more about Samaritan Ministries International here; visit the Samaritan website at www.samaritanministries.org, or follow the ministry on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.