If you’re juggling ideas for some fun family time this weekend, an event at Eastern Heights Baptist Church in Statesboro may fit the bill. The church is hosting a free event on Saturday at 11 a.m. that is open to the public.
Nathan Dorrell, also known as The Crazy Tie Guy, along with his family, will entertain the crowd with juggling and other activities that engage children while simultaneously teaching them the gospel.
“Our goal is to share the gospel of Jesus Christ in a way that people of all ages can see, hear, understand and experience God’s perfect plan for their life through Jesus,” Dorrell said. “We try to help it be a good visual so that they can see what God has done for them. Through juggling, they can see it in a way they haven’t seen it before.”
As the parents of seven kids, Nathan and Kathy also juggle schedules, meals and bedtimes. The Dorrells make up Reflecting the Truth Ministries Inc. and travel all over the world to perform.
Nathan Dorrell holds several world juggling records, including one for juggling bowling balls underwater — an act he perfected in preparation for a submarine-themed Vacation Bible School and turned into a YouTube video. That video caught the attention of the makers of Advil products, and Dorrell was contacted about using footage of his juggling in a commercial that wound up being aired during the 2017 Super Bowl.
Dorrell’s juggling career began when he was in sixth grade and learned to juggle, a skill he continued to use over the years.
“When I was in college and doing ministry with inner-city kids, I couldn’t get the kids to listen to me until I started juggling,” he said.
That turned into juggling during seminary as a ministry and a chance to make a little extra money.
Dorrell taught his wife to juggle soon after they started dating. They married in 2000 and in 2002 had their first child and, in his words, “had a baby every other year” to add up to their seven children.
Coming home
When the Dorrell family journeys to Statesboro for the Saturday event, wife Kathy Daust Dorrell will be coming home, albeit briefly. Kathy attended Georgia Southern University from 1990 to 1994 and stayed here another six years following graduation.
“I was working at the hospital and loved it there, so I stayed on until I met and married Nathan,” she said.
The couple might not have known they’d be juggling as a family 17 years later, but their wedding at Eastern Heights Baptist Church possibly tipped off those in attendance.
“Dr. Joe Vincey, one of the doctors where Kathy worked, really made a difference in Kathy’s life for Christ,” Nathan Dorrell said. “Carrol and Joe Vincey attended Eastern Heights, so she started going to church there. They took her under their wing to teach her how to follow Jesus and live for him.
“And that’s how Eastern Heights became such an important place for her, and we were married there,” he said.
Wedding guests were treated to Dorrell’s juggling to open the ceremony, followed by juggling groomsmen and topped off with a juggling minister during the ceremony.
“Eric Hogstrom was my Baptist Student Union [now Baptist Collegiate Ministries] director, and I taught him to juggle while I was in college,” he said. “The Baptist Student ministry was instrumental in my coming to Christ. Eric had a big impact on my life and growth as a Christian and introduced me to missions and evangelism.”
Wedding guests took home green bean bags — to match the green and coral wedding colors — with the couple’s name and date stamped on them as wedding favors for guests to practice their own juggling skills.
The Dorrells use their talents in full-time ministry, visiting churches and events all over the country and world. On the schedule this year, in addition to spots across the United States, are performances in Iceland and Poland.
Marcia Parkerson, EHBC Women’s Ministry director, encourages families to join the fun-filled event.
“We do a lot of inward ministries for women and we have a lot of kids in our church, so we wanted to host this family event for the community,” she said.
For more information, contact Eastern Heights Baptist Church at (912) 764-9151, or catch snippets of the Dorrells in action at www.reflectingthetruth.com.