A Classic Revived to Share Christ
This article first appeared in Calvary Chapel Magazine Issue 102, Winter 2025.
Photos courtesy of CC of the Harbour
Nellie Wiggins (left), “the most honest thief you’ll ever likely meet,” huddles together with the poor and destitute. Calvary Chapel of the Harbour (CCOTH) adapts A Christmas Carol to include the message of salvation through accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior.
The Ghost of Christmas Present tells a bewildered Scrooge, “The Child born in Bethlehem lives in man’s heart all the days of the year. You shall come with me to seek Him in the hearts of men of goodwill.”
Scrooge’s clerk, Bob Cratchit, sings “A Father’s Prayer At Christmas Time” in hopes that God will heal his sickly son, Tiny Tim.
Chris and Nadja McDonald hesitated to accept an invitation to the play, A Christmas Carol, being put on by Calvary Chapel of The Harbour (CCOTH) in Huntington Beach, CA. The couple, dating at the time, were invited by Nadja’s family. “I wanted to show my support for Nadja,” Chris remembered. “Despite my initial reluctance, I felt an inexplicable pull to go.” As the curtain rose, both were surprised by the production’s professional quality—but something else caught their attention.
“As I watched, I noticed a message from Christ woven into the performance, and it began to tug at my heartstrings,” Chris recalled. After the performance, the couple decided to start attending CCOTH regularly, with Chris feeling led to give his life to Christ just weeks later. On December 31, after service, Nadja—who had been saved in 2020—led Chris in a prayer to accept Christ, while also rededicating her own life to Christ.
“I moved out [from living with Chris] and lived under my dad’s roof until we could marry. We originally wanted to go to city hall, … but the Lord was speaking to us and told us to wait,” Nadja acknowledged. The couple cancelled their city hall plans, prayed, and saw the Lord provide the perfect venue and wedding for them four months later. Nadja marveled, “The Christmas Carol was the catalyst for all of this. We almost didn’t attend! And just imagine how different our lives would’ve been if we didn’t listen to what the Lord was saying to us.”
Jesus in the Production
CCOTH’s yearly production of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol is a unique ministry that has drawn many to the Lord through its Christ-centered message. It will return this Christmas season, marking the show’s 11th year. Creative Director Kathleen Pedick, wife of CCOTH Senior Pastor Joe Pedick, adapted the show into the production that it is today. Each year, her vision comes to life with the help of about 160 others—roughly 80 performers and 80 individuals behind the scenes—all church volunteers. “The two things that I was excited about ... were the Gospel going forward and bringing people to church that would typically never go to church,” Pastor Joe reported. “At all the performances, we always give the Gospel at the end. And by the grace of God, every time, people raise their hands to receive Christ.”
“For with God nothing will be impossible.” Luke 1:37
Making the Story Their Own
Our Narrator (seated) and Scrooge (standing).
Jacob Marley: “I’m here to warn you, that you have a chance of escaping my fate. You will be haunted by three spirits.
First published in 1843, A Christmas Carol is a novella about a miserly, seemingly unredeemable man named Ebeneezer Scrooge who sees the error of his ways after visits from the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future. Kathleen, who loves musical theater, was motivated to put the story on the CCOTH stage because it is a well-known, Christmas-themed tale. “Hearts are open at Christmastime more than any other time of the year,” she noted.
Kathleen transformed the classic, specifically making Scrooge’s spiritual salvation the show’s focus. For instance, on part of his journey, Scrooge is taken back in time to his childhood—but in CCOTH’s version, Scrooge is taken all the way back to the night of Jesus’ birth, where he witnesses the Nativity.
Additionally, Kathleen transformed the story into a musical, writing most of the songs herself. Larry Garcia, the production’s musical director and the church’s worship team director, wrote one song. He also composed and arranged all the music for the original songs. His wife, Brenda, is the play’s technical director.
Kathleen further developed the show’s backstory and created several new characters, including a self-proclaimed honest thief named Nellie Wiggins and a pompous, bigoted woman named Lady Wotherspoon.
“If Charles Dickens had more time, I believe he would have made many more characters,” Kathleen related. “And then I’m thinking, I’m going to do just that. But we’ve kept the integrity of the entire writings of Dickens. Every character is still there, all the story is intact. All I did was make it more colorful.”
The added roles offer more chances for those in the audience to relate to the show’s characters. “I know when Kathleen was putting it together, she was trying to hit every walk of life,” Pastor Joe explained. “You’ve got the atheist, the agnostic, the religious person that’s not really saved—to make sure that every walk of life can relate.”
Just as in the original version of A Christmas Carol, the story weaves through emotional highs and lows. Adding depth to these moments are the original songs, such as “A Father’s Prayer at Christmastime”, sung by the character Bob Cratchit about his sickly son, Tiny Tim. Kathleen shared that she wrote the song with her own father in mind, based on her childhood memory of when she was very ill. Her family had been told that Kathleen would not live until Christmas; she remembers waking up and finding her father, not yet a believer, praying for her recovery at her bedside while shaking his fist at God: You took my wife, please don’t take my wee lassie.
Kathleen reflected: “It was my father’s prayer, so that song’s very heart-wrenching.”
“Go back to your slums where you belong,” threatens Charles Devonshire Esq., a new character that provides a mysterious twist to the classic tale.
Quality & Effort
“What was the matter with him? I thought he [Scrooge] would never die,” discuss gentlemen in the streets of London.
Just as it was important for the church to deliver the Gospel message through the show, it was necessary to deliver it with the utmost effort and quality. From the costumes to the sound effects to the performers’ carefully practiced English accents, the musical strives for the quality of a professional production. “That changes everything, because when people come in skeptical—maybe their granddaughter or sister are in the show—they’re thinking it’s a ‘little church performance’,” Kathleen said. “But then they see the sets, the lighting, hear the music, and they’re shocked.”
Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them. Romans 12:6a
Scrooge accepts Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior and promises to keep Christmas in his heart.
Young Scrooge (right) looks forward to a prosperous future with young Marley (third from left) along with Belle (second from right), the love he cast aside for the pursuit of wealth.
“How much should I put you down for, Mr. Scrooge?” Mr. Bleak questions the miser.
The cast sings joyfully during the grand finale.
“All three spirits, in one night, accomplished more benevolence for my miserable old life than my entire existence,” proclaims Scrooge.
This quality is a product of each volunteer’s effort. Some of the actors know not only one role, but two, playing a different one depending on the night and acting as an understudy when needed. While a number of the performers have an acting background, others were brand-new to the stage.
“We are all members of the body with different gifts,” observed Alexandra Lee, who plays two of the newly created characters—Nellie Wiggins and Lady Wotherspoon. “To see that camaraderie amongst all of us, doing the work and giving God the glory, that is the best. This gives me a chance in my small way to impact people.”
Actor Mark Savalle has treasured seeing this impact firsthand. He has played Bob Cratchit in the musical for years, taking on the lead role of Scrooge last year. At first, he wondered if he would be able to memorize the lead character’s many lines.
“I prayed to the Lord: If one person could get saved during the performance, that would be an awesome blessing. I would be so motivated to do this,” Mark shared. He began to memorize the lines while on vacation. “I went block for block, paragraph for paragraph, realizing: Wow, I can do this. I knew that God was with me doing it.”
At the end of one performance as Scrooge, Mark also presented the Gospel to the audience. “Four people gave their hearts to the Lord. I was blown away,” he marveled. “When God’s hand is on it, it’s effortless.”
With each heart that accepts the Lord, Kathleen is reminded of the same phrase: “Nothing is impossible with God,” she emphasized. “To see the performing arts used in such a way to deliver that message—to me, that encapsulates the entire show.”
Pastor Joe Pedick and wife Kathleen of Calvary Chapel of the Harbour.
Thank you for reading! If this story inspired you, we invite you to partner with us in continuing the ministry God started over 27 years ago. We appreciate your prayerful consideration in joining us to reach more souls for Jesus.
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