They travelled from school to school with their puppet ministry, reaching over 3,000 children this Christmas

It all began more than three years ago when Lolita Trisnahardja felt a stirring in her heart.

As a volunteer who had been serving for over 20 years in Sunday School, the 52-year-old was no stranger to ministering to children.  

But she started to feel a growing burden for kids outside the church.

Sharing that her Senior Pastor, renowned evangelist Rev Dr Stephen Tong, had always emphasised the importance of going out to share the Gospel, Lolita said it was inspiring how even at the age of 85, he was still involved in children’s ministry.

“He is a person with many talents. He can speak to thousands of children, and they will listen. But I’m not like that,” admitted Lolita, who worships at Reformed Evangelical Church (Singapore), also known as GRII Singapore.

Convicted by Ps Tong’s urgency for winning the hearts of children and his repeated calls for more labourers to be part of this mission field, she prayed for wisdom.

“Even though I don’t have talents like him, I know it cannot be a reason for not (obeying) God’s calling. And I know that God has called me to do children’s ministry, so I started to think of what I can do.”

Recalling how she would occasionally use puppets in Sunday School and on mission trips, Lolita thought these would be a great tool for local outreach as well.

But the question remained: To whom should she reach out?

The answer came when Lolita was chatting with another church member who runs a kindergarten.

A school that their ministry performed at in 2025. Source: David & Goliath Preschool

While sharing her burden, Lolita asked if it was possible to stage a puppet show at the kindergarten for Christmas, which would be accompanied by a Gospel presentation.

“Why not?” came the reply.

It turned out that this church member had also been praying for opportunities for her students to know about God.

Incredibly, just like that, God had opened the first door.  

Another push came when Lolita found out that their church’s Christmas Gospel Rally, which is co-organised with Stephen Tong Evangelistic Ministries International (STEMI), would be held at a larger venue – Suntec Singapore – that year.

This got Lolita thinking about how she could get the word out to more children.

“We don’t usually use such a big place for the Gospel Rally. Since we have the opportunity, if we don’t invite people to come, it’s such a pity,” she said, adding that the school outreach would be a good chance to share about the Gospel Rally. 

Gathering like-minded volunteers, Lolita and her team started cold-calling other preschools to see if they would be interested in the puppet show.

As they thought of approaching schools that may already be affiliated with a church, they also felt it would be better if their ministry came under STEMI, a non-profit organisation that focuses on evangelism.

“Our intention is just to share the Gospel. We are not doing it for the sake of making our church big,” she clarified.

“We didn’t know whom to send emails to at first, but we just searched on websites and started with Christian kindergartens. From there, we got some replies.”

In that first year alone (2023), they visited 20 schools and shared the Gospel with over 1,000 children and more than 100 teachers.

“I was surprised and amazed, and also very thankful and grateful to God because I never expected that this kind of ministry could be done in schools,” Lolita told Salt&Light.

Harnessing the power of puppets

Recognising that children love stories, Lolita knew that she had to incorporate that element into the puppet show.

But instead of re-telling the Christmas story, she came up with her own script so that the children could identify with the characters and relate to the situations they face.

The production is different every year.

Their ministry’s first run of the puppet show in 2023. The backdrop was specially designed and printed in Indonesia.

“The first year, the story was about a child who really wanted to win a drawing competition. On the day of the competition, she took the eraser from her friend who is very good in drawing and hid it,” Lolita relatedd.

“But after this episode, this friend was the one who actually offered to share her food when the naughty child realised that she forgot to bring her lunch.”

Through the puppet show and Gospel sharing, theological truths such as sin, forgiveness, redemption and salvation are made easy to understand.

She said: “We know that stealing is not good. But sometimes people do that. Why? We know what is good, but we are not able to do it because of sin. There is only one remedy.”

Explaining that she wanted to send the message to children that all are sinners and in need of Christ, Lolita said: “We not only tell them that Jesus was born on Christmas Day, but also why He needed to come into this world.”

Encouraged by the positive feedback from both children and teachers during their first run, Lolita and her team decided that they would do this again in 2024.

Inspired by Matthew 19:14, they also continued to offer their puppet show free of charge so that cost would not be a hindrance.

“The Gospel is for everyone,” Lolita stated.

Setbacks are opportunities to see God’s hand

Revealing how they have experienced God’s provision even through various setbacks, Lolita said: “This ministry belongs to God. It’s really not man who works, but God.”

For instance, there were some schools who cancelled their bookings last year after deciding that they were not comfortable with the Gospel sharing segment. But those empty slots were soon filled by other schools.

“God has a different plan,” she recounted.

In fact, the number of people they reached doubled in their second year.

In 2024, their team performed at 30 schools, and they were able to share the Gospel with more than 2,000 children and close to 300 teachers.

Last year, they were also faced with another challenge because there were shows running concurrently but they did not have enough puppets.

Just as Lolita was pondering what to do, she received a call from one of her church members who had been walking by a garage sale.

“She didn’t know that I needed a puppet, but she just called me up and said, ‘Oh, you do puppet ministry right? There is a puppet here, are you interested?’ I felt like I was dreaming!”

Lolita expected that it was a regular puppet that they could buy in Singapore, which is much smaller than the ones that they ship in from overseas.

When she saw the photo of the puppet she was stunned to discover that the puppet’s size was not only big enough for their needs, but also in good condition and very cheap. While their puppets usually cost more than S$100 on Amazon, this was going for less than S$5.

“It was really a miracle. It’s amazing how God provides,” she told Salt&Light.

The joy of serving together

Marvelling at how God brought together people with different expertise for the same goal of winning the children, Lolita said her team of volunteers has also grown from around 20 in 2023 to 67 today. 

She said: “It is God who has provided all the volunteers. Without them, we cannot do this.”

This year, their team has done 54 shows, reaching 3,511 children and almost 600 adults.

In addition to 50 sessions in 47 schools, their ministry also received requests from three churches and even a nursing home. For the latter, they had to tweak their programme and deliver the message in Mandarin.

The first show was scheduled for November, and the planning started in July.

Other than puppets, the team also uses Gospel illusions to share about God’s love. In the top photo, a volunteer performed a trick, loosening a ring bound by two strings to explain how only the blood of Jesus can free us from sin. Source: David & Goliath Preschool

Every session requires six people: Two puppeteers, one teacher who shares the Gospel message, one audio-visual technician, one pianist and one emcee/narrator who doubles up as the worship leader.

Sharing how the 20- to 30-minute programme comprises different volunteers, Lolita explained that they need to rehearse together as a team at least three times before performing.

This year, Lolita also conducted training for the puppeteers, so that they could practise how to make their movements look natural and convey expressions through their voice.

“I tell all the puppeteers to learn in front of the mirror or to record themselves on Zoom. If they feel bored watching themselves, it means everybody will feel the same.”

A mother-and-daughter pair. The ministry has also given opportunities for families to serve together.

There are also many others who work tirelessly behind the scenes, from the props team who is responsible for designing the elaborate backdrops and everything that is needed on stage, to those helping with publicity.

“It really touches my heart to see even young mums wanting to take part. Sometimes I see them carrying their babies and sewing the props,” noted Lolita.

“I know everybody is busy. But to get volunteers that really have the same heart, vision and mission, that is so joyful to see.”

Lolita herself juggles this ministry with her part-time job as a personal assistant.

“Some of them have to make a lot of sacrifices too. I’m really grateful that they are willing to take leave and support this ministry,” she said.

Pointing out that they also had children and teenagers coming onboard this year, Lolita said it was heartening to see families serving together.

“I thank God that some of the parents want their children to be involved. Some of the children were able to go back to their kindergarten to be a blessing.

“Those who finished their PSLE (Primary School Leaving Examination) had more time to practise too.”

Age was also not a barrier. Children as young as six years old were taught to hold props.

“Even though they may only have a small part, they still learn to do ministry,” added Lolita.

A father-and-son team. Depending on the volunteers who are available, the team switches out the puppets for male or female characters.

Planting the seed

Seeing how the children have been responding to their puppet show has made all the effort worthwhile.

“Every time we look at the faces of the children, we see that they enjoy it. If the school allows us to do an altar call and we ask who wants to accept Christ, many of them also raise their hands,” Lolita observed.

“But we still don’t know their hearts. We just leave it to the Holy Spirit to work in their life, and we just try to do our best to share the Gospel.”

An example of the notebook that was given to children to invite them to this year’s Christmas Gospel Rally. Last year, their invite was printed on rulers.

While their ministry does not track the figures of those who respond to their invite to the Christmas Gospel Rally, Lolita knows that a handful have showed up.

Although the storyline at the Gospel Rally was different from the one that they performed in schools, some of the children could recognise the characters.  

“Oh, Cotton is there!” Lolita recalled how some of them had exclaimed when the same rabbit puppet appeared. 

For now, their team will continue with this ministry for as long as they can.

“If God gives us the chance to do this, we will. But if God closes the door and no school allows us to do this, then we will stop,” said Lolita.

“As long as it is day, we will work. Because if night comes, we cannot work anymore,” said Lolita, referencing Jesus’ words in John 9:4.

She is also open to tweaking their storyline for parents who have them at their child’s birthday party and invite other kids.

“If there is an opportunity, why not?” she said.

Thankful that she is able to share the Gospel with children while they are still young, Lolita said: “Children are very teachable. It’s easier for us to mould them at that age rather than when they are teenagers.

“If we win their hearts, I believe that even if they go through a difficult phase in their youth, they have that basic knowledge (of Christ). The seed is planted.”

If anyone would like to know more about the ministry, they can reach out at register@stemi.sg.

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