Meet Rev. John Zimmerman
Rev. John Zimmerman grew up in the rural community of Stoystown, Pennsylvania. He heard the call into the ministry just after graduation from high school, attended the University of Pittsburgh for his undergraduate degree in Social Psychology and obtained his Master’s of Divinity degree from Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, DC. Pastor John is an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church and served as a pastor in local church settings with children, youth, and adults for 28 years.
In 2013 Pastor John left local church pastoral ministry to be appointed as General Evangelist in the United Methodist Church. He developed a consultant ministry model called, “About Face Church Outreach Consultants.” About Face helps churches discover transformational development ministry with the poor, broken and lost. He believes the Church is in the unique position to offer hope and transformation of our broken lives.
He is married to his wonderful wife and partner in ministry, Christine, and blessed with four boys and six grandchildren.
A Magician With a Mission
John Zimmerman performed his first magic show at the age of nine. Through his teen years he entertained audiences of all sizes and groups of all kinds. While aspiring to become a professional magician, his life changed course to follow a call into fulltime pastoral ministry. All through his ministry, however, John continued to offer his art of illusion as a hobby.
Recently, he rediscovered the incredible appeal of the entertainment power of illusion. It's unique platform serves as a new "pulpit" to share the message of God's love and salvation through a relationship with Jesus Christ. At a time when loneliness is an epidemic and division is the norm, John capitalizes on the universal appeal of magic entertainment to share hope.
In a Christian setting his show is distinctly Christian and in a venue that cannot promote faith, his show is adapted to share the universal values and virtues of living a worthy life. Either way, John embraces Altered Optics as a mission.
About the show
Magic captivates us because it sparks a sense of wonder and amazement. It can make us feel like anything is possible, just like when we were kids. By playing with our expectations and perceptions, magic tricks engage our brain and challenge our understanding of how the world works, creating a sense of awe and delight.
Altered Optics takes advantage of this entertaining platform to invite the participant to consider how they see the world...and themselves. It invokes the participant to intentionally consider what is truth and uncover the deceptive ways in which the world attempts to define them.
The Christian version of the show tells the story of the human condition and the response of God. Starting at Genesis 1, the show lays out the story of creation, brokenness, redemption, and salvation through Jesus Christ as revealed in the Bible. Participants are invited to compare their "optics" to the truth of the Scriptures and challenged to "alter their optics" as appropriate.
The secular version of the show respectfully removes the Christian references yet retains the strength of the worthy virtues of life. The same goals remain to challenge the participant to consider what currently influences their optics and consider looking through the fog and seeing the truth for them.