Knights use over-the-top object lessons to share the gospel

GRANBURY—When Christian illusionists David and Kylie Knight want to quickly capture the attention of audiences, they have been known to make it snow inside venues or cause objects to disappear.

But there is a method to their madness.

By using over-the-top object lessons, the husband-and-wife team entertains audiences in a variety of settings while sharing the gospel.

With a blend of humor, illusions and stunts to teach lessons, the Knights have become popular entertainers for sports award nights, children’s programs, youth events, retreats and church services.

They will appear at the Texas Baptist Ministry Assistants Conference at Lakeside Baptist Church in Granbury on April 26.

Raising awareness for Texans on Mission

As the Knights maintain a busy schedule performing at ministry events around the state, they also are using their platform to help raise awareness for Texans on Mission, historically known as Texas Baptist Men.

“While we were already aware of the amazing work that Texans on Mission does for disaster relief, we didn’t realize the depth of their kingdom-building efforts,” David Knight noted. “Everything from digging wells in Uganda to mission trips, to discipleship resources. They really do bring hope, help and healing everywhere they go.”

The Knights met recently with Preston Cave, mission and discipleship coordinator for Texans on Mission, to discuss their new venture as missionaries for InFaith.

“As we talked further, we realized we had shared goals in reaching people for Christ and that we might be able to partner together. In the long term, we hope to help lead mission trips for them and help them with fundraising efforts,” David Knight said.

The couple began their ministry in 2007. Since then, they have had opportunities to travel around the world and reach audiences with the gospel message.

“We have taken our show on international mission trips, performed in prisons, and we have worked with camps, ministries and churches all around the world,” David Knight said.

“Before that, Kylie and I had been working as the backstage crew for one of the top touring secular illusion shows in the country. When we weren’t on the road with them, we were doing some local and regional shows on our own.”

One night, they were performing at a staff Christmas party at a church in Virginia.

“While we were backstage waiting to go on, God showed me a vision of how to use all that we had learned about performing high-quality, family-friendly shows in theaters and performing arts centers and bringing it to the church to help them draw crowds and spread God’s word,” David Knight recalled.

Before moving to Texas, Kylie grew up in Melbourne, Australia, and was raised in a Christian home. David now says he dabbled with Christianity as a child but did not really come to faith until he was 19 years old when he attended an event that featured a Christian illusionist named André Kole, who helped bring the gospel to life for him.

“André was an illusionist and an inventor of illusions,” David Knight explained. “He was the creative consultant to David Copperfield for many years. However, André was also a committed Christian and evangelist who used his shows to share the gospel.

“It was at one of those shows that I accepted Christ. Following that show, I was privileged to travel with André and his team. In that time, I not only learned about performing illusions, but I also got to be discipled and grow in my faith.”

Testimonies of spiritual transformation

Now, as a result of their innovative ministry, the Knights often receive testimonies of lives being transformed for God’s glory after their events as the gospel is revealed to audiences.

“One of the testimonies we heard of life change taking place after one of our events was of a Buddhist father who was unwilling to step into a church building for fear of being converted,” David Knight said. “He came to see our show to support his son at a sports awards night.”

The father approached the pastor after the program, expressing interest in the message he had heard and asking, “What’s my next step?”

“At one of the camps, after a teenager learned that she was made in the image of God, she handed over to Kylie the razor blades she had been using to cut herself and said, ‘I don’t need these anymore.’” David Knight recalled.

“After another show, a senior citizen approached us and shared that she had been in church all her life. With tears in her eyes, she told us how much she needed to be reminded of her value as God’s image bearer.

“We also heard from a lady who was widowed several months ago who told us this is the first time she had laughed since she lost her husband and thanked us for bringing a smile to her face again.”

By providing a night of hope and healing for audiences, the Knights are able to remind audiences of God’s divine power, plan and purpose for their lives.

“We love that God has given us a message that everyone needs to hear,” David Knight said. “This world is filled with so much conflicting ideas on our identity that we need to be reminded about who created us and why he did.

“At each of our shows, we are going to share the message of our value and uniqueness as beings created in the image of God—a message that is powerful and beautiful and sets up the church to be the face of the gospel in their community.”