"Magicianary" Greg Wood has been using tricks to astound audiences for over 25 years... and also lead them to Christ.

When you ask Wood how he's doing, you can probably expect a response of "I'm living the dream!"

"God gave me a dream, and then allowed me to live that dream," he said by way of explaination for his interesting answer.

But could one expect anything less than interesting when it comes to a magicianary? Wood makes a living by performing as an illusionist, with a bit of a twist; he incorporates the gospel into his magic shows.

It all started, he said, with his pastor's wife, when she saw him peforming tricks one day and said "that would be great way to win an audience to be able to share the gospel."

In his wife's words, it was at that moment that "the clouds parted and the hallelujah chorus started to sing."

In essence, "it's a wonderful way to grab someone's attention to share the gospel in a unique way," Wood explained, adding that this is one of his favourite things about what he does. "and that's really what I do a lot of... [I like] showing people that it's okay to have fun in church." Likening the visual art to a parable, he noted that his performances "sit with people," especially those who are visually oriented. 

"I was not a kid who started to do magic when he was seven years old... I did not start doing magic until I was in my early thirties. The Lord let me to a love of doing performing magic, and at the same time, drew me to Himself."

The land-surveyor-turned-illusionist sees a parallel between faith and tricks, as he began attending church around the same time he started to perform magic. "I had grown up in the church, went to Sunday school, got confirmed at 15, and I thought confirmation meant I never had to go back, so I didn't... I found church to be boring and irrelevant and I didn't think I was allowed to have fun. It was only after I realized that not only are you allowed to have fun, but you're supposed to have fun that I came back."

Wood also works for Children's Camps International (CCI), running VBS-esque programs throughout the year, across the World. CCI currently works with children in Brazil, Cambodia, Fiji, India, Kenya, and Mexico, as well as within Manitoba.

As magic can sometimes be seen as a controversial issue, often associated with negative influences, Wood has had to deal with numerous criticisms during his time as an illusionist. "I'm very clear, of course, that what I do doesn't have anything to do with evil, spooks, powers, anything like that. It's all slight of hand and illusions."

Wood said he's always willing to discuss any disagreement with his use of illusions. "In the Bible, God dedicated an entire book to the head of the magicians... Daniel. So it wasn't that He condemned magicians, it was some of the evil practices they were using to entrap... when I'm [using magic] to entertain and to make people laugh, that's completely different."

"We've seen literally tens of thousands of people come to Christ through our ministry over the last 20, 25 years... there has to be a little bit of goodness in it."

To individuals contemplating pursuing their own dreams, Wood offered two pieces of insight. Firstly, to recognize the difference between passion, and talent. "There's a reason God has laid something on your heart... I always suggest that's something you should take slowly, until the Lord says it's time to leap."

The magicianary's second piece of advice? Don't remain overly hesitant when you've felt the Lord's call on your passion. "The growth zone is not in your comfort zone, and your dream is not within your comfort zone."

For Wood, his own advice seems to have served him well. Just ask him, he's "living the dream."