Cedarville University Students Bring Job’s Story of Hope to the Stage

How do you explain life’s indescribable tragedies to a child while still offering hope? Cedarville University students and faculty are exploring that question through a new musical adaptation of the biblical story of Job. “God’s Servant Job,” an illustrated children’s book by award-winning author Douglas Bond, has been adapted into a new musical production that will premiere Oct. 6 at 2 p.m. during Cedarville University’s Bach’s Literacy Concert in the Dixon Ministry Center’s Recital Hall.  

Bond’s poetic retelling introduces children to the biblical account of Job, a man who is known for the tragedies he experienced in his life. In the biblical story, Job lost all his livestock, livelihood, servants, children and health. Job's wife encouraged him to abandon his faith, and his friends rebuked him. Yet by God's grace, Job held fast to his Lord, and in the end the Lord restored to Job all that he had lost, doubling all the possessions that Job once had. The Lord also gave Job 140 more years to live and 10 more children. Job’s life is proof that with God as our Redeemer, whatever trials He ordains and whatever the outcome, we can trust Him and find hope and comfort in Christ.

Bond was inspired to write "God's Servant Job" while living through a hardship of his own — his father's cancer treatment.

 

Although Bond did not write the book with a musical adaptation in mind, he said he was “absolutely delighted” when Cedarville music students Carol Rathbun and A.J. Higgins approached him about adapting the story and shared prototype recordings from the project. 

The production has become a milestone for Cedarville’s music composition program and an interdisciplinary learning experience for students.

"This is the first time a collaborative project has been completed to this magnitude in the music composition studio," said Higgins, a 2026 music composition graduate from Winchester, Indiana. 

The project also represents several firsts: It is the first staged musical drama created specifically for the Bach’s Literacy Concert event, the first time Cedarville music composition students have secured adaptation rights for a project of this kind, and the first musical adaptation of a book by Bond. "The fact that this work was composed and is being rehearsed with the intention of having it performed is ultimately through God’s hand of providence working throughout each step of the project," said Higgins. 

The musical adaptation of “God’s Servant Job” consists of songs written by 10 music composition majors, representing all four undergraduate class years. In addition to students from music, social studies education and theater majors brought their unique areas of expertise to the project as performers.  

Rathbun and Higgins were joined by eight other student composers, including sophomores Cody Clements from Bellbrook, Ohio, Rocco Faustino from Mebane, North Carolina, and Vanessa Jones from Mason, Ohio; juniors Luka Caraway from Byron Center, Michigan, and Judah Esparza from Severn, Maryland; seniors Nora Hentschel from Henrietta, New York, and Michael Nicht from Cincinnati, Ohio, and 2026 alumnus Isaac Dillon. 

Dr. Austin Jaquith, professor of music theory and composition, served as the advisor for the project. Rathbun and Higgins also worked with Dr. Sandra Yang, professor of music history, who plans the Bach Literacy Concerts, to have the premiere at the concert on October 6.

Through this collaborative project, Cedarville students are gaining experience in music composition, adaptation, theater, education and interdisciplinary creative production while creating a work designed to help children engage with difficult questions about suffering, faith, hope and God’s sovereignty. The rich perspectives of students, faculty, and staff across campus have added to this ambitious project.

"Supporting initiatives such as the Bach’s Literacy Concert reflects our commitment to preparing educators and social work professionals who value the whole child — academically, socially, emotionally, spiritually, and creatively," said Dr. Kevin Jones, dean of the Cedarville University School of Education and Social Work. "They also highlight the importance of collaboration across university programs."

Beyond introducing children to the biblical story of Job, the musical is designed to demonstrate how music can communicate emotion, ideas and narrative while exposing young audiences to a variety of musical styles.

"Our primary goal has been to create an excellent musical adaptation of Douglas Bond’s book that glorifies God, accurately portrays what the Bible teaches about God through the story of Job and exposes children to a variety of styles of music," said Rathbun. "While they might not understand it now, the children will experience how music can be used to express and support ideas, to create mood and setting and to help communicate the story." 

When the musical premieres Oct. 6, Cedarville students will bring their work to an audience of young listeners, inviting them to encounter Job's story not simply through words on a page but through music, storytelling and a message of hope.  

Cedarville University, an evangelical Christian institution in southwest Ohio, offers undergraduate and graduate residential and online programs across arts, sciences and professional fields. With 7,542 students, it is among Ohio's largest private universities and is ranked among the nation’s top five evangelical universities in the Wall Street Journal’s 2026 Best Colleges in the U.S. Cedarville is also known for its vibrant Christian community, challenging academics and high graduation and retention rates. Learn more at cedarville.edu.