In the beginning, David Cain juggled three balls and saw that he was good. Then, his God-given talent multiplied.
Today, he juggles Adam (Ken) and Eve (Barbie) and an apple, taking bites out of the fruit as he juggles.
The scenario is all part of his mission to share God's word through juggling. His routine combines entertainment with gospel messages seamlessly woven into each performance.
''It's very humbling that God is able to use a talent he's given me to bring people closer to him,'' Mr. Cain says.
Billed as ''David Cain - Juggler for Jesus,''
the 27-year-old Middletown man has performed for 15 years in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana, and is considered one of the top jugglers in the country.
He's won eight gold medals at the annual Juggling World Championships. The competition is sanctioned by the International Juggling Association (IJA), the only international juggling organization. He holds seven world records.
Mr. Cain and another juggler, Scott Sorensen of East Walnut Hills, will land in the 1998 edition of The Guinness Book of Records, due out in October. Their records are 15 rings and 12 clubs flashed (the number of catches made equals at least the number of objects thrown.) The old records were 14 rings and 11 clubs.
''He's up there among world-class professionals in this country,'' says Mr. Sorensen, who holds five gold medals and four world records.
Mr. Cain incorporated Christian ministry into his juggling when he was a teen-ager, but two years ago, he decided he could develop a full-fledged juggling ministry.
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''May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us: establish the work of our hands for us - yes, establish the work of our hands.''
- Psalm 90:17 (The Juggler's Prayer)
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He's a member of Hope Evangelical Free Church in Mason, but his performances are non-denominational.
His ministry is growing so quickly that every time he performs, he gets two to three more invitations. This month, his schedule includes nine performances in a 14-day period.
He does all that and still works as a vocational guidance counselor for the Warren County Board of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities. He hopes someday to perform
his ministry full time.
Juggling, Mr. Cain says, is an effective way to share God's word.
''I've been able to come up with some very visual and very powerful ways of illustrating biblical truth through juggling. When you combine what I'm saying with the visual aspect, it really sticks in people's minds.''
Audience participation and humor are integral to his show. During a recent performance at White Oak Christian Church in Groesbeck, a young volunteer opens the Bible, and Mr. Cain reads three verses from Psalm 60 while juggling four beanbags.
''I did that to illustrate a point. No matter how busy, no matter how many things we have going, we can always take time to read God's word.''
Mr. Cain taught himself to juggle at age 12. His twin brother, Scott, also took up juggling. (Scott still juggles, and the two have performed together as Raising Cain).
He juggled at Paramount's Kings Island for seven years during high school and college. He worked one summer for Circus Kingdom, a Christian circus based in Pittsburgh. He was still in Middletown High School when he opened for the Beach Boys and Ray Charles in Cincinnati.
At age 14, he joined IJA, based in Montague, Maine. The group has 4,000 members, including a Christian jugglers subgroup of 80 members.
Merry Spahr of Xenia, a member of IJA, is a fellow gold medal winner and has juggled since 1981.
''He is amazingly gifted,'' she says. ''He has this uncanny ability where you can describe a juggling trick to him in words, then he'll think about it, and then he'll do it on the first try.''
The secret to his success, Mr. Cain says, is practice. In high school, he practiced four to five hours a day. He still practices an hour a day.
He's performed in Dayton, Columbus, Indianapolis, Louisville and Lexington at events ranging from church services to Vacation Bible School to Christian youth concerts.
Mr. Cain has mastered the ''impossible trick,'' as it's known in the juggling world. In it, he spins 12-inch balls on his right index finger and right foot. He kicks the ball from his foot, and it lands on the ball on his finger. Both balls continue spinning.
''The Bible says with God, all things are possible,'' he tells the audience. ''Too often we put limits on what we think God can do in our lives.''
Mr. Cain unfolds a white towel revealing three 22-inch stainless steel knives.
The audience gasps.
''I'm going to juggle ... this towel,'' Mr. Cain jokes, breaking the tension.
He issues a ''don't try this at home'' warning. In case they don't believe juggling knives is dangerous, he invites the audience to check the scar on his right index finger. He cut himself trying to impress a girl 11 years ago and needed five stitches.
The audience is pin-drop silent as he successfully juggles the knives without bloodshed.
''The Bible describes itself as being like a sword,'' he says. ''I can defend myself with this (knife) pretty well. We can defend ourself with God's word, as well.''
Mr. Cain ends all of his ministry-related performances with the Creation story. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God, they fell from their relationship with him, he says as he drops the dolls.
''We've all done that ... but if we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we can be restored back into a loving relationship with God the Father,'' he says as he picks up the dolls and resumes juggling.
Jugglers never look at their hands while juggling, he tells the crowd. You always have to look up, or you drop the ball.
''Life is a lot like that ... If you keep your focus looking up to God, he'll catch you every single time.''
