Christian Life Fellowship&8217;s drama team, Encounter, won first place in a recent state contest and now has its sights set on the National Fine Arts Festival in Orlando, Aug. 7-11.

The Calera church group placed first in the large group human video category with a five-minute presentation telling the Bible story from the Garden of Eden to the return of Jesus, set to &8220;The Chronicles of Narnia&8221; soundtrack.

&8220;We have a really young team,&8221; said Lorna Davis, team director and CLF&8217;s children&8217;s pastor. &8220;Six of the ten kids are still in middle school and have never competed at this level before. For us to place first is a big deal.&8221;

Encounter team members also placed in other state competition categories. Micah Davis placed second in graphic design. Allison Holcombe took third place in short story.

Lisa Hoggle advanced to the national competition in instrumental wind solo and Kelvin Holcombe in puppetry solo. Team members also qualified in puppetry group and small group human video.

&8220;We&8217;re proud of these kids, and we want to get them to Orlando to represent Calera and Alabama,&8221; said Davis. &8220;We have to raise about $4,000 in the next couple of months to do it.&8221;

Encounter members include Jeremy Cracraft, Jordan Cracraft, Micah Davis, Jasmyne Farr, Lisa Hoggle, Allison Holcombe, Kelvin Holcombe, Morgan Holcombe, Jamie Rawls, Michael Saunders and Steven Thompson.

The Fine Arts Festival is sponsored by the Assemblies of God and is designed to help students develop ministry gifts