For Nick Farley, a high-school discovery turned into a life’s mission to help at-risk children.  In 2002, Farley, known as “Mr. Nick” by his students, first came across the art of gospel mime while watching a church program on BET.  The program featured K&K Mime, the twin brothers who made the art famous and are known as the “Godfathers of Gospel Mime.” Farley and his best friend at the time, Ronnie Dozier, saw the performance and decided that they wanted to try to create their own version.

“We basically did it at a church service, and when we saw, really, the effects of it, it really just took us to a whole other level,” Farley said.  “It opened up opportunities for us to really start ministering.”

Farley said that after years of studying and practicing the art, God gave him a vision that involved using his passion for miming to minister to students.  This vision is what led to the creation of IMIME, Inc., the non-profit organization that uses the art of gospel mime to mentor and shape young people in the Macon area. 

In 2013, Farley coined the program’s motto.  IMIME is meant to “Mentor, Impact, Motivate and Educate” (M,I,M,E) young people in the Macon area.  Farley said that the first “I” in IMIME is symbolic of the leaders of the program as well as the students themselves. 

“I mentor. I impact. I motivate. I educate,” Farley explained. “That’s what we do in regards to our young people.”

IMIME began by partnering with churches in the area, but in 2018, the organization was able to open its own Empowerment Center located on Pio Nono Avenue.  Farley hopes to eventually be able to expand into a larger space and even develop more branches of IMIME in order to “expand the reach.”  

Students visit the Empowerment Center for weekly empowerment activities based around the art of mime and dance.  The Center also holds tutoring sessions and Empowerment Saturdays. The Saturday sessions cover topics like financial literacy, fitness and health.  

“We want to mentor, impact, motivate and educate them to win on purpose in life, and to just be great citizens in this world that we live in,” he said.

“Win on purpose” is a common phrase used by Farley and his team at IMIME that they take to mean being successful in the things you are passionate about, or what you believe to be your purpose in life, whether or not that involves gospel mime.  

“Mime and dance is just a small part of what we do,” Farley said. The art acts as a way to engage students so that once they are involved, the coaches and mentors in the program can help them become “well-rounded and able to win in every aspect of life.”

Farley said that miming is an outlet of expression for young people who have been exposed to a world of negativity.  Farley believes that young people go through a number of challenges that are swept under the rug, like peer pressure, as well as crises like violence and suicide among their peers.  Having an outlet of expression, he says, can help them learn to handle what they are facing.

“My young people know that they can come talk to me about anything,” Farley said. “We’re going to do what we can to put them in the right situation to be able to overcome those things.”  

Much of the art is based around inspirational messages in the movements and music.  

“That music does nothing but give light in a situation where negativity and death has been thrown over them,” he said.

Farley has students that have been part of IMIME since its beginning in 2013 and the program grows every year.  He said that one of the best parts of his job is watching the transformation of the students that he has worked with.

“I’ll have a young man or a young lady that’s not really saying much, they’re not really that outgoing.  Once they become part of our family, you can see that now they are just bold and they stand out and are inspired to do great things in life,” Farley said.  “It fills me with joy seeing the impact it has on them.”

Farley emphasized the family aspect of IMIME. As an organization that focuses on at-risk youth, IMIME has helped create a united community for its students that encourages leadership and faith.  However, the organization is “all hands on deck,” as Farley says. Parents volunteer and some even learn the art themselves.  

“Having that village helps too, I like to say, empower the future generation,” Farley said. “We’re preparing them to be our future.”

IMIME’s final performance of 2019 is called Reveal: A Night with the King.  The IMIME students have been preparing their version of the story of Christmas since October.  The event is on Dec. 14 at 6 p.m. at Lundy Chapel Baptist Church.