Mary Rice Hopkins

Children's Entertainment Industry: PLNU was here

Mary Rice Hopkins (’79)

Entertainment mediums such as television and music exert powerful shaping forces on young children. Having wholesome Christian music, television shows, DVDs, and books available is of great importance for parents, educators, and our youngest generation.

And PLNU is there.

Mary Rice Hopkins (79) has a storied career as a family and children’s recording artist, speaker, and worship leader. Her curriculum, songbooks, and children’s books have touched many, and the powerful DVD and television show she and colleague Darcie Maze developed, “Mary Rice Hopkins and Puppets with a Heart,” earned a Dove Foundation Five-Star Award and the Parents’ Choice Seal of Approval. Her gifts have garnered her an international following, and she has been able to touch the lives of many children and families with the Gospel.

Hopkins has always viewed her job as “planting seeds that will last a lifetime.” For example, her television show uses music and puppetry to speak to children and families about issues that are important to them and to help share God’s Word with them. The unique puppets each have a removable heart that Hopkins and Maze use to share lessons with viewers. 

“We give kids tools and ways to cope. What we are really all about is giving hope,” Hopkins said. 

You can learn more about Hopkins and her ministry at maryricehopkins.com