What I Do

What makes my approach to music ministry unique is that I embrace every type and style of music. At Grace First we have performed music by music by Beethoven, Radiohead, Bach, the Beatles, Haydn, Pink Floyd, Benjamin Britten, Lucinda Williams and Gabriel Faure. We bring bluegrass, classical, jazz, Dixieland, gospel, rock and country and every style in between into worship.

And in all of it, we strive for only these things. The music we bring to worship must be:

Authentic
Moving
Varied
Placed in the right context

And it must speak to the heart of the listener, but through God’s voice, not the performer’s. The result is a music ministry that is vibrant and has something for everyone. If you hear “In My Room” by the Beach Boys on your car radio on your way to work, you might sing along. But if you hear it in a worship service, you’re going to listen more intently, wondering how this song fits your spiritual journey, what it might tell you about God or what God is trying to tell you. I use the song as a way to get people to think about prayer. A song doesn’t have to be a ‘church’ song to have meaning. In the right context, “In My Room” can mean just as much as “Amazing Grace.”

What matters is not the kind of music or ministry you are providing - what matters is whether it is authentic, whether it is moving, whether it is touching people. If it’s not, then no amount of it will help people find God.

Yes, music lovers listen to dozens of styles of music. But rap, hip-hop, emo, punk can be just as effective in moving people - if it is performed well and placed in the right context. And that is the distinction. If you look at the playlist of a younger person, it’s incredible the variety of music that they listen to, Country, rap, even classical music - they don’t care. But they DO care that it move them.

So let’e meet and talk about how your church’s music ministry can be more effective, moving people and bringing them into the worship experience.