Tag: Worship Arts

Watching Transformation

The students and staff at the Pennsylvania Worship Arts Weekend.

Thank you for praying for the Pennsylvania Worship Arts Weekend! As always, I loved watching God weave together the various strengths and experiences of our staff team into a tool to encourage growth in the students. Each student band had two or three of us helping them with music, sound, and communication. As the communication coach for one band, my job was to encourage them in their stage presence and expressiveness.

My favorite moment in rehearsal came after my band had worked hard on both the music and communication of one of their songs. Scott, the music director I was paired with, walked up to each music stand and swiveled it around so the students couldn’t see their song charts. They reacted as you would expect, with groans and anxious faces. But Scott made them play the song anyway…and to their surprise they made very few errors.

Then Scott had them play it again from memory. He encouraged them to focus on worshipping God instead of on the music this time, because they already knew the music. The transformation was wonderful! I watched their tension melt away as they began to freely express their love for Jesus in their faces and body language. And what’s more, their music was more expressive, too!

You can watch a recap video of the Pennsylvania Worship Arts Weekend below.  (And yes, I’m in it briefly!)

Please pray that the students will continue to apply what they learned at the Worship Arts Weekend, not only in music and communication but in spiritual things like dealing with sin and walking faithfully with God. Thank you for your prayers!

Conference Praise and Prayer

PRAISE

In December and January, thousands of college students across the US attend Cru Winter Conferences during their winter breaks. Each conference is crafted to help students move toward God, toward others and toward a life well-lived for Christ. The one thing we hear the most from attendees all over the country is: “God changed my life at winter conference.”

I worked at the conference in Indianapolis, which was held between Christmas and New Year. I was part of the tech team, running lyrics and speaker slides on the big screens. And yes, as you can tell if you look closely at the picture, I was sitting behind the screens seeing everything in reverse. :-)

Over 1500 students attended this conference and participated in a day of outreach when they partnered with local churches to distribute food boxes in the inner city of Indianapolis. These “boxes of love” opened doors for conversations about Jesus. In a nutshell, here’s what happened:

2168 spiritual conversations, 770 gospel presentations, 421 local church connections, 238 Spirit-filled life conversations, 80 people accepted Christ

Praise God for what He did in these lives!

PRAYER

This coming weekend (February 22-24) I will be on the teaching & coaching team for another of our Worship Arts Weekends. College students involved in musical worship for weekly Cru meetings on their campuses will come to a church camp in western Pennsylvania to learn and grow in both art and heart. Although these conferences are much smaller than Cru’s winter conferences (currently 29 students are registered), God still works in big ways.

Please pray for me as I coach and teach:

  • I will coach one student band in communication skills, encouraging them to apply the principles l will teach in my session on communication in leading worship.
  • I will also teach a session on a Biblical view of excellence, especially as it relates to worship leading.
  • During the breakout sessions, when students attend clinics related to their specific skills, I’ll teach about running lyrics and media.
  • Please pray that God would prepare both my heart and the hearts of the students for what He wants to do in our lives.

Thank you
for your prayers!

February Worship Arts Weekend

Back in February, I traveled with members of Cru’s Artist Team to western Pennsylvania for a Worship Arts Weekend. We trained 32 Cru students from 6 campuses in both the art and the heart of leading worship.

Please pray that God will continue to work in the lives of the students as they apply what they learned at the conference to their ministries on campus.

“It’s All About God’s Glory!”

The students in the conference center had just sat down after worshiping God through music. Seth Irby, the worship leader, now taught them from Isaiah 6. As Seth walked them through Isaiah’s awe-inspiring vision of God’s presence filling the temple, he challenged the students to relate it to the purpose of worship. Seth’s passion for God was unmistakable as he declared, “It’s all about God’s glory!”

From September 22-24 we conducted a weekend of worship arts training here at the Cru Indianapolis Office. The training was combined with auditions for the student band that will lead worship for the Cru Indianapolis Winter Conference. I was privileged to help train 53 Cru students from 12 campuses in 6 states.

Our desire was to help them grow both spiritually and in their musical and/or technical skills. Throughout the weekend we encouraged them to use their talents and abilities to serve others and glorify God, rather than to serve or bring glory to themselves.

One student leader sent us the following email after arriving home:

… I was just at the music leadership conference this weekend in Indianapolis. I just wanted to let you know how encouraged I was after this amazing experience. I can’t tell you how much not only I needed this but our campus as well. I am a part of M— University’s Cru and we are so young and vulnerable that this weekend was imperative to future growth. I can see Jesus working so much in the things you are doing and I wanted to encourage you in your missions. I again wanted to thank you for everything you are doing for the Lord!

Through your partnership in ministry with me, you helped to encourage and equip these students. Thank you!

Please pray that the students will grow in skill and servant-heartedness as they begin to apply what they learned during the conference.

PS: I ran the computer for song lyrics and speaker slides during the event (see pictures below). I also taught two clinics about running lyrics and media to equip students who do that job for their campus’s weekly Cru meetings.

Upcoming Worship Arts Weekend

Worship Arts Weekend logoAs students lead musical worship for weekly Cru meetings on their campus, they too can lead others to the throne of God. Every semester we conduct a Worship Arts Weekend training conference to help these students grow as both worshipers and worship leaders. Our next Worship Arts Weekend will be held February 17-19 in eastern Pennsylvania. This will be the first time we’ve taken this event “on the road” to another location outside of our Indiana facility.

Prayer Requests

  • Pray for our staff team to depend on God as we plan and execute the details needed to take this event off-site.
  • Pray for safe travel for the students and staff members heading to the conference.
  • Pray that God will work in the hearts of the students and help them grow as worshipers and worship leaders.

Thank you for praying!

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