So when I got into the concert/event coordinating role at my local church I never knew so much thought needed to go into a planned event. It wasn’t nearly as simple as finding an act, paying them and being done with it. However, the one thing I apparently knew I had to do was choose with each event what the purpose behind each one was, whether that be an up in your face ministry outreach event, community concerts or fund-raising events. I’ve always entered each concert with a set idea of what we hope to accomplish, and to be honest we’ve primarily focused on providing nights where Christians and non-Christians can be ministered to. The acts we host are going to strengthen the faith of those that have it but also minister/plant a seed to those who don’t have any in a way to not scare them away from God.
I had a conversation with a youth minister from another state the other day that wanted to know about a band I’d worked with before. He was concerned about what type of night do they provide via their concerts…and more specifically what type of ministry do they do during their show. It caught me a little off guard when, I basically gave a rundown of the band’s normal show (have worked with them many times) and how the message they share via their songs and the times where they just talk to the audience are very powerful…and he said well how much of the Gospel do they preach? I was a little confused and I asked like what exactly are you wanting? Well it became apparent they desired an act that would for maybe 15-25 minutes just preach to the audience. Now while there are acts out there that are like this, Jeremy Camp in my opinion is one of the greatest at being both musician and a minister to his audiences. This band in question though wasn’t the same, they focused more on the message they provided to speak the Gospel to the audience, and let God work through their performance and brief stories told both spoken and sung. Well…sadly I think the gentleman on the other line wasn’t hearing what he wanted and is leaning towards cancelling the concert….which is fine but it brings me to the point of this blog: You cannot expect musicians to be ministers.
Some musicians can do both, but a lot of the musicians in the Christian industry are that for a reason…it’s how they feel God has called them to proclaim their faithßaka minister to those who hear them. When I book a band I know what they prefer to do and would never expect anything more from them, and if I want more it’s up to myself to either provide a secondary act (whether another band/speaker) or not sign the band to perform and go with another act. It should never come down to trying to make a band do what they may or may not be comfortable with. It has nothing to do with them being ashamed of their beliefs…it has more so to do with that God has blessed them with sharing their beliefs in a slightly different way.
Just a word of advice from one concert/event planner to those who do the same thing also. One love, one way, one God.
Your bro,
Tyni
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