Providing Ministry to God's Minstrels
There are many examples in Scripture of the importance placed on those who lead worship, and who serve as musicians in worship. However, sometimes these workers of the harvest can be taken for granted; who ministers to those who minister in worship?
Each year Bruce Adolph, Editor and President of Christian Musician Magazine—a musician himself—together with Director; Matt Kees, offers an intensive time of instruction and fellowship for the minstrels of God's Kingdom with the Christian Musician Summit. (Photo: CMS' Matt Kees and Bruce Adolph)
I caught up with the very busy Adolph via email, and posed some questions regarding this year's upcoming summit (Nov. 14-15, at Overlake Christian Church in Redmond, WA) for the musician in the Church.
What is the Christian Musician Summit—the overall mission of the event, and all that it entails?
The Summit is a two day training conference where our mission is to improve skill and inspire talent among the 3,000 registrants who come each year to Redmond, WA. Our target audience is the entire worship team as well as individual Christian musical artists.
What artists, presenters are featured there?
We believe that the quality of the presenters at the Summit really makes the experience unique; folks who are leading the way and who are skilled at teaching others what they've learned. The line-up changes some each year. Come November 14th & 15th you will find over 50 musicians/artists leading workshops or worship concerts... Paul Baloche, Lincoln Brewster, Brian Doerkson, Kathryn Scott, Starfield, Abraham Laboriel, Brenton Brown, Rick Cua, Sarah Macintosh, among many others. It is quite a gathering. We also publish two different print magazines that train musicians (Christian Musician and Worship Musician) and many of the columnist/teachers that are featured in the magazines also teach workshops at the Summit conferences.
Who are the ones that will benefit by attending the summit?
Well really, everyone involved in presenting your church's music program. From the worship leader to every position/member in the band, (vocals, guitar, bass, drums) as well as your sound techs and video presentation folks.
What are some of the testimonies and feedback you've received by some who've attended in the past?
The registrant surveys that come back to us are very encouraging (God gets all of the glory for the success of the Summit). The worship teams are excited to take what they have learned and go and apply it to their own congregations. A sense of unity among the team members is evident, and the times of worship where everyone can enter in and not have to worry about the service itself is terrific too. There, people (many of whom are volunteers) are usually giving out. It is remarkable to watch them enjoy the worship so much and drink in God's goodness.
Are there other "summit-type" events held in other parts of the country?
Yes, we have started a Christian Musician Summit conference in Buffalo, NY in May and in September we will hold another conference—this one called the Thriving Musician Summit in Sacramento, CA. You can find out a lot more about our annual conferences at www.christianmusiciansummit.com.
