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Open up the Heavens - 2016 Street Music Ministry

Here's one of my favourite songs to play on the street, in church, at Super Kids, lol. It really is a good way to start off a worship set. It has been covered by many famous Christian artists and worship leaders. This video is from August 2016 in Downtown Bancroft, Ontario. This new location is great! Right across the street from the LCBO and the Legion. It's a little parkette, right at a busy intersection. Drive-by and foot traffic is heavy on Fridays and Saturdays during the summer. The little parkette is perfect for people to linger and listen and provides greater opportunity to meet and talk to them. 

I'm very thankful that I am well-received by locals and visitors. Many residents and shop workers from the area comment on how much they like what I'm doing. The sound system is quite loud, so it is covering at least a square block.

Preparing for Street Music Ministry

I spent a great deal of the winter (it's long in Bancroft) preparing for when I could get out on the street with worship music.  Part of this was incorporating some new technology and learning new songs that are popular on Christian radio stations. During this process, I had to rehearse.. yes to my guitar students, I practice too.

Anyway, this is one of the new songs of the year, and I just love singing it in church, with my band and on the streets.  It speaks of God the Father, and how GOOD He is. As a father myself, I can relate to how He cares, loves, diciplines and guides us. I am a child of God!!  Now that's something to get excited about!  This song was first released by Housefires and released last year by Chris Tomlin. It immediately spoke to me, so that made me want to share it with others.

This video is from one of my rehearsal sessions... which I call the Kitchen Sessions :)

Singing the Good News on the Street 2016

This year (third summer of street music ministry), I decided to try some different locations in downtown Bancroft. Rather than being right on the main street with people driving and walking by, I have situated myself near the river, where there are picnic tables and shade for people to sit and listen. This is what is actually happening! Praise the Lord! People tend to sit for quite a while listening to words of praise, and opportunities are being provided for conversation.  I might try another location within the next couple of weeks, but with the same hopes of being in a place where people might stay around and listen.

I've spent some time refining the 'sound' and it's starting to really come together... at least I think. I know God is smiling. :)  If you see/hear me downtown this summer, please stop by for a visit.  

Again this year I am collecting donations for a local charity that does so much for our community. So many parents and children have benefited from the love provided through the Pregnancy Care Centre in Bancroft. I am honored to collect what little I can to help them in their efforts. Please support them!

Please check out this video of a mix of a few songs I'm singing this year.

Outreach Worship Band

For the past couple of months, I have been fortunate to be involved with a new Worship band, comprised of musicians from a few different churches. Every Monday evening, I am getting together with these guys for a rehearsal, well it's actually just a night of Worship with contemporary Christian music. We don't spend much time refining songs, but rather have just been getting to know each other and worship together. Holy Spirit is doing the refining, and it is most evident in the relationships being built.

The music is really coming together with a fresh, full sound. The lineup is Mike Burrows on drums, Curtis White on bass guitar, Jonathan Freymond on electric guitar, Paul Meyer on keyboards, vocals and 12 string guitar, Darren Storey in vocals and myself on guitar and vocals.  We also have Ron Henning running sound.

I hope to have some videos and recordings of us here soon. We don't really know what God is going to do with us, and that's exciting in itself. I guess we have talked about playing out in the community a bit, maybe for some Youth concerts, park concerts and the occasional special event that is looking for a 'modern' sound in worship music. We have no name for the band yet, and have no idea when our first engagement will be, but we are trusting in God. Really, even if we never play outside of the church, Monday evenings have turned into a great time for deep worship.

Please pray that we will please our Lord through this, and listen to His direction.