music

Musical Ambassadors

AD-16225 — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 20:55:57 +0000

Musical Ambassadors

A student from China became a Christian just before coming to study at a college in Ohio. This student, who we will call Jared in order to protect his family, connected with ��ñ��’s fellowship for international students on this campus through Chris, ��ñ��’s student leader.

Jared and Chris became close friends with two other Christian students in the Music Certificate program.This past summer these three friends accompanied Jared in a Chamber Music Tour to China. Chris explained how it all came together.

Uncontainable Faith

I found out not long after meeting Jared that the faith in Christ he discovered in his native China was uncontainable. You could not have an interaction with him and be unaffected by Christ’s life exuding from him. He possessed a kind of pure and vibrant faith you typically see in more mature believers. It was surprising for me to discover that he had only been a Christian for several months and that his beliefs were not shared by his family members back home.

As the first believer among his relatives, Jared had a longing to reach his family with the gospel in a creative and authentic way. As Jared’s friendship deepened with the three of us, God revealed to him that bringing this particular group of friends from America, united in faith and art, could powerfully express to his relatives the reality of faith in Christ.

When he proposed the idea of performing in China to the three of us, we were excited by the opportunity. But none of us had ever done anything like this or had even heard of anyone doing anything quite like this before. Little did we know that Jared was laboring with God in prayer about our mission. As a result, pieces of the puzzle began falling into place.

All the Pieces Fell Into Place

The dean from Jared’s alma mater in China invited us to perform, agreeing to advertise our concert and provide a venue for it free of charge. A relative who was a university professor in southeast China also offered to host a concert at her institution. We realized that Jared’s idea was possible after all.

Our next obstacle was financial. How could four grad students afford to travel to China and live there for three weeks? We witnessed another miracle through the financial aid of an arts advocacy organization affiliated with our School of Music.

Members of the local Christian community also provided significant funding and essential prayer support. It was humbling to see Christians from so many churches in our city selflessly contribute to Jared's vision. I have never experienced the body of Christ coming together in such a loving and sacrificial way to champion a cause for God's Kingdom. In the end we had more than the amount needed to make the trip a reality.

The final challenge was the trip itself. How could four students coming from very different backgrounds fare together in a high stress environment abroad? How would the audiences receive our performances?

Better than Imagined

Our time in China offered more to us than we could have imagined. We gave two formal performances of our musical program, World Potpourri: A Collage Recital. We featured nationalistic music of various classical composers as well as works with biblical texts or themes as a way to reflect our ensemble’s ethnic diversity and highlight the Source that drew us together.

Many important people attended our concerts, such as deans and professors of music, from both China and America. We received many positive comments about our performances, as well as too many flower bouquets to count.

More than 1,000 people attended our humble recital in Jared’s hometown. The local news broadcast portions of our performance and an interview with Jared on TV. We accepted countless requests for pictures and even autographs!

We also experienced a true insider’s view of Chinese society. We had the chance to eat dinner in Chinese homes, have meaningful conversation with family members and friends, interact with a local artist on the Great Wall, and hike across waterfall-strewn mountains and through remote villages.

A Contribution to a Local Fellowship

At one hotel our cleaning lady spotted a Chinese Bible we were carrying. She revealed that she also was a worshipper of Jesus and shared how her whole village turned from idols to serve the living God in 1990 through the work of a Chinese missionary. Her village was in the process of building a church but lacked funds to install windows and doors. We were able to bless these precious believers with a financial gift for their building and pray with her for their spiritual needs.

I think she blessed us much more than we blessed her. Listening to our Chinese sister’s stories of how Jesus transformed her life and the lives of those in her community, and sing worship songs to God in Mandarin, brought us to tears. We learned that God is at work in bigger ways than we can perceive in the lives of those we often forget.

The Fruit of the Gospel

The fruit of the gospel is spreading at an explosive rate in China, but we observed that many impediments such as social structures, cultural attitudes, and spiritual strongholds are still preventing the Good News of Jesus to do what it was fully intended to do there. We continue to pray for Jared and his witness, Jared’s parents, and the vitality of the community of believers in villages like those of our cleaning lady.

Since we’ve returned from China, I think we are still in a state of awe over how all four of our lives came together so beautifully at just the right place and time to partake on this adventure. Making music to the Lord in a distant land brought new, fresh perspectives to our individual lives as Christian musicians, as well as a deeper appreciation for cross-cultural friendships in Jesus.

News Keywords

music

China

Arts Ministry

Acceptable Notes

AD-16225 — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 16:50:52 +0000

News

Abi Christian

Acceptable Notes

Solitude can be a way of life for many student musicians. They spend long hours alone in a practice room and sometimes compete with peers for practice space, performances, and uncertain careers. When ��ñ�� student Alex Cap left the College of New Jersey for a summer music program in North Carolina, he expected to put in the long hours and hard work at the piano. He didn’t expect to find a thriving Christian community—or that God would use him to encourage others spiritually, as well as musically.

A Timely Connection

During his first few days on the program’s campus at Brevard College, Alex found himself sitting in a crowded cafeteria next to two students discussing Basileia, an ��ñ�� leadership training conference that Alex also had attended. He introduced himself and met Esther Shin, who had organized the summer’s Christian fellowship.

Esther had attended Brevard’s music program the year before; and knowing few people, she put up a flyer advertising a time for Christian fellowship on Sunday nights. Seventeen students showed up. The community named themselves Soli Deo Gloria (Glory to God Alone), and this past summer grew to almost 50 students. As Alex learned about this group, he thanked God for connecting him with these students and prayed that God would use him over the summer.

Working as for the Lord

Soli Deo Gloriawas looking for leaders to start six small group Bible studies. During the school year in New Jersey, Alex led an ��ñ�� Bible study for other musicians. The experience prepared him to lead in Soli Deo Gloria. His small group began studying Colossians 3 and talked about how people's hearts and actions change because of Christ. When several non-Christians joined the fellowship, Alex realized the need for a seeker-friendly discussion on Christian faith.

“I wanted to give seekers the opportunity to ask whatever questions they had on their mind without the fear of being judged, feeling singled-out, or being overwhelmed with Christians giving them answers,” said Alex. Alex and a Christian friend met with a student who recently became a believer and a young woman interested in learning more about Christianity.

They discussed how the Christian faith does more than produce “good” people—choosing to follow Christ is about being in a right relationship with God, which sometimes requires a shift in perspective. In the music world, the emphasis on perfection can be oppressive. But as Christians, musicians can acknowledge their humanness. Their fingers may stumble, but they remain loved by God and their offering of music is still beautiful and acceptable.

“In the practice room and in the concert hall, I try to remind myself to focus on why I make music,” said Alex. He doesn’t play for improvement or fame, but refers to the passage the small group studied in Colossians. “I want to practice as if working for the Lord, using this gift that He has given me and sharpening my skill so that I can more effectively use it for His glory,” said Alex.

No Matter the Place

At the end of the summer, Alex gave the young woman a Bible and encouraged her to read the Gospel of John. He plans to stay connected and be available for more questions. As he reflected later, Alex said, “God was able to use what little I thought we had for a lot of good.”

Students like Alex who were willing to serve made a positive impression in the program. As an outreach event, Soli Deo Gloria organized a concert, and students shared stories of their own faith or how the faith of composers inspired the pieces the audience heard. As a result, many non-Christians were invited into spiritual conversations about God and music, 25 Bibles were given away by a local church, and two students made decisions to follow Christ.

As another school year begins at the College of New Jersey, Alex hopes his experience at Brevard will help him as he mentors new Christians in the ��ñ�� chapter. ��ñ�� students may have taken an academic break over the summer, but they continue to ask God to use them wherever they are.

You can make a direct financial donation to support ��ñ��’s work at The College of New Jersey by following this link.

News Keywords

music

College of New Jersey

Brevard College

Basileia

Arts