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Musical Partnerships
All That Jazz
“We’ve been doing some of these things for years,” says Chuck Hickman, worship pastor at Soteria Church (Everett, Washington). “We just decided to make it official!”
These “things” include free private lessons, sectional rehearsals, and other music education for disadvantaged students in several local schools. The “we” is The Jazz Collective, a group of professional musicians who also worship at Soteria Church, and the new official name is the Everett Music Institute, reflecting the group’s focus on Everett’s urban community.
“Soteria meets at one of these schools, my daughter teaches at another one, and we’ve built friendships at the high school,” Hickman says. “It seemed a natural place to start.”
The institute members finance some activities themselves and The Jazz Collective’s gigs provide capital for more extensive projects. Most band members also play for Soteria’s worship services, and group members consider their “schoolwork” another form of ministry.
“We play regularly at a restaurant in town named Alligator Soul,” Hickman says. “We share business cards, talk about the church, and even have drink coasters with the church logo, while the restaurant gets extra business from friends who come to hear us. And it’s become a great meeting spot for people who might be unwilling to visit a church—it’s easy to invite the families we meet through the schools.”
Hickman also credits Soteria’s lead pastor, Mike Rydman, for the group’s success. “He encourages a lot of freedom in our worship,” Hickman says. “We play jazz, write our own arrangements. His love for our city and its distinctiveness supports our work.”
Like jazz, the institute continues to improvise. “This has developed over time because we all love kids and value education,” Hickman says. “Soteria serves this city and we want to do our part.”
www.soteriachurch.org
www.myspace.com/chuckhickman
Bridging the Gap
Since September, the Sack School of Bible and Ministry at Kentucky Christian University in Grayson has hosted “The Bridge,” a series of teaching, preaching, and coaching sessions with some of the Restoration Movement’s most prominent leaders. Each monthly Bridge event, held Tuesday through Thursday, includes time for the leader to teach a few classes, preach in chapel, speak at a minister’s luncheon, answer questions, and get to know students. All classes and workshops are open to the public, as well.
“You may have read their books, heard their messages at national conferences, or been inspired by their ministries from a distance,” shares KCU. “In addition to the classroom and chapel experience, The Bridge gives you an opportunity to talk ministry across a lunch table with these leaders.”
Fall 2008 speakers included Ben Merold, Barry Cameron, Bob Russell, and Jeff Faull. See the spring 2009 lineup and register for upcoming sessions at www.kcu.edu.
Guide Blog
A recent New York Times article profiled several area churches, including Crossroads Christian Church in Brooklyn, a 1999 Orchard Group plant. The article, which discussed the use of video, sophisticated church Web sites, and other tools to attract a younger generation, also described a blog created by Crossroads youth pastor Josh Firor.
Firor “uses a blog to encourage discussion among his younger members,” reports the Times. “The blog is protected by a password and teenagers can post questions anonymously, typically dealing with sex, drinking and spirituality. Mr. Firor, 27, addresses the topics in person during youth group and Bible study meetings.
‘It’s a place they can come and start processing things at a deeper level and not feel in the spotlight,’ he said, describing the blog. ‘For me it wasn’t an innovative idea; it was just the way it needed to happen for them.’”
www.2crossroads.com
Jennifer Taylor, one of CHRISTIAN STANDARD's contributing editors, lives in Nashville, Tennessee.
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