February Ministry News
2005 Touring Season BeginsThe newest Keynote band is the first out of the winter rehearsal gate. Piper Down, a loud rock band with punk leanings is on the road in Florida and Georgia, ministering to high school students with its energetic music and staff. Piper Down will be working mostly with Student Venture, Campus Crusade’s outreach to high school students. After their first concert yesterday, we received the following email:
"Our evangelistic concert with Student Venture went pretty well. We played at Lake Highland Prep High School in downtown Orlando. All of the sound/power/stage issues we were having (we couldn’t get monitors to work; the power didn’t work quite right; I might have blacked out a few times; Seth nearly lost his lunch on stage; Matt cut his hand again….etc etc.) were kinda frustrating, but a friend once said that we should look at stuff like this as opportunities to place our trust in God, and have our faith in Him grow.
"Through everything that came up, God was right there with us, and He got us through the concert. I think this concert also reminded me that things like sound/power issues and people passing out during a concert won’t stop God from working.
"There were probably around 70 high schoolers at the concert, and even more during the halftime of the basketball game that was going on next door to us. Seth did a great job of engaging the crowd and getting them really pumped up. On our comment cards, 8 people said they were interested in speaking with someone about spiritual things, and 4 people said they wanted to get involved in a Bible study. Lee, our host, said he only recognized 1 of the names on the comment cards! One young person wrote this comment: 'I have one more experience with God in my life now, and it will be cool to talk to people and tell them about it.'”
Stay tuned for more PIPER DOWN updates!
On The Other Side Of The Bus
When we were touring with X-nelo, Tom got to drive the bus... these days he spends most of his "bus time" on the other end! One of his main duties is to make sure the vehicles (2 big buses like this one, several vans and trailers) are road ready for the bands. Chasing Elvis just left in one of the buses and Piper Down (see below) took a van/trailer combo. Pray for them…. And their vehicles!
Keynote Goes International!
When you think of Jamaica, what comes to mind? Beaches? Reggae? Hurricanes? Soon you may be thinking “spiritual movements.”
Last year, Keynote created a short-term partnership to help facilitate the growth and expansion of the Campus Crusade ministry in Jamaica. As part of our ongoing commitment to resource our staff around the world, a team from Keynote traveled to Jamaica last month to be a part of the “winter” conference of the Jamaican campus ministry.
Two Keynote staffers on the right leading worship in Jamaica
Since our team almost doubled the size of the staff team at the conference, they not only served by leading praise and worship at each of the sessions, but by helping out with teaching a seminar called “The Priority of Your Relationship with God”, joining in the community outreach, and with various other conference needs. Even though Keynote’s primary role is music evangelism, our small team contributed significantly to the success of the conference and the growth of the ministry there, by simply being available and serving where needed.
So was it worth the effort to send this team? Last year, seven students attended the Jamaican winter conference, and this year’s attendance grew to twenty-seven—our team was definitely needed! Yet most significant was the response of the students. After several days of strong ministry training and teaching, the students were challenged by their National Campus Director, Carrol Richards, to commit at least a year of their life to the service of the Lord, through an internship with Campus Crusade or by joining their staff. Of the 27 conferees, 13 of those young adults responded with a commitment to serve the Lord for a full year following their graduation!
And when you think of Singapore, what comes to mind? Beaches? Tsunamis? East-Asian capitalism? Soon you may be thinking “music ministries.”
The Andersons, a Keynote family of 6, are working with the music ministry in Singapore in the area of team building and direction. They have been there for seven months (only three left to go) and are excited about the work that has been accomplished so far. In just one tour of an Asian country, they saw over 500 people come to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ!!!
The mission of Keynote is to partner with strategic ministries to share God’s love through music and the performing arts. We are privileged to see the Lord raising up laborers for His harvest in Jamaica and East Asia, and we are grateful to have you as partners with us in this mission, in Jamaica, in the U.S., and in nations far beyond our borders. Thank you for your prayers and support, as we continue to serve Him and resource other ministries around the globe with you!
News Briefs
Christmas Cards - We continue to read through the cards many of you sent. We pray for you as we read the fun letters and updates. If you didn’t send us a card, please drop us a line and let us know what’s up with you so we can better pray for you!
2004 Stats - Some of you asked about the stats on the back page of last month’s letter. You wanted to know how many Keynote offices there are in the US and what the breakdown for the stats was for each office. Well, there is only one office, the one we work at here in Indy. All the stats were from bands going out of this office! Thanks for your part in enlarging the Kingdom!
Websites - Stay tuned for more cool stuff on the web. But for now, if you want to see a little of what Tom has been doing, check out www.piperdown.net. We will also be moving into cyber space. If you would like to receive a notice when our new prayer letter is on the web, write us at cathyh@keynote.org.
Please pray for
The bands as they begin the touring season— for team unity, sensitivity to the Spirit and fruitful ministry; and Cathy (laryngitis!).
What Do You Think?
Please use the comments link below to let us know what you think of the "new" Howie Blog-Letter! These comments will be posted for all to see. If you want to write us privately, email Cathy at the email address above.
Keep your eyes on this space for all developments in our Keynote Ministry! We will not only be posting our monthly newsletter here, but also band road reports (affectionately called "War Stories"), personal notes, thoughts, and happenings.
We love you all.
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posted by Tomás @ 10:05 AM
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