A New Way to Fund Ministry

Jim Anthony is recording another CD... this time with a special emphasis on the stories God has been calling him to share about his faith/life experiences. As Jim has been writing and now performing these newest songs, he's seeing the Lord use them and his "stories behind the songs" to bless others who need to be encouraged in this time of economic, family, and personal challenges. Jim is definitely God's called man... for "such a time as this" delivering hope, encouragement, and sharing his testimony of his faith in a personal and ever-faithful God throughout difficult times.

As Jim was planning this newest CD, one of his biggest challenges so soon after his most recent release (Good To Be Me, released in April 2012) was getting financing for the project. Jim selected Kickstarter.com as his vehicle for fundraising. Kickstarter is a website designed to fund projects of all sorts, so it made sense to Jim to use Kickstarter as a tool to engage his fan base in his newest CD project. Additionally, Jim and I felt there were others who believe strongly in the need for encouraging others, both inside and outside the church, and the need for spreading the Good News through great music and strong lyrical content. Given an opportunity to participate through a vehicle like Kickstarter, many of these others would choose to support this project and thus become engaged in Jim's ministry by their support.

I'm thinking Kickstarter could also be a great way for emerging Christian Artists to help fund their music projects...and it's definitely easier and a better way to fund ministry than trying to do so though today's complex and ministry-limiting record label deals. However, with all good things Kickstarter comes with a catch...  Even though Jim is an experienced singer-songwriter with several CD's under his belt, and is almost 2/3 of the the way toward his goal on Kickstarter, he only has 33 more days to meet his goal. According to Kickstarter rules, a project must be completely funded (you have to meet all of your monetary goal) to get any of the dollars pledged by the fundraising deadline...

We have an opportunity here. We should recognize what each of us contributing even $5 or $10 can do to make Jim's goal a reality....we can actually make this new CD happen for Jim, and, in doing so, add our names and prayers to his list of supporters. Jim is counting on us, and has incentives for each of us to become a supporter, even if we only pledge $1, $5, or $10...

So, I have a couple of challenges for you: Would you be willing to engage with Jim by pledging by engaging in ministry with him? Would you also be willing to send this post to ten others you believe would want to be part of this ministry also? Would you support Jim by posting this on your blog, Facebook, Google+, and/or tweet about this? Will you pray that God will use this method of fundraising to enable even more folks that God has called to reach those who need Him? Will you help us make this project happen?

To make a pledge, or for more information about Jim, Kickstarter.com, or this project, go to Jim's Kickstarter project by clicking here.

A Worship "Immersion" Experience Tonight

Come to "The Well" tonight, Thursday June 14, for a refreshing time of worship! Tim Lemmens is leading, joined by Mike Graff on guitar and me on bass.

"The Well" is one hour of extended worship time from 8:00-9:00pm, providing an extended worship experience very different than what we are able to have in the time frames available to us in our home churches on a Sunday morning. For me, each time I've played bass for this event , I found myself as deeply in worship with my God as I have ever experienced...

We would love to have you join us so you can experience this form of worship, also.

Here's the location: New Horizons Church 10904 57th St NE Albertville, MN 55301

A new way to present your Christian music ministry story...

Tonight at 8:15pm, Jim Anthony (more about Jim),  a local Christian songwriter we have the pleasure of working with, will present his second on-line live concert at a new (to me, at least!) website called Stageit.com.

The concert requires you to buy a ticket, but unlike the soaring prices you have to pay for live concerts, at StageIt, you only pay want you can for your ticket. During the concert, if you like the artist, you can also tip him to show your appreciation. To attend Jim's live concert tonight, click here.

At the site,  you'll need to register, which you can do through Facebook, if you'd like, and pay whatever you want for a ticket, with "notes" you buy at the StageIt site.

StageIt vets all their artists, so as a concert go-er, you can be assured you are seeing and hearing a quality presentation. I've heard Jim's, watched how his audiences enjoy his music and his stories, and I know you will enjoy him, too! If you're new to Christian music ministry performance, you'll also be able to learn a lot about it just from watching Jim's Concert tonight.

Because of StageIt's vetting process, if you just wrote your first song and are now taking voice lessons to learn how to sing it it tune, you're not really ready to perform here just yet. However, this is a great opportunity to listen, learn, and ask questions... Yes, you can ask Jim questions during the concert. Unlike a concert in a large venue, StageIt has been able to leverage its concert presentation technology to allow chat during the concert.

Based on Jim's last concert at StageIt, if you have a question about his music or ministry, Jim will provide answers during the concert, as well as provide you with a time of enjoyment and reflection from his career, and hopefully, some insight into yours in the near future!

So, come to the concert tonight, and then comment back to tell me what you thought...and what you learned!

Four Criteria for Song Choices in Christian Music Ministry

This past Sunday, Mattie, a middle-school student at our church, Buffalo Evangelical Free Church, sang a JJ Heller song (Your Hands), a perfect song choice for her, and, as God intended, a perfect fit with our focus of prayer yesterday:

How to Become the Christian Artist God Created You to be

I don't often post links to other articles on this blog, but this young lady, Jessa Sorenson, a wonderful vocalist and a personal friend, has written a wonderful testimony, and shared some excellent teaching and encouragement for other Christian Artists:

Four Walls

By jessasorenson

 

He will make something beautiful out of your life. Years ago, this was only a phrase in my mind, but I didn’t believe or carry it out with authority in my life. From a young age of two, my parents placed me in music lessons: Suzuki violin. I won my first fiddle competition playing duets with my older brother at the age of 3. I honestly can’t remember a day when music hasn’t been part of my daily routine... click here to read more