FEATURE
[ MICHAEL POPE | Doug Doppler ]
THE INTERVIEW [Michael] I started playing in churches when and just fell in love with Redding and with
We’re pretty stoked that the first guitar player I was twelve years old. We had just moved to Bethel Church. It was the first church I actually
we’re “officially” profiling for [WM] is Michael a small town, so we were church shopping. My felt connected to and really wanted to be at.
Pope. He’s a great guitar player, super nice guy, parents were always very supportive, so my Playing in church was never really the thing
and a living testimony of what happens when mom was always like, “He plays guitar!” And that I wanted to do, so it was a cool thing to
you raise someone up through the ranks. Here then people were like, “Come play and check find a church that felt like that. The original plan
we go! it out!” When you’re twelve years old, you’re was to do a year of ministry school and then
going to do it just because it’s an outlet to go after that move to Nashville, L.A., New York
[WM] Michael, let’s start from the beginning, and play music. So that’s kind of how I got my or someplace like that and try to do session
how old where you when you got your start. I played in local churches just because I work or tour with a country band. But I just got
first guitar? got the invite, and then that led to bands when involved here. At the time Jeffrey from Jesus
I was fifteen and sixteen years old. But mostly Culture was overseeing everything and asked
[Michael Pope] I was three and it was one just small, backwoods playing until I came out me to play at church on the weekends to
of those toy guitars that you bought out of a here to Redding, California. help out.
[WM] So how did you end up at Bethel? Later I decided to stay a little bit longer and do
magazine that isn’t totally a toy, it was a small
classical guitar. I played that until I was probably
nine or ten and then my parents got me a
another year of ministry school. That summer,
red Epiphone Les Paul Junior. That was my [Michael] I came out because of the worship Joel Taylor, the CEO from the label, called me
first electric. school. It’s called WorshipU now, and it was a and asked me to play on For the Sake of the
three or four-week school instead of the two- World. That whole process and year of school
week session it is now. I came out for that, was a big learning and growing process for me.
[WM] Did you grow up playing at church?
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July 2017
WorshipMusician.com