[WM] Yancy, you have been our Kid’s Worship
columnist for a good while now here at the
magazine and we sure appreciate you! When I
heard about your new big project Ready Set Go
I knew I had to ask you some questions about
all of the kid’s resource materials that you work
so hard at.
First of all, how did this Ready Set Go effort
come about?
God’s love that is big, amazing, and out of
this world! It is about inviting young hearts
to a relationship with Jesus by beginning a
foundation of theology through the discipline of
worship. I wrote these songs and crafted these
arrangements with an intentional focus to this
phase of life. It has become one of my life’s
greatest to joys to help churches, schools and
families lead preschool and early elementary
kids in worship through these songs.
love the power of music because it sticks with
us. I know that when I put God’s Word in the
songs that I write, those words will get planted
down deep in their hearts. And those words of
truth will replay in the days, weeks and years
to come, and will help them in their walk with
the Lord.
[WM] Tell us about your approach for writing
your songs?
[Yancy] Awhile back I got to visit the Ark
Encounter which was amazing. Seeing the
massive size of the ark Noah built, put it in a
perspective that I couldn’t understand before.
My big takeaway from the experience was
obedience. Noah obeyed. He heard God speak
and he took action. Even when it didn’t make
sense. Even when everyone else questioned
him and made fun of him, he moved forward
in faith and obedience. We live our lives today
because of the fruit of Noah obeying.
I had the idea of Ready, Set, Go several years
ago and just sat on it. I originally thought it
would just be about the passage: “running
our race for the prize”. But after learning this
lesson from Noah I realized you can’t finish a
race you never begin. I could have never written
this song without learning how important our
obedience is to whatever God is asking us to
do. Whatever God is asking you to do, do it!
The ripple effect of our obedience is greater
than we could ever understand.
[WM] Where were these resources when I
was teaching Sunday School 35 years ago? I
used to write a little jingle about our memory
verse for that Sunday. In fact, I still remember a
few of them fondly.
[Yancy] Yes, music has such amazing power
for all of us to learn and remember things.
God’s Word is true, no matter how young or old
we are. The Bible doesn’t change or suddenly
apply because we reach a certain age. God’s
Word is just as true for kids as it is adults. I
[Yancy] As you probably know sometimes
when you hear kids music it can sound like
nails on a chalkboard! (laughing.) I work hard
to craft music that is still great music. I want
the songs to still sounds great and have pop
sensibilities so those hooks get in your ear and
stay there. When I write songs for kids, I try to
put the right bite-size piece lyrically for that age
child to be able to learn and understand. I love
writing songs that have big truths in them but
are written in a fun, accessible way for kids to
be able to get it. As they sing along in the car,
[WM] That is something. You really do have
a prolific amount of love (and energy) that you
pour into these young lives. Tell us more about
your popular series for young kids Little Praise
Party. Where did the idea for this come from?
[Yancy] Little Praise Party started because
I was writing songs to fill a need in my local
church. As the series has continued, I am still
writing songs but now to serve the Church,
capital C, around the world. Helping kids learn
from an early age how to sing and give praise
to God is something I am passionate about. I
believe these songs will help kids celebrate
July 2020
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