[ WM ] Tell us about the Samaritan ’ s Purse / BGEA worship leader program ? How did this idea come about and what are some of its distinctives ?
[ Billy Batstone ] As part of The Tommy Coomes Band ( formerly Maranatha Praise Band ), I ’ ve been working with Franklin Graham since May 1991 . Franklin , the son of the great evangelist , Billy Graham , is the head of The Billy Graham Organization and Samaritan ’ s Purse , the international relief organization . Samaritan ’ s Purse is well known for Operation Christmas Child , the effort that delivers millions of gifts to the forgotten children in devastated , war-torn parts of the world . The Tommy Coomes Band travels the world with Franklin , we ’ ve done hundreds of gospel outreaches , conferences , and humanitarian relief events .
Last May , we were doing a series of outreach festivals with Franklin throughout England . He came up to me in Sheffield , UK , before morning team devotions and hit me up with this idea , “ I want you to move to Boone , NC , ( the headquarters of Samaritan ’ s Purse ), and put together worship teams for The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and for Samaritan ’ s Purse . Both organizations have daily devotions that the entire staffs attend . I sort of had a template in mind because The Tommy Coomes Band leads worship for devotions every day when we ’ re on the road with Franklin ’ s team . The difference was that whereas the TC Band is made up of professional singers and players , Franklin ’ s idea was to build teams from within the staff of both organizations .
He sent out an email blast to the whole staff of both organizations saying essentially , if you ’ re interested in being part of this new worship team , get in touch with Billy . Because The TC Band has been the worship team for both organizations for decades , so many of these people already knew who I was . I didn ’ t know who had talent or musical interest within these organizations . My wife and I set up an online audition process to assess people ’ s abilities . This was done primarily through iPhone videos , links to church services and YouTube videos , basically whatever the applicants would send in . We reviewed all this material and were able to find a pool of talented employees who we could audition and interview . This process went surprisingly quick . There were dozens of applicants . Within about 3 weeks we were able to field three different worship teams ; at BGEA headquarters in Charlotte NC , and in Boone and in Wilkesboro , NC . So far , it ’ s working well , beyond my imagination if fact . The people that work for both of these organizations are amazing . It ’ s great to work with these staff people who love God and who understand that He is the inspiration for their service .
[ WM ] Some theologians have written that compassion , as in the activities of Samaritan ’ s Purse , and worship , are inseparable dynamics of the Christian faith . What say you ?
[ Billy ] Looking back in history , the Wesleyan Revival in England was a marriage of theology and worship . John Wesley was the preacher and Charles Wesley the worship songwriter . In their own ways they encouraged faith and