Worship Musician Magazine October 2024 | Page 46

Chris Rocha
life in a very negative way . The culture of some Christian musicians is hold back and not to share what they know . I ’ ve made it my life ’ s goal to be the opposite of that . That ’ s what inspired the CR Online guitar course . I called Andrés up and we started the online subscription teaching course , and that ’ s where the idea for the camp came into place . We want to provide worship guitar players tools to make their playing better . They can go to college and learn jazz and different kinds of stuff , but who ’ s teaching them the things they need to know to play at church ?
[ Doug ] Has your vision for the camp changed over time ?
[ Chris ] A little bit . Every year we look at what was lacking from the year before and we modify it . I think the combination of equipping these musicians to give them proper teaching , but at the same time keep it a spiritual experience because it ’ s not all about technique . It ’ s not all about tone . It ’ s about becoming a worshiper and it ’ s about raising the Kingdom of God , about spreading God ’ s word . It ’ s very important that we keep the practical teaching and couple that with the fundamentals of being a Christian . The spiritual experience is very important .
[ Doug ] Andrés , the night you preached the spiritual atmosphere was so thick you could cut it with a knife . Can you tell us more about your take on the role worship plays at the camp ?
[ Andrés ] When we started out , I asked Chris , “ What if I preached on the last day and we have worship at night ?” If people want to learn guitar , they have hundreds of resources . But how can we help people grow ? Not just on the guitar , but also in the spiritual part as worshipers so they can give their best at church – and make the name of the Lord grow . The camp is like a kind of retreat , a guitar and a spiritual retreat for people . Sometimes people need to hear a fresh word to continue serving with a clean heart . So , at the end of the first camp , we got an idea of what God wants from the camp , and it ’ s a different thing . It ’ s a guitar thing , yes , a technique thing , yes , but it ’ s a kind of retreat . So , at the end of all the camps , we are seeing that the people go home with new resources for guitar , but with a clean heart , ready and strong to continue serving the Lord .
[ Doug ] I love that ! Chris , you ’ ve had a number of great guest instructors . What are some of the specific things they ’ ve brought to the camps ?
[ Chris ] We try to think of all the different worlds that we live in as church guitar players . We try to mix the world of the Spanish-speaking Latin musicians with the English-speaking world as well , which is where my roots are . The first year we had Nigel Hendroff and Roberto Prado as the guest artists . I chose Nigel because he is one of the most influential worship guitars of
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