Keith Green and Rich Mullins are examples of ‘ worship missionaries ’ who have blasted the call to “ GO ”.
If there ’ s one thing that will change the way you lead worship each week , Sunday after Sunday , is to take a small team abroad and serve a church somewhere in the world for a weekend . It will impact you in ways you never dreamed ! Someone once said , “ We ’ re not all called to go … some are called to stay .” I would say if you follow Jesus Christ , you ’ ve been tattooed , marked , called out to serve Him through your gifts and your talent . There are mission opportunities waiting for you , even if it ’ s a short flight with your worship band across the border of Mexico . Sure , you can also be effective serving a church in an urban area or remote farming town in the USA . But the hassle of carrying your instrument on board a flight , checking extra baggage for your pedal board , the apprehension of learning a few new words of a foreign language , the anxiety of entering a new culture , the discomfort of a ( lice infested ) bed , or the uneasiness of new foods . I ’ m thinking if we all had a taste of taking what we know and who we are , to another land , the things God will do in you and in others will be priceless !
The best way to describe worship and mission is to take you with me on a few trips we ’ ve already taken .
CUBA : Just a short hop over from Miami to Havana , our tight worship band were going to a place I ’ ve not yet been . We knew one guy who had connected with a few worship leaders several months before our departure . I assembled a small team since it was our first mission to Cuba ; Carson on Electric , Carrie on Keys , me on Acoustic / Vocal , Jim our videographer , and Bill , a Spanish speaking pastor . One apprehension was the language . Again , after 35 years of doing worship and missions , most people under 35 speak English as their second language . When we arrived , the custom form we had to fill out was extensive – the border guards wanted to know every piece of gear , how many cables , and what instruments we were bringing . Remember Cuba is a Communist nation . We also brought along some workshop items . Our workshops are very tactile and ‘ hands-on ’. Once we cleared passport control and awaited our luggage , there was one piece that never appeared on the carousel . Finally , two border guards approached me asking if I listed every single piece of gear . I confirmed that I did . The translator who met us , a 21-year-old member of a local church told me that they found an SM58 that was NOT on the customs declaration . I was wondering why we were in the customs hall for over 5 hours ! I apologized profusely and agreed to take the mic back out of the country when we left . Many musical teams leave behind gear for worship bands in places like Cuba who do not have the resources – they simply are not available .
After clearing customs , we were on our way to Santa Klara , halfway across the Cuban
Worship in Cuba
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