Our trip to Calgary last weekend was incredible. Both churches (Ripple Centre and Eastside City Church) took wonderful care of us there, hotel, meals, they even had a sound guy at one church who let us use his beloved 2004 Beetle, and they rented a beautiful cello for the weekend (for $40! unheard of) so I could play to my hearts content.
The first church, The Ripple Centre (Pastor Kenn Gill), has been in existence for one year and is establishing foundations of worship in this their second year. I met Thursday night with their worship team. I had them play while I took notes and then we went to town! They are an outstanding team for a small (85) and new congregation: The team was experienced and eager to learn so it made it easy and fun to work with them. The second night they brought the whole church out and I led worship with them, played my cello, Maryl on flute and the song flowed beautifully and prophetically for what God is doing there. I shared on the vision of worship for this church and this generation. Laying the groundwork for what God was going to do the next day and beyond.
On Saturday I spent the day with the team on practical areas, ending with a great session on releasing the song of the Lord. And did they go for it! Wow! They had never done anything like this before and they had a blast singing His Song over and over. That led easily into the evening service which is their main service. Their team led (that’s always my goal wherever I go, get them to do it without me) powerfully and they really flowed from song to song. Maryl and I joined them on our instruments about halfway through and then the pastor and his wife took off prophesying and leading the people in prophetic prayers and visions for the house. Then we got a great ‘prophetic’ groove going in the band and I launched into a song that went for about a half hour as we danced and I led a conga line (!) around the church making declarations of faith and promise in song. The place was electric. the band was laughing and crying all at the same time as they saw God revealing Himself in song and worship.
After that I shared more on the vision of the house, and talked about the new song God is ‘putting’ into our mouths. I talked about Is.54 ‘Sing o barren sing’ and had them all come forward to allow God to ‘put’ a new song in their mouth, to sing in barrenness and dryness and discouragement, etc. The band worshiped and the whole church received their song. Powerful time and in their words: ‘changed my life’, ‘turned a new page in worship’, ‘beyond expectations’. What a great way to start! This church hopes to make an impact (ripple) around the world as God releases them. I believe it’s going to happen.
I thought I had ‘blown out’ my voice Saturday night, but Sunday morning I lead worship at Eastside City Church (Pastor Ron Leech) and it was full strength (somebody was praying). Got to play my cello there also and then taught them Evan Earwicker’s song ‘Holy, Holy Lord Almighty’ and that struck a chord with them powerfully. About four hundred people from multi-ethnic backgrounds blended together in delicious worship of Jesus. Powerful.
That afternoon I worked with the worship teams on ministering together, revealing Jesus, flowing and the prophetic song and got that going again. They were so excited to sing songs and flow together and to find out how easy and delightful it is.
That night I worked with a potential choir and got them singing a capella and some great anthems that blew them away, ‘we can do this, and we sound good!’. It was a night of vision for them and their pastor. Monday I worked on songwriting with the worship pastor and then met with the worship leaders in the evening for some teaching on leading the flow of worship with confidence and anointing.
Pastor Ron has invited us back for a series of meetings next July with John Bevere to be the worship leader for the week.
Well, I better stop, but I hope you can sense our excitement and great joy in doing what we are called to do. October 1-5 we will be at the Ministers Fellowship International Conference in Portland, Oregon.
We just paid for our tickets to Uganda in December. More about that later. If you would pray about our finances especially for that, we are stretched right now but know that God is leading us there supernaturally. If God puts it on your heart to help us in any way, you can now make a tax-deductible donation directly online through PayPal on our site: songsmithministries.com
We love you all and know God’s blessing is on you and will continue to be with you as you enjoy Him and all that He has for you.
In Him, your worship missionaries
Tim and Maryl
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Dr. Tim Smith
Worship Without Borders
www.wwob.org