Missouri Music Men continue ministering to the state
Praise the Lord! Sing to the Lord a new song, and His praise in the assembly of saints.
– Psalms 149:1
The Missouri Baptist Convention has a new weapon for worship in her arsenal.
For almost 30 years, there has been a group of Baptist men who have gone ‘round to churches all across the state singing the praises of the Lord. The group calls themselves the Missouri Music Men (MMM). They have a choir, a brass ensemble, and a bell choir. I have been a member of that ensemble for nine years, even before I served here in denominational work, and the music, the worship and camaraderie have been something that I treasured for years.
On April 23, the Missouri Baptist Convention renewed a covenant with this group of music ministers from Missouri Baptist churches to work together, making the Missouri Music Men an extension of the worship ministries of the Missouri Baptist Convention. In doing this, they called me as the executive director of the group, for which I am elated and humbled.
The Missouri Music Men would continue their long-lasting tradition of singing great choral proclamations to our God, and would also be a conduit for new worship styles as well.
This covenant started with a conversation, coming back from El Salvador, between myself and Tim Burgher (minister of music, FBC, California), 2009 President of the Missouri / covenant happen between the two groups. “This is a very important decision and potential turning point for the MMM.” says Burgher of this decision.
The Missouri Music Men will serve as a unit of praise in the state for a long time to come. However, it will also serve as a musical ambassador to our Missouri Baptist churches, their worship leaders and hopefully an emissary of peace to all nations as we sing of the good news of Jesus Christ.
The group will be singing on the Tuesday night of the annual meeting of the Missouri Baptist Convention at First Baptist Church, Raytown.
Those interested in joining the ‘Men’ may call the convention office at 1-800-736-6227 for more details. (John Francis is the worship specialist for the Missouri Baptist Convention and produces MoWorship, a monthly worship podcast available at www.mobaptist.org/worship.)