ST. CHARLES –Music reflecting God’s mercy and grace filled the convention center during the Missouri Baptist Convention annual meeting here, Oct. 24-25.
“We want to sing music biblically-rooted,” Jordon Cox, chair of the Fine Arts division at Missouri Baptist University (MBU), said. “We want to draw all back to Jesus.”
The MBU SpiritWing and Chorale led the music for the Missouri Pastors’ Conference and the annual meeting. One of the worship numbers praised God in Spanish.
“We learned that number in celebration of Hispanic Month, Sept. 15-Oct. 15,” Cox said. “One of the students asked if we could sing one in Spanish and it was a special blessing to our Hispanic students. So, we thought it would bless those here.”
Pastor Chad Pollett, Urich Baptist Church, and his wife, Cinasee, were blessed by the music of the University students. “I loved hearing the young students singing in another language,” Chad said. “It shows us that it is a global church, and all are called to serve.”
Cinasee agreed, “Hearing another language reminded us of the body of Christ around the world. We can rejoice with the church and pray with those persecuted,” she said. “The group also sang for the Pastor’s Conference and when they sang ‘It is Well with My Soul,’ it was special.”
Monty Dunn, pastor of Friendly Baptist Church in Branson, enjoyed the students sing. “Seeing the joy of praise and their willingness to do it was wonderful.” Dunn referenced the message Bill Elliff had just shared. “It might be a young person instrumental in bringing about revival.”
Thomas Keys III, pastor of worship and creative arts at First Baptist Church, Naples, Fla., led the worship in the Monday afternoon and Tuesday sessions, Oct. 24-25. Everything about Keys pointed to grace and mercy, both his music and his personality. “Just to think of what God is doing,” Keys said, “is worthy of worship and praise.”
ST. CHARLES – Thomas Keys III, pastor of worship and creative arts at First Baptist Church, Naples, Fla., testifies to God’s goodness and grace as he leads worship at the Missouri Baptist Convention annual meeting here, Oct. 24-25.
Keys had a personal testimony, giving him an opportunity to share God’s grace. “When (Hurricane) Katrina hit my home in 2005, we lost everything and were forced to move. But God’s grace brought us through.”
Now, Keys has seen the devastation of Ian on Florida. “By God’s grace my family is ok, but our church is working tirelessly to aid the Ft. Meyers area,” he said. “We also have a group of Baptist men living in our choir room serving the Lord by helping the area recover from the damage. I just can’t say enough about the blessing of the Baptist people and the work that they are doing to muck out houses and get things back to normal.”
The music that Keys brought to the meeting pointed all to God. Trevor Rosine, associate pastor of Park Hill, Kansas City, said, “Keys was passionate, and his singing encouraged our singing to be heart felt.”
Lead pastor of Park Hill Baptist, Seth Ross, agreed with Rosine’s assessment. “He led worship and didn’t just mimic others,” he said. “It is a rare gift.”
Keys led the worshipers in a combination of old hymns and new praise songs. His timing was wonderful when he stopped the instruments on How Great Thou Art and Nothing but the Blood, and only voices filled the room.
“I love to meld the old and new in our praises,” Keys said. “It can be an amazing mix.”
It was.