SPRINGFIELD – Music has been a way for people to connect with their faith for thousands of years. For sisters, Iris and Rhian “Mae” Longenecker, singing comes from a desire to share the gospel with those who don’t know Jesus. This comes to light through their musical group: Iris ‘n Mae.
While Mae, 13, and Iris, 11, are still young, their family has a long history of serving the church. Their family, including parents Brent and Amanda Longenecker, served as church-planting missionaries in the Philippines. Returning to the United States in 2020, the Longeneckers now live in the Springfield area and attend the Way Church.
Brent is also part of the Missouri Baptist Convention’s Prayer and Evangelism team, serving 1700 churches around the state and helping churches disciple others.
With the release of their new album, called “Songs for the Thirsty Soul”, Iris and Mae carry on the work of sharing the gospel. Their first song, “River for the Thirsty Soul,” is primarily inspired by John 7:37-38.
“It’s beautiful that we were able to put that to words and to music, but the joy of that song really came from about two years we’ve been praying for a family member, several family members, to know the Lord, and to share the gospel with a family member is really difficult, but the girls have already had several opportunities to do that, but through song. So I see this music kind of as an answer to their prayers of asking the Lord for opportunities to share the gospel with family, and it’s been beautiful to see that,” Brent said.
Mae shared that the first time they started sharing their music, members of their family became interested.
“It’s hard sharing the gospel with people in our family, but I know the first time we started doing it, a family member found out what we were doing, singing and stuff, and they wanted to hear our music, and so we were able to respectfully be able to share the gospel with them,” Mae said.
Both Iris and Mae play a variety of musical instruments to accompany their singing, including piano, guitar, and ukulele. Brent described it as a “simple style of music” that was meant to focus on the heart of the music.
Their music has spread beyond the state of Missouri, as the girls are planning to travel to Montana with their family, where a church has asked them to sing at their newly opened coffee shop.
“We get to experience that as we go to this church. We get to meet new brothers and sisters in Christ, and so they’re getting to see just how big the body of Christ is, how big the work is, and we get to have a small part in loving and serving Christ, and loving and serving his bride, and that’s a joy seeing that in their hearts,” Brent said.
The music of Iris ‘n Mae has touched the hearts of believers and nonbelievers alike, allowing the gospel to be shared in even the hardest-to-reach places. To listen to the music of Iris ‘n Mae, check out their Spotify and YouTube pages.
