{"id":45388,"date":"2023-04-03T09:36:33","date_gmt":"2023-04-03T14:36:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mbcpathway.com\/?p=45388"},"modified":"2023-04-03T09:50:42","modified_gmt":"2023-04-03T14:50:42","slug":"southern-gospel-duo-encourages-churches-declares-gospel-message","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mbcpathway.com\/2023\/04\/03\/southern-gospel-duo-encourages-churches-declares-gospel-message\/","title":{"rendered":"Southern Gospel duo encourages churches, declares gospel message"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"p2\"><strong><span class=\"s3\">FULTON \u2013 <\/span><\/strong><span class=\"s4\">For a couple whose Christian ministry is built around the musical style, Marty Forman admits, \u201cI didn\u2019t know what Southern Gospel music was until 13 years ago.\u201d Marty is half of Forman Ministries, which is a singing duo that includes her husband, Norman.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s4\">\u201cI sang in church and in college, but didn\u2019t know that genre of music.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s4\">Now, when the two sing together, audiences \u201ccan expect a time of fellowship, a time of worship, a time of enjoyment,\u201d Norman says. \u201cWe like to laugh and just enjoy being in the presence of God\u2019s people.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s4\">\u201cWe don\u2019t view ourselves as entertainment or a concert,\u201d he says. \u201cWe\u2019re there to lead people in worship. Our desire is for (an event) to be a worship experience\u2026and have fun worshipping the Lord.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s4\">\u201cI don\u2019t know that our ministry is necessarily evangelistic in reaching lost souls. It\u2019s certainly capable of doing that,\u201d Norman says. But, he says his dad\u2014the longtime Missouri Baptist pastor, Reverend Weldon Forman\u2014taught him that \u201cuntil we get the church excited about being God\u2019s people, it\u2019s hard to get the world to be a part of that.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s2\">The couple have been singing together over a decade but only for the last four years as a duet after quartets they were in disbanded. \u201cIf we were going to sing, we were left with carrying on by ourselves,\u201d he says.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s4\">He describes the ministry as \u201cprimarily a ministry of encouragement for believers. The grind of life can really weigh you down. As we come into a church to sing, we hope what we offer is encouragement.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s4\">For being retired or semi-retired individuals, the Formans are busy. (He\u2019s retired as a bi-vocational pastor and emergency medical services worker; she\u2019s semi-retired as a social worker.) Last year, they sang in over 60 events. \u201cIt seems like it grows every year,\u201d Norman says. They\u2019re also involved in their community as local chamber of commerce members, have helped with charitable events, and fundraised for groups. Both are trained Missouri Disaster Relief workers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s4\">They\u2019ve sung in churches, nursing homes, parks, festivals, Christian conferences, multi-day gospel meetings, and other venues.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s4\">\u201cMy goal is not to shut any doors God opens,\u201d Norman says. \u201cWhen He calls, we respond.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s2\">\u201cIt seems like the Lord has been opening doors to us to get into more churches and presented us with more preaching opportunities,\u201d he says. Norman is an ordained Southern Baptist minister and has pastored Missouri churches. This spring he will lead revivals in Missouri and Arkansas. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s4\"> He says some of those revival doors opened through the ministry\u2019s association with the Fellowship of Missouri Baptist Evangelists. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s4\">Both say that being part of a husband\/wife duet has advantages over a quartet. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s4\">\u201cPractice is much easier,\u201d he says. \u201cPractice usually occurs any time we\u2019re travelling down the road. We either have our practice CDs or our iPad with us.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s4\">She sees being part of a couple as a testimony to God\u2019s work.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s4\">\u201cWe have a lot of people come up to us and say, \u2018I want what you two have.\u2019 They view our faith as the foundation for our marriage. Every time that\u2019s said I smile and say, \u2018Thank you God for helping me get that message out there.\u2019\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s4\">Singing gets the Formans into other religious denominations.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Before any events they talk with leaders to understand and explain expectations. Sometimes, an event leader may not want an altar call, for example. Marty says the couple always includes a gospel message.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s5\">Their music is \u201can experience of faith and talking about Jesus and what that knowledge can bring to people\u2014hope, comfort, blessings,\u201d she says.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s5\">\u201cThere are always words about \u2018this message is about hope and about bringing people to the saving grace and knowledge of our Jesus.\u2019 We never apologize for that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s5\">Performing as much as they do makes it difficult to maintain connection with their home church in Fulton, Ebenezer Baptist Church. However, their pastor, Mike Hibbard, endorses their ministry and encourages them as ministering missionaries, Norman says. That keeps them singing. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s5\">\u201cIt is always such an uplift to us to see people worshipping,\u201d Normans says, \u201cand to see them being affected by our music. I don\u2019t say that because of some sense of personal gratification.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s5\">\u201cBut, when you\u2019re doing the Lord\u2019s work and you see Him working in peoples\u2019 lives it\u2019s just an affirmation that you\u2019re doing what God wants you to do. That encourages us to keep going on.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s4\">The ministry charges no fee for singing or preaching. \u201cWe come on a love offering basis,\u201d Norman says. \u201cThe Lord has always provided. \u201cNo venue, no congregation, is too big or too small for our ministry.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s5\">To contact Forman Ministries, call 473-826-7016, or email <a href=\"mailto:pastornorm1957@yahoo.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">pastornorm1957@yahoo.com<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For a couple whose Christian ministry is built around the musical style, Marty Forman admits, \u201cI didn\u2019t know what Southern Gospel music was until 13 years ago.\u201d Marty is half of Forman Ministries, which is a singing duo that includes her husband, Norman.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40,"featured_media":45389,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":"","_wpscp_schedule_draft_date":"","_wpscp_schedule_republish_date":"","_wpscppro_advance_schedule":false,"_wpscppro_advance_schedule_date":"","_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"","_twitter_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type":"","_pinterest_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_selected_social_profile":[]},"categories":[177,36,41,40,45,8,17],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Southern Gospel duo encourages churches, declares gospel 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