Hi everybody.
I have some more information on funds for Aaron Keyes' worship training school for this fall. As I said before, the school is going to cost $1,000 per month for six months, which is a total of $6,000. I had been hoping that we could pay monthly so that I could raise the support in monthly pledges from many different people. However, I just found out from Aaron's administrator that they are going to need us to get them half of the total amount up front. So I'm going to have to have $3,000 in hand by the middle of August.
Let me just take a second to tell about God's faithfulness in my life. Every time God has led me to do something, he has provided a way for me to do it. He has never, ever failed me in this area.
-When I was thirteen, I was scheduled to go on a mission trip to Chicago, Illinois. On the night before we were supposed to leave, my sister and I were still horribly short on money for the trip. The church called everyone who was going down to the front of the church so they could pray for us and commission us. I felt very silly going down there, because I didn't really think I'd be getting on that plane the next day. As we were praying, a wonderful older man in the congregation came up behind Beth and me, and put his hand on our shoulders and said quietly, so only we could hear him, "You guys will be ready to go tomorrow, everything's taken care of." !!!!!! We had all the money...the night before!!
-During the summer after my sixteenth birthday, I was asked to accompany a worship leader for the summer and play keyboards with him and his daughter as they traveled to lead worship for a few different mission trips and gatherings and such. This six week trip should have cost me hundreds of dollars, but God provided for me through this leader.
-Last year, I spent six months living in Monroe, GA, renting a house that cost me $600 a month...plus utilities. The reason I moved there was because I had felt compelled to work, for a time, with a church in the area. So I packed up and found a place to rent. I still worked in Dahlonega, but I lived in Monroe on the weekends for church. I honestly don't know how I paid rent and bought food and gas and am still alive. God is the only one to whom I can give credit for any of that.
All that to say that God is faithful and providential. He is Jehovah Aman and He is Jehovah Jireh. I have no doubts that if it is God's will for me to be involved with this internship, then He will make a way.
I am still thinking that some might be able to contribute on a monthly basis, but to make that work, so that I have enough money up front, I would like to begin finding some that would begin contributing now, and give for six months, starting with May. This way, if I can find enough people that can give on a regular basis, I should have the money that I need by August.
About the CD. My friend's computer crashed, so we haven't been able to record in two weeks. I'm not sure what happened. However, and fortunately, my keyboard tracks are still there, so we are hoping to take a quick trip up to Nashville in the next two weeks, and record the vocals and finish it up so that I can get it duplicated and get it in with the application, and start getting it out to sell to you guys. I am really praying that the CD will be a big help in raising money.
One other thing about money...pray about this too, if you will. There are a few other things that I need to take care of financially, so that I can go to the school this fall. I have a few debts from the past few years, including my car loan, and a credit card that I need to pay down so that I don't have the payments to make while I'm not working full time.
I plead with you to pray for me about all of this. I'm convinced that prayer really does make a difference.
You're loved,
-Daniel
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Training, Humility, Opportunity, Plans
Since late last summer, I have been feeling very strongly that I should step back from full-time, all-the-time ministry leadership and seek training in leading worship. I have led worship for the past six plus years, and have done so with little training. I have had a few people that have spurred me on here and there, but there hasn't been someone who would intentionally and proactively pour into my life for a long period of time to help me grow in leading worship. I struggled for a long time about the idea of going to college to study music and ministry, and it seemed that God kept closing the doors. So, finally, I decided I needed to take myself out of leadership and find someone, somewhere that I could put myself under for a time of mentoring and training.
I started attending Grace Fellowship church's Sunday evening service in Snellville, GA soon after I left my place in an Assemblies of God church in Monroe. The worship leader there is Aaron Keyes. I had heard of him before, but not been around him enough to know what kind of leader he is. It didn't take long for me to be really impressed with him. Not only is he a well-accomplished, well-experienced musician and leader, he's a worshipper. He is very effective at communicating the truth through songs and the words he speaks. I have seen many worship leaders and they (like many in the Christian circles) usually fall into one of three catergories: Truth, Freedom, Excellence. Those who are strong in Truth usually lack the style of accomplished performers and the freedom in worship of the more charasmatics. The ones who thrive in Freedom often are more lax in technicality, and even more often miss the mark when it comes to theological soundness. The "Excellent" ones are very proficient musically, but lack expression in worship, or are often "too scripted", and are sometimes shallow or sugary in their lyrics. I have seen a balance...a healthiness in Aaron's worship, and in talking with him, in his speech and lifestyle.
When I talked to a friend of mine that sings with him frequently, she said that his heart is to train worship leaders. He knows he's not going to be another Chris Tomlin or anything, and that his heart is for the local church and to equip leaders for the local body.
I tell you all that to tell you why I felt very strongly last fall that Aaron is someone I would like to pursue getting to know. I want to glean from his leadership and his knowledge and experience. I decided I would try to approach him and suggest the idea of a possible mentorship. I did meet him and tell him who I was and what I was after, but that's as far as it got. Then one day, I got a phone call from a friend of mine telling me that Aaron had posted a blog on his myspace that told of a worship school/internship that he was wanting to start this year. This blew my mind.
This internship seemed like exactly what I was looking for. He's wanting to do intense life-on-life discipleship and training in worship, music, bible teaching. I was so excited. I emailed his contact point, Carrie, that afternoon and made sure that I would be kept up to date with every bit of new information.
They sent out a three-page document describing Aaron's vision for the school. (Read It) They've also now gotten the applications out to all of us. He also has a video on his myspace telling a little about it. Here's a bit from the application describing what the internship will entail on a day-to-day level.
Grace Worship School Details
HOUSING
The goal and plan is to have four guys living in the basement of Aaron's new home. If we decide to take
more than 4 guys for this program we may place a few in Buddy Hoffman's (the Pastor of Grace) basement,
where a few other pastoral interns/staff also live. The cost of housing and utilities will be covered by your
tuition. The contingency plan in case neither of these options remain viable is to rent a couple of nearby
apartments. This too would be covered by your tuition costs.
DAY TO DAY
We will have regular 'courses' that we'll be working through, with teaching, assignments, papers, and all the
rest. We'll study everything from Biblical surveys to developing worship sets to how to write better songs.
We'll cover a lot of ground. We'll work on vocal pathological health, and we'll focus on becoming better at
our instruments. There will be daily time set aside for solitude, study, and meditation. We will also be
booking you into as many places as possible to go and actually lead worship. Furthermore, we will get you
involved in serving ministries at or around Grace. There will also be opportunities to travel with Aaron and
his band to certain events and to serve him, the band, and the event hosts. Be praying that God provides a
tour bus for this. We fully expect Him to do just that. Also, we'll be hearing from scores of other worship
pastors, leaders, and song-writers who are passing through Atlanta as well.
We'll also frequently have 'guest leaders' come in and share their hearts and challenge us with what God's
putting onto their own hearts; we're hopefully expecting to glean from a beautifully broad spectrum of
leaders such as Jason Upton, Steve Fee, Rita Springer, Stuart Townend, John Mark McMillan, David Platt,
Gerrit Gustafson, Don Potter, Kristian Stanfill, John Hartley and many others.
FINANCES
As you would expect, it will cost money to make this school happen; as such, there will be a tuition of
$1,000 per month. This will cover housing, utilities, books, administration, travel, and special
events. However, Grace Fellowship Church will be paying a $500/month stipend to you for day-to-day
expenses, meals, etc. We are setting it up this way so you won't have to get a part-time job; we want to be
sure you will able to devote all of your time to learning, leading, and becoming a better worship pastor.
So ultimately it's going to cost you $500/month: You'll pay $1000/mo, and you'll receive back $500/mo to
live on. Considering that many churchgoers won't hesitate to spend $2500 for a one-week mission trip, the
cost of this school is as low as could possibly be expected. All told the school will cost $6,000 per student
for the entire 6 month term, and in that time each student will receive back a total of $3,000.
So...I need prayer. And I need to raise a lot of money. I am finishing an EP within the next few weeks hopefully, and will be selling them for $10 each to help raise money. There is no way I can do this alone. I am fully convinced that this is what I want to do. Please pray for me, and pray how you might be able to invest in the ministry that God has been developing in my life.
In His love,
-Daniel Cowan
I started attending Grace Fellowship church's Sunday evening service in Snellville, GA soon after I left my place in an Assemblies of God church in Monroe. The worship leader there is Aaron Keyes. I had heard of him before, but not been around him enough to know what kind of leader he is. It didn't take long for me to be really impressed with him. Not only is he a well-accomplished, well-experienced musician and leader, he's a worshipper. He is very effective at communicating the truth through songs and the words he speaks. I have seen many worship leaders and they (like many in the Christian circles) usually fall into one of three catergories: Truth, Freedom, Excellence. Those who are strong in Truth usually lack the style of accomplished performers and the freedom in worship of the more charasmatics. The ones who thrive in Freedom often are more lax in technicality, and even more often miss the mark when it comes to theological soundness. The "Excellent" ones are very proficient musically, but lack expression in worship, or are often "too scripted", and are sometimes shallow or sugary in their lyrics. I have seen a balance...a healthiness in Aaron's worship, and in talking with him, in his speech and lifestyle.
When I talked to a friend of mine that sings with him frequently, she said that his heart is to train worship leaders. He knows he's not going to be another Chris Tomlin or anything, and that his heart is for the local church and to equip leaders for the local body.
I tell you all that to tell you why I felt very strongly last fall that Aaron is someone I would like to pursue getting to know. I want to glean from his leadership and his knowledge and experience. I decided I would try to approach him and suggest the idea of a possible mentorship. I did meet him and tell him who I was and what I was after, but that's as far as it got. Then one day, I got a phone call from a friend of mine telling me that Aaron had posted a blog on his myspace that told of a worship school/internship that he was wanting to start this year. This blew my mind.
This internship seemed like exactly what I was looking for. He's wanting to do intense life-on-life discipleship and training in worship, music, bible teaching. I was so excited. I emailed his contact point, Carrie, that afternoon and made sure that I would be kept up to date with every bit of new information.
They sent out a three-page document describing Aaron's vision for the school. (Read It) They've also now gotten the applications out to all of us. He also has a video on his myspace telling a little about it. Here's a bit from the application describing what the internship will entail on a day-to-day level.
Grace Worship School Details
HOUSING
The goal and plan is to have four guys living in the basement of Aaron's new home. If we decide to take
more than 4 guys for this program we may place a few in Buddy Hoffman's (the Pastor of Grace) basement,
where a few other pastoral interns/staff also live. The cost of housing and utilities will be covered by your
tuition. The contingency plan in case neither of these options remain viable is to rent a couple of nearby
apartments. This too would be covered by your tuition costs.
DAY TO DAY
We will have regular 'courses' that we'll be working through, with teaching, assignments, papers, and all the
rest. We'll study everything from Biblical surveys to developing worship sets to how to write better songs.
We'll cover a lot of ground. We'll work on vocal pathological health, and we'll focus on becoming better at
our instruments. There will be daily time set aside for solitude, study, and meditation. We will also be
booking you into as many places as possible to go and actually lead worship. Furthermore, we will get you
involved in serving ministries at or around Grace. There will also be opportunities to travel with Aaron and
his band to certain events and to serve him, the band, and the event hosts. Be praying that God provides a
tour bus for this. We fully expect Him to do just that. Also, we'll be hearing from scores of other worship
pastors, leaders, and song-writers who are passing through Atlanta as well.
We'll also frequently have 'guest leaders' come in and share their hearts and challenge us with what God's
putting onto their own hearts; we're hopefully expecting to glean from a beautifully broad spectrum of
leaders such as Jason Upton, Steve Fee, Rita Springer, Stuart Townend, John Mark McMillan, David Platt,
Gerrit Gustafson, Don Potter, Kristian Stanfill, John Hartley and many others.
FINANCES
As you would expect, it will cost money to make this school happen; as such, there will be a tuition of
$1,000 per month. This will cover housing, utilities, books, administration, travel, and special
events. However, Grace Fellowship Church will be paying a $500/month stipend to you for day-to-day
expenses, meals, etc. We are setting it up this way so you won't have to get a part-time job; we want to be
sure you will able to devote all of your time to learning, leading, and becoming a better worship pastor.
So ultimately it's going to cost you $500/month: You'll pay $1000/mo, and you'll receive back $500/mo to
live on. Considering that many churchgoers won't hesitate to spend $2500 for a one-week mission trip, the
cost of this school is as low as could possibly be expected. All told the school will cost $6,000 per student
for the entire 6 month term, and in that time each student will receive back a total of $3,000.
So...I need prayer. And I need to raise a lot of money. I am finishing an EP within the next few weeks hopefully, and will be selling them for $10 each to help raise money. There is no way I can do this alone. I am fully convinced that this is what I want to do. Please pray for me, and pray how you might be able to invest in the ministry that God has been developing in my life.
In His love,
-Daniel Cowan
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