I've been a big fan of Bethel Music for a few years now. I wanna say my bro, Ryan Williams, introduced me to their music through William Matthews' song "Deep Cries Out." He thought it would be a great song for us to sing on our worship team, and I loved the lyrics and the song's energy.
My wife was the one that introduced me to Bill Johnson's teachings (Senior Pastor of Bethel Church) and I was blown away by the revelation he was sharing, specifically on the reality of heaven on earth.
Then I discovered that Jesus Culture was also a part of Bethel's ministry. I was like "Who are these people and what is in the water at Bethel?!" Lol! How is it that all of these people are living in such a confidence of who God is and flowing with this kind of power, love and revelation? I honestly believe the answer is in their pursuit.
Our friend, Courtney Hand, sent my wife and I the new Bethel song, "You Make Me Brave" via Facebook as we were contemplating the decision to buy a house or not. She couldn't have sent that song at a better time. We had a lot of decisions to make and that song was God's reminder that He loved us, He was for us and He would empower us to make sound decisions without fear or worry.
We played the song over and over for weeks. Then, our friends from New Jersey, surprised us with an advanced copy of the "You Make Me Brave" CD! What?! They went to the New York Worship Night session and told us how awesome it was.
In my heart, I was hoping and praying they would bring the Worship Night to St. Louis. My prayers were answered!
They posted the May schedule on Facebook and St. Louis was on the list!
Another friend of ours, Sarah Vaughn (former St. Louis native and now Bethel Church Staff Member), posted on Facebook that the Bethel Music team was looking for people to help promote the event and spread the word. I inboxed Sarah and connected me with their promo team.
I got all the information and was eager to share it with our Pastors and Worship Team.
Honestly, as a worship team, we were on a plateau and really needed something like this. Plus, it's always good to get outside of your own box and see what other worship teams are doing to get inspiration and impartation.
We had roughly 20 worship team members, family and friends join us at Grace Church (the host church for the Worship Night). It was great seeing everyone laughing, smiling and standing with great expectation for the worship experience.
And now for the part you've been waiting for....
Last night was the final stop of Bethel Music's Worship Nights for the month of May. For the past month, worship leaders: Amanda Cook, Steffany Frizzell-Gretzinger, Matt Stinton and Hunter Thompson have been pouring their hearts out in worship, along with a great team of musicians, intercessors and other ministry leaders, throughout the Midwest.
I wish I'd taken more pics and videos but honestly, I had one thing on my mind and that was to encounter the presence of God.
This wasn't your typical concert or show. This was singing, dancing, worshipping, praising, revelation, hope being restored, deliverance, gifts being stirred and a host of other things, individually and corporately. The experience lasted close to 3 hours but it seemed like there was just a seamless flow from song to song to revelation and declaration.
They sang songs from Bethel's large repertoire including: Our Father, Give Me Jesus, One Thing Remains, I Will Exalt, You Make Me Brave and more.
I really loved the spontaneous worship moments. Each worship leader held their own and flowed prophetically in song, declaration, visions, prayer. And they were "walking heavy..." (That's a Kenny-ism meaning they were really ministering specifically to the needs of the people.)
It was awesome to see God ministering to our team (But that's from what I could see because half the time I was GONE in my own zone with the Lord....lol). I loved seeing my wife worship. There's something super attractive about seeing your wife encounter Jesus. ;-)
When we were leaving the concert, she and I were sharing our experiences from that night. God really reminded us of who we are in Him, our role as believers and the power and authority we've been given to see heaven invade earth. These were all things we've heard in the past but it was like we got a gentle reminder last night.
Today, I'm still in awe from that experience. I spent much of the day, feasting on the word and some of the tunes we heard last night. We bought like 4 CDs last night! lol! Hey, when you encounter God's presence like that, you gotta sow an offering.
If Bethel Music Worship Nights is ANYWHERE in your vicinity over the next few months, make plans to be there and invite all your friends and family. You guys will enjoy it and leave empowered!
If anyone has attended one of the worship nights thus far, what was your experience like? I'd love to hear what you guys heard or saw.
