Music’s Role in Ministry: An Open Letter to Youth Ministers

By After Edmund • Jul 11th, 2008 • Category: Artists in Residence

I write to you at a chaotic moment in our world. Myanmar and China have both just experienced epic losses of life; the world of Christian music mourns over the tragic accident in the family of Steven Curtis Chapman; we are all currently shackled on the edge of an energy and economic crisis while wars have infected nations all across the globe. You and I certainly feel the pulse of a painful world – one in need of relief and restoration. And I wonder how this constant barrage of difficulty affects the students that I as a musician and you as a youth leader are committed to serve? Being young has never been easy, but this generation has grown up in an age of abundant and free information. Information that, overall, falls far short of being wholesome and can quickly overload their fragile hearts. How, are we as leaders and ministers of the GOOD NEWS suppose to get through to our constantly distracted target audience and what will be our answer to a messed up world?

I’ve always found that the times of trouble in my life simply amplify my need for a Savior. When I’m distraught over the world around me, Christ then has the greatest opportunity to rock my universe. My need necessitates my call for God. Because of these experiences, I know for certain that our God is the antidote to this fallen world’s invasion into our lives. For me, it was the love of Christian people during my childhood that showed me where to turn when trouble came my way. Later in life, during those rocky teenage years, I was fundamentally impacted by the ministry of the band Delirious?. Their concerts were truly life changing events for me. Their albums projected, so clearly, God’s love and His longing to know me, and that pushed me closer to Christ.

I’ve discovered that music is a powerful instrument of influence. And ironically, God has catapulted me into a position of influence through music. I’m amazed how God has used After Edmund’s music to reach students and draw them to Himself. Every single week we get emails/messages from young people who tell us how After Edmund’s music and ministry has pushed them closer to God. Songs from our album like “Clouds,” “Come and Rain Down,” and “Fighting for Your Heart” tell directly of our struggles as humans but also of our rescue by the Divine. And students have related to that. God has used the foolishness of our music to alter the lives of hundreds of people. For that I am both humbled and forever thankful.

God challenged After Edmund early on to reach out and be more than musicians on a stage. We’ve discovered that all of us, every Christian, no matter what vocation they’re in, cannot escape the call of the Great Commission. We’ve seen God pull people from drug addictions, cutting, depression, and suicide right in the middle of some cheesy Christian concert or after the concert when we invite people to ask for prayer while we’re hanging out, or at their home when it’s just them and an mp3 player. It’s been quite amazing. All of this has been the undeniable evidence of the hand of the Almighty at work.

But let’s be completely honest. It’s really hard for After Edmund to get into the headphones for your students. For a lot of people, even the thought of “Christian music” will cause a gag reflex. Their impression of Christian’s music is what their mom listens to on inspirational radio, and that impression is rarely musically relevant to their lives. Many times it pushes youth toward the plethora of raunchy music available today - music that by any standard would never pass Paul’s litmus test in Phl 4:8. But you can help! You can be the one to introduce your students to the great wealth and diversity of Christian music today. It’s going to take you spinning records at youth events, and dragging students to concerts where great, culturally relevant music, and most importantly, ministry is taking place. That is what can turn student’s passion for music into a healthy habit and into a passion for God.

It is with these tools that we, together, can help people follow Christ and make it through tough times in this hurting world. At the end of the day, all that matters is that you and I together go tell the world the good news: our Savior has come! He alone can complete us and heal our scars and make life worth living. I do that with music, while you’re in the trenches making the relationships that will have an eternal impact. Let do ministry together; we simply can’t do it without you.

- Yates of After Edmund

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