Hello! I would just love to update everyone on what I have been up to for the past 3 months and what I plan on doing in the near future! Most of you know that I have been in Germany, more specifically a village named Krögis, attending the Steiger Missions School. The program is centered around musicians and artists learning how to use their art and talents to glorify God and spread the gospel to the (Steiger coined term) "Global Youth Culture". That term just means this generation of youth from all backgrounds and countries all over the world. Steiger teaches how to stay relative to this growing culture.
It is similar to my past experience with Youth With A Mission but just a little bit more intense. First off, during the duration of the school, the staff and students go on a media fast! Which entails no movies, tv, and very limited internet. This took place so that we could focus completely on the school and seeking God. I really appreciated the time away from internet and such, although as I have been learning that I have missed a lot that has happened in the United States (and all over the world for that matter) while I have been gone!
Secondly, we spent every weekend doing outreach in different places. These include working at a cafe in Dresden and using music and art to reach the locals, going to different festivals in Germany and Poland, including the art and music festival Slot Art Festival, the infamous Woodstock, and finally the Dresden City Festival. While at these festivals we ran the same cafe we had at Dresden but in a large spherical tent called Sfera. We would reach people by having music playing, have Ted Talks that shared the Gospel, or meals that we could share together. Along with all of that, Stieger also started a evangelistic band named No Longer Music in the 1980s to reach the punks in Amsterdam, led by the now school leader, David Pierce. The band still performs today all over Europe, and northern Asia but is made up of new members almost every year and caters to a different genre to be relative to todays culture. They have also started a band to tour in the United States named Cosmonaut, which performs the same songs and dramas included in the show. They have reached thousands and thousands of people through their performances and many of those of who have seen the performance, gave their life to Christ! There are also other bands that are under Steiger that performs regular and shares the gospel evidently in their shows. These bands include the American group White Collar Sideshow, which is more of a horror typeshow that reaches many people at halloween festivals, horror film festivals, and other groups alike. Also the band Nuteki from Russia is very similar to the genre and style of No Longer Music. All of these band performed at the festivals we attended, and our job was to reach out to people that had seen the shows and see how the felt or if they wanted to know Christ. Finally, the group Suitcase Sideshow, a marionette and musical act from the United States, works with Stieger and shares the gospel in a very unique way! The day to day at Stieger was filled with lessons from speakers from all over the world. The lessons ranged from learning how to seek God more and in new ways to workshops about how to practically start an evangelistic band or a community house.
Our daily schedule included lessons every day from speakers from all over the world focusing on different aspects of art and media, missions, and God. They used a lot of hands-on content and activities as well as lectures. I learned a lot from these, again which were all very practical, but I learned the most actually putting them into practice on outreach. There was also different activities that we could partake in to take advantage of the school that we were attending. One of these opportunities was to utilize the newly built studio on the campus. I was able to form a band named, From The Breath Of lions, and record an EP album! The concept is a fusion of passionate spoken word poetry and melodic-hardcore punk music. All while the school was happening, there was a transition with the organization was taking place. Come&Live!, a non-profit record label which supports evangelistic artists based out of Nashville, and Steiger joined forces and became one. Which, in turn, created opportunities to pursue an internship through them after the school. Because of the merge, Come&Live! will be based out of Minneapolis starting this September1st*. I was offered an Internship for Come&Live! that will be taking place late this year. Along with the Internship, I was asked to go on tour with White Collar Sideshow in the southeast United States from October 16th-November 16th. I agreed to both opportunities and will be heading towards them! These opportunities will train me more specifically to obtain the ever-growing dream and calling I have to become a full time musician under Come& Live!, sharing the Gospel and reaching out to people in the Global Youth Culture , as well as, managing tours and bands and doing all the behind-the-scenes work that is involved in the music industry.
* for more information visit comeandlive.com and steiger.org
This is where you can get involved! In order to do this I am starting to raise monthly support and/or one time donations to go towards housing, food, travel, producing and releasing the album and other necessities as I pursue becoming a full time missionary and musician. If you would like to support me in any way possible including, financial, prayerfully, with encouragement, conversations, or any way please let me know! I would love to meet with you and my contact info is above. Thank you for supporting me in any way that you have including reading this letter! Its more appreciated than you can even imagine!
THANK YOU!
It is similar to my past experience with Youth With A Mission but just a little bit more intense. First off, during the duration of the school, the staff and students go on a media fast! Which entails no movies, tv, and very limited internet. This took place so that we could focus completely on the school and seeking God. I really appreciated the time away from internet and such, although as I have been learning that I have missed a lot that has happened in the United States (and all over the world for that matter) while I have been gone!
Secondly, we spent every weekend doing outreach in different places. These include working at a cafe in Dresden and using music and art to reach the locals, going to different festivals in Germany and Poland, including the art and music festival Slot Art Festival, the infamous Woodstock, and finally the Dresden City Festival. While at these festivals we ran the same cafe we had at Dresden but in a large spherical tent called Sfera. We would reach people by having music playing, have Ted Talks that shared the Gospel, or meals that we could share together. Along with all of that, Stieger also started a evangelistic band named No Longer Music in the 1980s to reach the punks in Amsterdam, led by the now school leader, David Pierce. The band still performs today all over Europe, and northern Asia but is made up of new members almost every year and caters to a different genre to be relative to todays culture. They have also started a band to tour in the United States named Cosmonaut, which performs the same songs and dramas included in the show. They have reached thousands and thousands of people through their performances and many of those of who have seen the performance, gave their life to Christ! There are also other bands that are under Steiger that performs regular and shares the gospel evidently in their shows. These bands include the American group White Collar Sideshow, which is more of a horror typeshow that reaches many people at halloween festivals, horror film festivals, and other groups alike. Also the band Nuteki from Russia is very similar to the genre and style of No Longer Music. All of these band performed at the festivals we attended, and our job was to reach out to people that had seen the shows and see how the felt or if they wanted to know Christ. Finally, the group Suitcase Sideshow, a marionette and musical act from the United States, works with Stieger and shares the gospel in a very unique way! The day to day at Stieger was filled with lessons from speakers from all over the world. The lessons ranged from learning how to seek God more and in new ways to workshops about how to practically start an evangelistic band or a community house.
Our daily schedule included lessons every day from speakers from all over the world focusing on different aspects of art and media, missions, and God. They used a lot of hands-on content and activities as well as lectures. I learned a lot from these, again which were all very practical, but I learned the most actually putting them into practice on outreach. There was also different activities that we could partake in to take advantage of the school that we were attending. One of these opportunities was to utilize the newly built studio on the campus. I was able to form a band named, From The Breath Of lions, and record an EP album! The concept is a fusion of passionate spoken word poetry and melodic-hardcore punk music. All while the school was happening, there was a transition with the organization was taking place. Come&Live!, a non-profit record label which supports evangelistic artists based out of Nashville, and Steiger joined forces and became one. Which, in turn, created opportunities to pursue an internship through them after the school. Because of the merge, Come&Live! will be based out of Minneapolis starting this September1st*. I was offered an Internship for Come&Live! that will be taking place late this year. Along with the Internship, I was asked to go on tour with White Collar Sideshow in the southeast United States from October 16th-November 16th. I agreed to both opportunities and will be heading towards them! These opportunities will train me more specifically to obtain the ever-growing dream and calling I have to become a full time musician under Come& Live!, sharing the Gospel and reaching out to people in the Global Youth Culture , as well as, managing tours and bands and doing all the behind-the-scenes work that is involved in the music industry.
* for more information visit comeandlive.com and steiger.org
This is where you can get involved! In order to do this I am starting to raise monthly support and/or one time donations to go towards housing, food, travel, producing and releasing the album and other necessities as I pursue becoming a full time missionary and musician. If you would like to support me in any way possible including, financial, prayerfully, with encouragement, conversations, or any way please let me know! I would love to meet with you and my contact info is above. Thank you for supporting me in any way that you have including reading this letter! Its more appreciated than you can even imagine!
THANK YOU!