Americana
The IGNITE youth choir presented “Americana” as their annual fundraiser. This money will help fund their music and ministry tour this summer. It was wonderful and I continue to hear how talented our youth are! I am so proud of them sharing their gifts and talents! As the Master of Ceremony told us, Americana is defined as “a genre of American music having roots in early folk and country music.” We enjoyed songs through the years, complete with concessions.
IGNITE started the evening off singing, “Dancing in the Street”. I always love a patriotic theme so when the Wee Cherubs came across the stage following the American flag and playing musical instruments, I was thrilled. The Children’s Choir performed “America The Beautiful” and The Beach Boys, “Surfin’ USA” and they were a hit! The IGNITE girls performed, “Heads Carolina, Tails California” and they were awesome. I think it is very special that we have an IGNITE Boys choir who sang, “Summer of ‘69” by Bryan Adams! The PVMC Men sang and acted out, “Oh, What A Beautiful Morning”! Who knew Pastor Barry could sing?! Not sure if their claps and kicks were supposed to be in sync? One of my favorites was when Ray Charles performed, “Georgia On My Mind!” WOW!
If we want to grow the body of Christ we must invest in our youth! Teaching them to grow in their relationship with God prepares them to serve Jesus, become future leaders and contribute to their church. God used young Timothy to pastor and lead the Ephesian church when he was a teenager. 1 Timothy 4:12 says, “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.” The Bible also refers to the faith of a child. Matthew 18:2-4 says, “He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: ‘Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.’” I am so proud of our youth!