Look How Far We’ve come!

Recently, my friend Vanessa and I attended a CD release show for a dear friend of mine. We were excited to have a day away and just spend some time together as friends. We lead worship together on many Sunday mornings, and we were eagerly anticipating some quality time to explore our friendship.
The concert spanned almost two hours, and as we made our way into the lobby outside of the auditorium, we marveled at how two hours had passed so quickly. We raved about the beautiful music and how we could have listened to the band play for hours on end. I told Vanessa that it was remarkable how far Anna and her band had come since their early days in the music industry. Anna had performed at our local coffeehouse a few times, and I remember catching one of her early shows with Erica. (Erica and I had been performing together quite often, and like my recent concert outing with Vanessa, Erica and I had taken the time to attend a concert as friends and fellow music lovers). I remember being inspired by Anna’s music even then back in 2008 and 2009. I never could have dreamed that her music could get any better than it already was at that time. But after attending her recent concert, hearing her Nashville-based band, and getting a taste of their new music, I was blown away all over again. “Look how far they’ve come!” I marveled to Vanessa. I was proud of Anna, her sister, and the whole band. I could see the progress made and that made the end result of the CD release show so incredible.
After the concert as Vanessa and I lingered over dinner, we began talking about our role as worship leaders and the ever-evolving structure of our ministry. Over the past few years, our congregation has been seeking forward movement— striving for growth and developing new ministries in hopes of carrying our church into the future generation. Vanessa and I have been leading worship throughout this process and have slowly but surely seen growth in our team, OneVoice, and in the church in general. We have felt the Holy Spirit move in our midst as we lifted up songs, and some Sunday mornings are far too incredible for words.
But it hasn’t always been this way. There have been moments along the journey where progression forward has seemed less than stellar. For the most part, we have been living in the moment, just trying to stay afloat in this time of transition. But as Vanessa and I took a moment to look back, particularly from four years ago to today, we found we had truly come a long way as a church. Four years ago, we never would have dreamed we would be leading worship and bringing the congregation before the throne of God with our humble songs of praise. But it isn’t just the worship ministry that has undergone change. There is a great sense of anticipation for spiritual renewal on the horizon, and week by week, month by month, we are moving toward a stronger and deeper ministry together as the Body of Christ.
Like the Anna Johnson Band, we had grown and changed. The progress wasn’t always visible, but in looking back on how far we had come, it was obvious. God has been working in our midst, and we feel truly honored to be a part of this journey. We stand in awe of His provision for our joint ministry through worship in the local church. Look how far we’ve come— God, OneVoice, and the church at large. To God be the glory, great things He has done!