I started performing as an artist in 2006. I learned to play guitar so that I could
accompany myself when singing in church. I had only started singing alone to
accompaniment CDs a few years before, but I had been singing in church choirs
since I was little. I longed to be a part of a worship team, but my current
church did not have one and was not likely to start one any time soon. About that time we had moved to Oley and
that church was over 30 minutes away.
We decided to look for another church – one with a contemporary worship
team – that was closer to our new farm.
We found one and started attending and doing all the things they said I
needed to do if I was interested in becoming part of the worship team. Long story short, I jumped through all their
hoops and in the end the worship team seemed to be a closed group and I was
never going to be a part of it.
But God had other plans for me…I left that church after an incident that hurt me to my very
core. I will leave out the
details. But God kept tugging at my
heart with music. Some of my early
songs have inspiration from that part of my life. I realized that God was calling me to do more than just do music
for the church, but He had a much bigger plan for me. I decided to try singing outside the church.
When I first started performing, I sang other Contemporary
Christian artists’ songs. Shortly after
my first performance at a Coffee House I started writing my own songs. I have now written nearly 50 songs and I
have released 3 CDs and my 4th will be released soon. And yet, although I have been told things
like “you have such a beautiful voice” and “your songs have so much meaning”
and “I love your music”, I still have not been able to really grow my music
ministry. I feel like I have hit a
plateau.
When I first got the email from Incubator, I was a little
suspicious. What intrigued me was that
they were offering me a free training session called “The Non-Nashville
Blueprint”. It talked about a model
that would allow artists to have a successful music ministry that didn’t
involve moving to Nashville or even touring the country. This was very interesting to me. You may know that I am married to a farmer
and he runs a family-run dairy with two of his brothers and other family
members. It is not something that we
can move elsewhere and I was interested in growing my ministry, but also
blooming where I was planted – since my roots go pretty deep here.
So, I thought “what have I got to lose?” I signed up for the training and really
liked what they were saying. They
offered more free training and I took more, really liking what they were
proposing. They have this saying “you
know it’s a calling because it keeps on calling” and that is EXACTLY how I felt
about my ministry. I just didn’t know
how to grow being centered in Oley, PA.
I was also very frustrated with the typical music business and how they
operate. Not only is it a basically
secular industry (even most of the Christian labels have been taken over by
secular labels), but I have heard horror stories about how the label is the
only one that makes any money and how they like to change your music to what
they think would be more popular. Their
main goal is to sell CDs to lots of people.
It’s the only way they make money.
You have to get in front of large crowds and sell lots of CDs to be
successful in the traditional music business.
I found Incubator a breath of fresh air!
I feel that God has called me to a ministry that has a
higher purpose than just selling music.
Don’t get me wrong – music is what I do. It’s the whole reason I have a ministry at all. I just feel there is more of a message to
give to those that really need it than just through songs. I have always had a heart for the lost and
the searching. These are the people
that need to hear the messages that God has blessed me with in my music. Many times, I find that the people that are
most hard up are the ones that need my ministry the most. I have been working with a church in
Pottstown almost as long as I have been performing. I have grown while ministering to those they help. They have free meals and a worship service especially
for the homeless and down and out. I
have learned that while ministering to them, I am blessed as much as I hope
they are blessed. They have such
appreciation and kindness there. They
are the kind of people that most need ministering to. They typically do not have the money to even buy a CD if they
want one.
The Incubator model allows me to minister in places that
need it, not just the ones that can afford it.
I can be a missionary right here in my own back yard – a
musicianary. I can fulfill God’s
calling on my life – right where I am.
I just need people to believe in me and join me in my ministry. Incubator has given me the encouragement
that I needed at the time that I needed it the most. They will help me develop my ministry and keep me on track. I truly believe that God orchestrates our
lives by putting people in our lives in order to help us follow the path he has
for us. As I look back on my life and
specifically my ministry, I can see God’s fingerprints all over it. I am so excited to see where He leads me
next!
