Music is one of the most powerful tools we have to communicate anything!
In fact, Socrates back in 120 BC said- "Let me write the music of a
land and I care not who writes it's laws." The church is really no
exception. We are defined by our music style, and that style has to be
authentic to who we are as people, as Christians and as a culture. That's
why we at Hope take our commitment to music so seriously. It is more than
notes and words– it's an extension of our soul and heart– reaching out
to God in worship and to people in presentation. So what makes hope music different? The music at hope is built on two
simple concepts– Excellence and Transparency. Excellence in that we know that un-churched (and churched) people
have great taste in music and are expecting the best! The standards have
been raised by our sound and sight generation– we must keep up if we are
going to impact. Transparency has to do with who we are while we are "on
stage." Anything that we do to draw attention to ourselves removes it
from God and so it becomes nothing more than performance. This is a balance
that is hard to define, and quite personal– bearing in mind our call to
the un-churched. We don't want to freak anyone out! For me, if I stood still
to worship, that would be distraction. For someone else, if they moved
during worship, it would be a distraction. The guiding principle – be
genuine in who you are, but, recognize that the un-churched person is our
target! What style of music is Hope Music? Hope Music is best
described as jazz and R & B influenced, energetic, meditative, rockin'
and alive music that is simply an outgrowth of our Pastor's heart and
experience. Mike is a professional musician with a varied background of
touring, performing and recording– so to put our music in one category–
you'd have to say it's inspired! Do you have to be a professional? No, but because we do so
much material with little rehearsal time– you need to be very proficient
on your instrument and be able to read charts. Do you need vocalists? Yes– we need vocalists and Choir
members– again, you need to be able to pick up quickly, sing a part and
have confidence in your voice and pitch. What about orchestra instruments? The vision of this church is
to reach those who don't go to church with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The
music is designed to be like "regular radio", so we will stick
with combo instruments (guitar, bass drums, keys, sax etc.) as the regular
instrumentation. At times, we may branch into other areas for specials–
but who knows? Dave Matthews music sounds cool with violin and rhythm
section!! Let us know what you play and we'll see how to use it! When do you practice? Since we don't yet have a building, we
will practice on Sundays at 8:00 SHARP!! With the level of players we have,
and with advance tapes we should have no problems with a quick run through. Will we ever do other things? YES! There are tons of
opportunities to play– both as outreach and as some gigs. What's the point
of great music if we can't share it with others? Want to know more? Contact Mike at 