A Letter from the Music Coordinator
In the run-up to Christmas, 20schemes music put on a mini-tour of the U.K. visiting some of the 20schemes church plants providing them with a rehearsed group of musicians for the purpose of putting on a carol service. The aim of the tour was to encourage each planting team and to assist them in making the most of the unique opportunities Christmas provides to share the good news of Jesus with people who might otherwise be unlikely to attend other kinds of Church event during the year.
A careful selection of familiar carols containing profound truths such as: Jesus “rules the world with truth and grace”[1] yet was not born in splendour but on an ordinary ‘silent night’ and came that “God and sinners..” might be “..reconciled”[2] was sung throughout the schemes of Scotland, along with “Go Tell It On The Mountain that Jesus Christ Is Born” during which we encouraged the many kids who attended to either batter percussion instruments or dance like absolute nutters, which like kids do, they did (my own included). Over the 2 weeks of the tour, it was such a privilege to join with so many believers and unbelievers alike all singing together that “Christ, the Saviour of the world, He has come!”[3].
With the exciting evangelistic opportunity this tour posed, we wanted to speak honestly about the need for Christmas – the broken-ness of this world, the need for salvation because of our sin:
For God so loved this broken world
With all its sadness, all its pain
He sent His one and only Son
To take our guilt and bear our shame[4]
We wanted to ensure that the cross was proclaimed and that Jesus’s purpose in coming as a baby and His significance as the “Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing”[5] was clearly explained.
Nails, spears shall pierce Him through
The Cross He bore for me, for you
Hail, hail the Word made flesh the Babe
The Son of Mary[6]
We also sang the Sovereign Grace Music version of ‘O Come, O Come Emmanuel’ which includes helpful additional gospel centred verses:
O come, our great High Priest, and intercede
Thy sacrifice, our only plea
The judgment we no longer fear
Thy precious blood has brought us near
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Has banished every fear of hell[7]
Each song and carol was prayerfully selected for its truth and clarity and ordered in the programme to complement the readings from God’s word taken from Isaiah 9 and John’s gospel chapter 1 as well as the 10-minute gospel talk given by the pastor of each scheme.
It was a blessing to visit the various scheme churches around Scotland (and Northern England) and join with them in proclaiming the real meaning of Christmas. I am so grateful to all the musicians and singers from 20schemes who gave up their limited time in an already crazy busy month to travel with me and serve each church plant. Thank you to everyone who prayed for this tour; be encouraged and thankful to the Lord that at every carol service there were new faces who attended their local church for the first time and heard the gospel. Please keep praying that contact with these people will be maintained and developed and that souls will be saved as the gospel is continually proclaimed on each scheme. Please keep praying for the teams in Bingham, Merkinch, Gracemount, Barlanark, the other 20schemes churches, and our friends in Middlesbrough that whilst we did the easy bit – putting on an event – they would be encouraged and spurred on to persevere seeking to reach the lost in their local communities throughout 2019 and beyond.
Sol Fenne, 20schemes Music Coordinator
[1] Joy To The World – Isaac Watts
[2] Hark The Herald Angels Sing – Charles Wesley
[3] A Christmas Alleluia – Chris Tomlin
[4] What Christmas Is All About – 20schemes music
[5] O Come All Ye Faithful – John Francis Wade
[6] What Child Is This? – William Chatterton Dix
[7] O Come, O Come Emmanuel – Sovereign Grace Music (additional verse)