Missions in Music and the Arts

In North and South America, the lofty goals of World Mission are bursting forth in artistic expression musical and otherwise. The eruptions are occuring in unlikely places. The most unlikely of all may be in Peru.

Peru, South America

—John Holzmann
Kerygma Canta came into existence 7 years ago as an expression of AMEN (Missionary Association for Evangeliz. anon of the Nations), an indigenous Peruvian mission.

You're not sure what to expect at one of their concerts when they come booming into the hail. Playing musical instruments that date back to the Inca empire, the group members display unusual vigor and joy in singing their praises to the Lord.

Last fall, when they held a concert at the U.S. Center for World Mission, I was so impressed with the mere mechanics of theft playing, let alone the unbelievable sounds they were producing, that tears came to my eyes. "Oh, Lord!" 1 marveled. "What will it be like in heaven with all the different peoples playing and singing their own music on their own instrurnents"

That concert will stick in my memory for a long time.

Obed Alvarez, AMEN's founder and director said, "As national missionaries, we sew the importance of using folk music in mobilizing our young people towards the evangelization of unreached peoples." A by product, not originally counted on, has been Kerygma's rote as a "bank" for the AMEN organization, The money they raise is being used to sponsor AMEN ministries.

"Before Kerygma came along," said Alvarez, "Latin Americans said, 'What can we do? We don't have money. We don't have resources. We can't send missionaries.' Ketygma changed all that. Now we have shown that we can send missionaries cot of our own resources, sponsored, in fact, by our own musicians playing our own instruments!" Surprise! truth is, we wouldn't give a cent for our first recording, Que rodos log Pueblos, escuchen la voz de Dim.

('Let All the Peoples Hear the Voice of God')," Alvarez confessed. 'We are embarrassed by the low quality. But according to the producer, it is the greatest seller in the history of the evangelicals in our country." More astounding: it is not only a bestseller in Peru, but throughout Latin America, and not only among evangelicals, but among nonbelievers as well. Surprise!

Seven years have passed since that first tape was made. The group now has 9 cassettes, U' records, and videos. Recently, they entered the secular market with a vengeance. You can find their recordings in secular music shops in larger cities throughout Latin America Kerygnia's latest tape is in Peru's Top 10. Surprise!

The need for indigenous Christian music in Peru, apparently, is acutely felt.

Alvarez said that prior to Kerygma, it was a geraerafly accepted idea among Christians that only the piano, organ, and electric guitar were appropriate instruments for sacred music. Indeed, Kerygma's first concert was held in a school gymnasium. The Christians in attendance were very happy to listen to the group play all forms of traditional music as long as it had no "spiritual" implications. But when they dared to play hymns, the people rebelled. 'If this school stands for such sacrilege," Said one man a Peruvian national I Will withdraw my support!"

'Christians had the idea," said Alvarez, 'that the traditional Inca instruments and traditional Inca music belonged strictly to the pagans and demon possessed. We have become aware, however, that heaven is filled with all kinds of instruments: zampo nas, quenas, bombos, charangos They all praise His name, and they can all serve as tools in the hands of Gods missionaries."

"We believe that in the same way God touched and transformed us. He has touched the musical instruments of our Inca culture. They have been converted to Christ and are giving their testimony not only in our Latin American continent, but throughout the world."

Alvarez said there are now more than 60 folk groups that have been started in Peru and the rest of South America following Kerygina's lead, "A special joy for us is that these groups are characterized by missionary vision," he said. "We praise God!"

Not content merely to testily to their own countrymen, Kerygma has appeared throughout Latin America, the United States, and Europe. While in France in 1984, not only Frenchmen, but Muslims, too. came to the Lord through their ministry. 'We had not expected that they would like our music especially with its powerful Gospel message." said Alvarez. But convert they did, along with Frenchmen, Englishmen, Dutchmen, Swiss ....Alvarez tells the story of a doctor, raised an evangelical, who went up to the group at the end of a cont in Germany. "I don't understand why you came from so far away just to preach to us, especially when you are so poor... he said. After an awkward silence, he asked, "Tell me. How many true Christians are there in Latin America?"

He was surprised by the group's response: "In Chile, 3 million; in Brazil, 13 million; in Guatemala, 25 percent of the population "Stop!" he cried, "That's enough."

As many of you as want to come, come. And if you don't have money, we'll support you. But come. Because in Germany we haven't reached even 1 percent evangelical."

Texas, U.S.A.

Kerygma's may be the most sensational, but it is not by any means the only musical or artistic expression of missionary fervor.

In 1982, recording artist Keith

Green, from Lindale, Texas, was one of the rust of a whole raft of North American artists to express world concern. Just months before he died in July that year, he caught the vision for moving out to the front lines. He visited the U.S. Center for World mission only two weeks before he died. Green's last written work, not yet completed the day he died, was "Why YOU Should Go to the MISSION HELD." That manuscript, now a 4page, 8 1(2" x 14" tract, gives 8 positive masons for going to the field and responds to 15 objections people commonly raise for not going. (Copies may be obtained at a cost of "whatever you can afford" from Last Days Ministries, Box 40, Lindale, TX 757710040. Order LO#43.)One of Green's last conceits was recorded on video, Many people say it was a providence of God that that was done. The tape became the basis for "Keith Green Memorial Concerts"stirring vocal and musical appeals to forsake all and go to the front lines.

"If God hasn't specifically told you to stay, then you are commanded to go," Green said, Although the actual impact of Green's mission vision has never been measured, most of the hundreds of recruits that came from those concerts were referred to Youth With A Mission for training and experience."

In June 1985. almost three years after Greens death, a group of USCWMstaff members met for prayer to ask God to use musicians to spread frontier mission vision and to challenge the church to mission involvement.

Phil Bogosian, one of the leaders of the group, said they prayed for several artists by name. "Since that time, two of those for whom we prayed have approached us. I felt led to approach Jimmy and Carol Owens."

Bogosian called the Owenses to encourage them to write a musical concerning frontier missions, He was surprised by their response. 'We've been working for three years on a musical that has to do with giving." they said. 'but we've been having a very difficult time." Bogosian urged them to think of the purpose for which God gives us His blessings money, for instance. Isn't it in order that we might "bless all nations"? 'Perhaps the musical needs a mission focus," he suggested.

The Owenses prayed about Bogosian's challenge and a week later invited him to their home in Lindale to talk with them about frontier missions. He accepted their invitation. During the course of the discussion that ensued, the Owenses became convinced trial, indeed, God wanted them to write a musical with a mission focus. And so they worked for the next 5 months. In March this year, the final some was recorded. Come Together Again is the

USA and the World: Today and the Future Continental Singers, that venerable, upbeat group of college age young people is now singing "benefit concerts for Un,eached Peoples? That's what their program says. And someone has actually written a song for evangelical consumption that begins, "Lord, we know You're coming soon. we can see the signs. (But) Lord, I want to beg You for a little more time there are so many who don't know You. 0 Lord, there's still so much work to do!" ("What Can I Do?" by Dan Keen and Dick Tunney as sung by the Continental Singers).Can you believe it? Evangelicals are actually pleading with the Lord to slow His return so they can obey Him and fulfill His commandments? Duty before pleasure? Is it possible that concern for blessing others may actually be pushing desire for the Rapture the desire to obtain the full measure of one's personal blessings out of first place for Christians' attention?

It's true Frontier missions, completing the task of world evangelization, has begun to infiltrate the realm of North American popular Christian music. No more are the mission enthusiasts lonely voices crying in the wilderness. Even film makers am getting in on theact. And, if you took at the latest series put out by Regal (Worldview Books see reviews beginning p. 12), maybe even book publishers.

Scott Wesley Brown's music video "Kingdom of Love." recorded for MAP (Missionary Aviation Fellowship), rakes the tide cut from his album by the same name and plays it against a backdrop of scenes from the mission field. USCWM's Frontier Media Director Greg Parsons says, "It's a great ape for catching the attention of high schoolers?

Brown unexpectedly showed up at the Center not long ago and was interviewed by Bogosian. "I've written mission oriented songs before," said Brown, "but right now I'm in the middle of writing an album that is totally dedicated to the mission cause?

Through his concerts, Brown speaks to almost 15,000 young people a week. "He is very desirous that these young people get a mission vision and learn how to get involved in missions," said Bogosian, 'He's frustrated, because he wants to follow up on them but can't He said he wants to work with the Center in fulfilling that need?

Brown is so intent on pursuing a mission focus that he has committed himself to keep his concert schedule clear next January so he can attend the Perspectives program hem in Pasadena.

John Schmidt, producer of awardwinning films SuperChristian Kevin Can Wait, and The Greatest Story Never Told has just released The Wait of the World.

"As far as I'm concerned," he says. 'the Christian life should be one of commitment. Jesus demanded total loyalty from His Followers. 'Come, follow Me' is a full time proposition. Christ wants us completely sold out to Him, no holds barred?

According to Schmidt, The Wait of the world is the film more than all others he has released that "calls most clearly for a commitment to Christ and to a waiting world."Despite its quality (see review, p. 14), The Wait of the World has been the slowest of all Schmidts films to meet with popular approval. Part of the prob lem, he believes, is the film's length. At 87 minutes, it is closet to a movie theatre production than the standard fare most churches want to show during their Sunday evening services. To meet the problem, Schmidt and the film's distributor, Gospel Films, have recently decided to make it available in two parts so it can be viewed on consecutive Sundays rather than all at once.

At the same time, Schmidt wonders if prejudice against mission oriented material may have something to do with the film's slow start, "I had at least one person who is fairly well¬established in the Christian film making business try to 'warn' and discourage me about making The Wait of the World," he said.

"Mission films do not have a good track record in the market But it is the very fact that they have such a dismal record and that there's hardly anything out there that compelled me to make The Wait of the World. The message is too important to he stifled by the whims of the market?

Roberta Winter, co founder with her husband of the U.S. Center for World Mission, commented on this matter of marketing. "Zondervan recently informed us that the USCWM has sold more copies of Front Jerusalem to Irian Jaya (a top notch collection of missionmy biographies available from the Center for $10 see Order Page, inside back cover) than all the other booksellers in America combined," she said.

"I believe a lot of the apathy toward mission topics is due to poor marketing. Walk into any bookstore and you're bound to see displays touting selfimprovement books, books dealing with singleness, sexuality, and marriage. But will you ever see a major display on a book like From Jerusalem to It= Jaya? No! If it's even in the store, it'll be tucked away on some back shelf somewhere."

Yet despite the marketing problems they may face and, we're suit, without knowledge of the success of their brothers from Pent¬more and more Christian artists in the United States are expressing mission concern.

Schmidt, whose brother, Jim, is one of the tour directors for Continental Singers, said, "Last year they (the Continentals) worked with World Vision, and their thrust was more toward world relief. This year they're going straight for world evangelization. All Over the World, the musical they am presenting, is their most powerful statement so fat Song after song stresses the need to trim everything over to the Lord. 'Wake Up to the Call there are people dying to know. That's just one of the songs."

The list of Christian artists speaking out for missions is growing. We pray that the marketing people will one day catch up with them. Perhaps we really will see a church for every people by the year 2000M! For booking information on any of the groups mentioned in this article, use the order form on the inside back cover of this issue of Mission Frontiers.