You already have all the tools

During my stay at Varsity I bought a 12-string Yamaha guitar from a fellow student for R30.00 (about $3.00). Little did I know that this guitar would play a major role in my relationship with Christ. In 1998 a member of our church, Cynthia Meiring, called for interested parties to start a praise and worship music group in the church. I had a 12-string guitar and although I could only play a few basic cords, I was keen to join this group. Four of us got going but for various reasons it did not last long before the original group broke up. But this prompted Wendy Wallace, Linda Claasen and myself to have another go at getting a praise and worship group off the ground.

We got going in 1999 and I invited my best friend and road running partner, Mike Appelgryn, to join us. Mike is a very gifted guitar player who was sidelined from the church due to a previous bad experience with church politics. Hilary, his wife, has been praying for a long time that God would open the right doors for Mike to return to church. Here it was, her prayers have been answered – his talent and love for music would bring Mike back to church. Soon Andre du Plessis, a drummer, also joined the group and we practiced in Andre’s garage and started leading the praise and worship in church during some evening services.

Initially there was a lot of resistance against this band who made “live” music in church. For some this was a “no-go”. God had other plans though and he gave Mike Chapman and Wendy de Waal, the two resident ministers at Rustenburg Methodist Church the courage and strength to overcome the resistance and to persist with us as an amateur music group. Slowly but surely people got use to this new way of worship, we became better in leading the worship and soon we named our band Spirit Sound. God had a plan with Spirit Sound.

Since the band had made ourselves available to God we have subsequently ministered the Word through word and music in many places (from pubs to far away churches), written our own music, recorded 2 CDs and most importantly, have lead numerous people to the Lord. There have been many highlights as far as Spirit Sound goes, one being the email that I got from a person in New Zealand requesting permission for their church to sing some of our music in their church down under. You see, that R30, 12-string Yamaha guitar of mine is making music to the glory of God in a number of countries around the world. There is an opportunity to serve God with everything He puts in our hands!! We all have been given the necessary tools (talents and gifts) to serve and glorify God – just do it!! Spirit Sound has been applying our gifts of music for 15 years now and every time we praise and worship Him is still a blessing.

Charles

If and when this Testimony has spoken into your heart, please go to the Commitment page.

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