I was invited to be the worship leader for the Encounter Youth Choir Tour. Encounter is a 125 voice interdenominational youth choir from the greater Alton, IL area representing about 30 churches. Each year, for 40 years, this group has rehearsed from January – Easter, sang at a church each Sunday evening from Easter until July and then has gone on tour to some part of the country. This year, they traveled to Williamsburg,VA and Washington DC.
Several months ago, I received the invitation to be a part of this trip as the worship leader and though if fell during the Harvest summer team season, I sensed God leading me to go with them. I was joined by my cousin Sarah who used to be a part of the group when she was in high school and by Tyler Lynn, who was the Harvest Intern for 2012. During the week we got to listen to their concerts as they traveled around Williamsburg,VA and around WashingtonDC. We also got to see all the cool sites with them – Pentagon, Colonial Williamsburg,Jamestown, Smithsonian, etc.
We led worship in the evenings and we took part in the ministry overall. I was intrigued to be a part of the group because, outside of music in the evenings, I wasn’t in charge of anything and was free to informally hang out with sr. high students and leaders. I was along for the ride and it’s been a long time since I had that opportunity. Additionally, I was excited to see the structure of Encounter.
There were jobs for each leader and a specific number of leaders needed for the trip. This highly structured way to accomplishing the tour gave me some fresh insights into setting up events and ministries through Harvest.
I enjoyed serving with Encounter! Great job you all!