Music Stars SHINE LIGHT on ‘Ministry’ at NGU


Four big-name musicians who attended North Greenville University returned to campus last fall to share their perspective on music min- istry — an occasion that drew a crowd full of students and aspiring musicians.


NGU was Poetry Writing with Dr. Gregory Bruce.


Tis special Baptist Collegiate Ministry (BCM) event, the first in a series titled CrossExam- ined, featured a panel discussion with several successful artists in genres ranging from praise and worship to rock and roll.


“In this new series, we ask questions to people who have faith in Jesus Christ and are work- ing full-time in the ministry we’re examining, which in this case was music,” says Joshua Gilmore (’05, MACM ’07), director of BCM at NGU. “Te hope is that we can equip every- one in how to think as a Christian about these different areas of ministry.”


“We would make coffee and move all the seats out of the way in the room, and we would turn off the lights and turn on Christmas lights and sit there and read poetry. . . . Writing poetry together and getting our thoughts out in a way that was more of an artistic expression was something that really helped me,” Carva- jal remembers. “Tat class was weird enough to make me feel like I could be creative and worship God.”


Even though his band isn’t in the Christian music industry, Carvajal feels that music is his way of serving the Lord, he said in the panel.


for the song “Death Was Arrested,” serving at North Point Community Church.


Gilmore, in fact, attended NGU with all four of the now full-time musicians who participat- ed in the panel: Mikey Carvajal, lead vocalist with alternative metal band Islander; Seth Con- drey, a Dove Award-winning Christian artist; Charlee Buitrago (’05) of NewSpring Worship; and Jacob Johnson, independent guitarist and singer-songwriter.


Tey all have more than a decade of experience to draw from in answering the question “How do you minister through music?”


After studying interdisciplinary studies at NGU, Carvajal — with his band Islander — signed his first record label in 2013. With two EPs and two studio albums under its belt, the band has shared stages with similar rock groups, such as Papa Roach and Linkin Park. In the panel, he said the class that most helped him develop as an artist and a Christian at


CRO


Condrey admitted in the panel that the church, where most of his music ministry happens, can be “a great place to hide.” He says he must still make a “daily decision” to be with Jesus.


“We just need more kingdom kids, whatever we’re doing, wherever we are, taking the light,” Condrey said.


EXAM


As Condrey’s co-writer for the album, Buitrago shared in the success of his Dove Award for “De Corazon a Corazon.” He is now an artist with NewSpring Worship, continuing to write worship songs in Spanish. He released his latest album, “Poderoso,” in 2018.


“Whatever you do in this life — whether it’s serving at a restaurant, if it’s being an astronaut . . . do it as a witness to people. And [because] you’re serving [Jesus],” Carvajal shared.


Condrey agreed to the impact Bruce had on him. He remembered he was “dealing with a faith crisis” during his time as a Christian studies major at NGU, but Bruce and Dr. Bill Murray both came alongside him.


“[Tey] saw me searching creatively and also with my relationship with Christ, and they leaned in . . . [and] allowed me to explore ques- tions,” he mentioned. “Tat’s what happened here for me.”


After his time at NGU, Condrey recorded his first worship album, “My All,” in 2004. He’s since released four more, earning a Gospel Music Association (GMA) Dove Award for Spanish Language Album of the Year in 2008 for “De Corazon a Corazon.” Today, he’s a prominent worship leader, perhaps best known


Buitrago first came to NGU to play soccer. At the time, he “hardly spoke English” and had “never even opened the Bible before.”


He came to Christ when friends like Gilmore reached out to him.


“Tey had a heart for people like me that didn’t feel like they fit in,” he remembers.


His roommates went on to encourage him to get involved in the worship for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) chapels on Friday mornings, so he did.


“Tat’s how, in a way, I got started [in music],” he says.


Johnson, on the other hand, first started play- ing the guitar when he was 15. After a handful of albums and EPs and years playing with the likes of Tommy Emmanuel, Phil Keaggy, and Grammy winner Victor Wooten, he continues


10 | NGU.EDU


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32