04 May From the Stage to the Booth
For as long as I can remember, playing drums in church is what I did. I was blessed by God with this musical ability and it is how I served Him and my church.
Up until 5 years ago, RBC London was a “church in a box”. We rented Banting high school each week and would set-up and teardown all of our gear and instruments before and after services. As a drummer, if I wanted to play drums, then I needed to set everything up to be able to do so. For all our musicians and production volunteers, it meant starting our day at 6:30am and leaving at 1:30pm. I would often have conversations with friends and family outside the church that thought we were “nuts” for putting that kind of time in. For those of us involved, it’s just what needed to be done for our church to be able to come together and worship and hear God’s Word. To be honest, I don’t remember anyone at that time having any problem with what God had called us to, and how we had to operate.
In 2012, as our teams grew, and our set-up and capabilities grew with them, it became apparent to our leadership that someone needed to be on-site each week to oversee the set-up/teardown process. As a volunteer I was not part of those conversations, but later found out that someone was me. I got to continue playing drums, while being on contract, getting paid. It was the best of both worlds!
In August 2015, we moved to our building and the contract position transitioned to a staff role. Our ministries exploded with the ability to meet every day/night of the week, not just Sundays. Almost every ministry in our church requires some sort of set-up or preparation ahead of time. Some require tech support on site during ministry times. The role had become very busy and needed a full commitment. I enjoyed this path God was taking me down, but up until now I was still able to play drums which is where my passion was.
Over time, it became apparent to me that I was being called to give up something I love for something I enjoyed. This was a job I was being paid for, but not yet a passion. In the past few years as drumming has taken a back seat, I can honestly say that God has turned church production into an absolute passion and desire to serve Him. I love what I do, but that did not happen overnight. I can tell you that if you stay faithful to what God is calling you to, it may seem strange at the time, and even something you don’t “want” to do, but he will use your faithfulness to mould and shape you according to His will like you never imagined. Do I miss drumming? Absolutely, and I still jump on any opportunity I get to play, but I’m where God wants me to be and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
