CEE Story From The Mission Field
A House of Prayer
May 11, 2008
As the singer began the first verse of ‘How Great Thou Art,’ many believers in the audience stood to their feet. By the time the choir joined in and the song was at its apex, the entire room—all 1200 people—were standing and singing in unison.
This wasn’t a church service; in fact, it didn’t even take place in a church. This company of people had come together at Moscow’s International House of Music to hear an American choir and orchestra perform ‘A History of American Spiritual Music.’ The event was the brainchild of David Sams*, team leader of the Moscow Arts Team; and Global Missions Project, an organization dedicated to winning the lost through music. Two years of planning culminated in a night that exceeded their expectations.
“It defies description,” David said. “I was standing there with my family just saying, ‘Thank you Jesus, you answered our prayers.’”
David began to prayer walk around the building even as the event’s details were still being ironed out. At first it was just he and his team and then he began to take others. Every volunteer group that came to Moscow, Russia to work with David on a project made at least one trip to the International House of Music to prayer walk for the upcoming gala event. As David and his teams walked around the property in the middle of Moscow, they felt a little like Joshua at Jericho.
“I can’t tell you how many times we marched around that building,” he said. “If you counted each person that came and each time he circled the place, I’m sure it would be in the hundreds.”
They prayed each time that God would take that secular structure and, on that night when the choir would sing, make it a house of prayer.
“The prayer walking was well worth it,” David said. “He answered in such a powerful way.”
The 20-voice choir had learned songs to mark the musical progression of American spiritual music, from early hymns to the more modern sound of the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir. By using a historical theme, David and GMP hoped to draw a more academic crowd of lost Russians, and not just Russian believers. Even more importantly, they hoped to provide a forum to reach lost musicians. The MAT is unique in the fact that they are not trying to use the arts to reach the masses, but to reach the artists. To them, the 1200 people in the audience were not as exciting as the non-believing Russian musicians who were playing with the American orchestra.
“We wanted to find non-believers to plug into the orchestra and we were successful,” David said. “There were several Russian string players with us that night and our prayer was that through the rubbing of shoulders with the American believers, they would be affected.”
God answered that prayer. After the concert Iasa, a Russian viola player, came up to David and expressed what was in his heart.
“You know this music was not difficult and I didn’t expect too much from it,” he said, “but it moved me. I can’t really describe how it touched me.”
Iasa doesn’t know a word of English and all he could hear that night was the musical notes, but the Spirit was moving and he felt it. Today Iasa is going to a Russian Baptist church with Andre, a friend who was also in the orchestra that night
“He hasn’t come to faith yet, but he’s going to church every Sunday,” David said. “We believe he will be saved soon.”
With a 200-voice choir and a 60-instrument orchestra the project was a massive effort on the part of David’s team and GMP, but it was well worth it. It was received so well by the Arts Community that it bolstered credibility for the team and opened doors for future events.
“It was an amazing event,” David said.
*Names were changed for security purposes
Story Written by Karen Pearce