On Mission: Singing Churchmen to share the gospel in Ohio

See also: Singing Churchmen seeking scholarships for younger members

The upcoming spring tour for the South Carolina Baptist Singing Churchmen will take members of the choral group to Cleveland, Ohio, where they will spend nearly a week performing and spreading the gospel.

Comprised of worship pastors and music ministers from South Carolina Baptist churches, the Singing Churchmen will take about 40 men on the trip from April 25 to May 2. The group will perform at assisted-living facilities, local churches and hospitals. They will even sing “The Star-Spangled Banner” at a Cleveland Indians baseball game.

The location for the spring tour is not a random choice: Cleveland is one of 32 North American Mission Board “Send” cities — metropolitan areas where new churches are most needed.

Tim Rice, director of the missions mobilization group for the South Carolina Baptist Convention, says Cleveland is a natural fit. “In 2014, we led several vision trips to Cleveland to get our churches engaged with church planters and partners there,” he said. “It’s just one of those locations where the convention had a partnership established, and the Singing Churchmen wanted to come alongside to help with that vision.”

The Singing Churchmen will work hand-in-hand with local church planters to increase awareness and match unchurched Clevelanders with a church plant.

Mark Powers, director of music and worship for the SCBC and director of the Singing Churchmen, said every location on the upcoming spring tour was picked intentionally in order to give church planters a forum in which to meet people in their neighborhoods.

“We’re not going anywhere to sing because, hey, that would be cool,” he said. “In every location, there’s a tie-in with a church plant in the area, and several of the church members will be in the audience to help us connect with people.”

The musical performances by the Singing Churchmen are an avenue for opening up spiritual conversations with onlookers. After they sing, the men typically disperse into the crowd to talk to listeners. Sometimes, a smaller subgroup like their barbershop quartet may continue singing while the rest interact with those in attendance.

When people in the crowd engage with the Singing Churchmen, that is when the church planter, who is also present, is introduced. “We’re trying to be immediate and very intentional with connecting prospects to the church on the spot,” said Powers.

Randy Kirby, minister of music at Simpsonville First Baptist Church, has a spiritual conversation with a couple on a sidewalk in Horsham, England, in 2014.

Randy Kirby, minister of music at Simpsonville First Baptist Church, has a spiritual conversation with a couple on a sidewalk in Horsham, England, in 2014.

“We have a pattern that we use to introduce the gospel. Usually it starts because they ask us, ‘What are y’all doing here, all the way from South Carolina?’ Then we say, ‘We’re here to tell people how much God loves them, and how He wants us to have a relationship with Jesus. Do you have a relationship with Jesus?’ It’s that quick. It cuts through all of the extras about denominations and churches. We try to go straight to the gospel.”

The Singing Churchmen have traveled to a wide range of cities for their spring tours, with previous stops including London, Baltimore and Washington, D.C. The cities change, but the mission is the same: to engage the people with the gospel.

“We are intentional about developing missions opportunities worldwide, nationwide and statewide,” said Roger Dail, music minister at Mountain Springs Baptist Church in Piedmont and president of the Singing Churchmen. “We alternate between an international trip and a stateside trip. In addition, we constantly look for opportunities to do missions during the course of our concert year throughout South Carolina. The offerings we collect during each of our concerts go exclusively to mission-oriented causes and purposes.”

The offerings often benefit music ministries that demonstrate financial need. The Singing Churchmen have previously supplied groups and facilities, including White Oak Conference Center, with instruments and sound equipment.

“We are excited to go to Cleveland because it is a continuation of our emphasis on missions,” Dail said. “This trip will take many of us out of our comfort zone because Cleveland is not in the Bible Belt and is a place many of our guys have never visited.”

Dail said the diversity of the audience is something the men will have to consider as they try to match their musical selections with the groups they are entertaining. “Another exciting aspect of this week is that we will be fellowshipping with brothers and sisters in several African-American churches,” Dail said. “God has a divine purpose in each of us who are going on this trip, and it will be exciting to see what He has in store for us.”

For more information on the South Carolina Baptist Singing Churchmen or the upcoming trip to Cleveland, visit www.singingchurchmen.com.

Jessica Wyndham writes for the South Carolina Baptist Convention.