“And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen” (Matthew 28:18–20, NKJV).
The Lord instructed the disciples (including us) to proclaim the gospel—the good news to all people. Music is a means by which you can reach many hearts because the language of music is understandable to any person. Music also removes various prejudices, which can be many.
On May 8, a charity concert, "Under the shelter of the Almighty", was held in Tyumen, organized to help refugees from Donbass and other parts of Ukraine. The name of the concert was not chosen by chance. People who have lost their homes and experienced pain and despair really need to find security, support, and care under the “roof of the Almighty”. The entire program was built according to Psalm 90, known to people as "Living Helps". The words of this psalm and various musical works, performed by musicians from Yekaterinburg, Chelyabinsk, Novy-Urengoy, Sayanogorsk, Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk, Omsk, and Tyumen, touched the hearts of many people.
Svetlana, a visitor who was at an Adventist church event for the first time, said, “I cried the whole first part of the concert; the music and words from Psalm 90 touched me so much.” The Lord richly blessed everyone both participants in and visitors of the concert.
The concert consisted of two parts: in the first part, various works were performed by soloists, choral and vocal groups, and instrumentalists; in the second part of the concert, Joseph Martin's cantata "Sanctuary of Grace" was performed by the combined choir and orchestra under the direction of Anna Kleinos, the head of the music ministry. The inspirers and organizers of the concert were the community of Tyumen and Pastor Bykov Andrey Vladimirovich.
I would also like to give feedback from the participants of the concert:
“Friends! Thank you for coming, for this holiday, for your warm hearts!!! I subscribe to every word in gratitude and delight! The name of the Lord is glorified! It’s so nice; melodies still sound in my head.”—Chernoglazov Evgeny
“Thank God for these days, for His blessings, how joyful it was for me to study and sing with you! Glad to meet new people and meet old friends! A wonderful string quartet that accompanied the general singing—it is a great pleasure to sing under you! Thank God for the people who filled the entire hall, for the fact that church members brought acquaintances and friends!”—Kleinos Anna, Krasnoyarsk
“For a long time, we have not experienced so much joy and inspiration from meeting with brother and sister musicians. This includes new friends, exchange of experience, and a sea of positive emotions. Our meeting is now history, which we will live from time to time, remembering you! The Lord loves us so much! We feel it."—Singers of Krasnoyarsk
The event was dominated by an atmosphere of kindness, mercy, faith, sympathy, and a desire to help those who are in difficulty. Funds were collected and donated to the refugee fund.
Huge gratitude to the Lord, who helped and blessed the organization of the concert. Also, musicians from different cities, from the Urals to Khakassia, were able to unite in joint glorification and good deeds. And most importantly, the saving gospel was proclaimed to many people who might otherwise never have heard it.
This article was originally published on the Euro-Asia Division’s news site