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West’s new Territorial Youth Band performs at Welcome of Cadets.
by NEIL SMITH –
The day began early for some—getting to the airport, dealing with extra security, trying to get brass instruments on board as hand luggage!
After many flight delays and one cancellation, the 40 tired but excited members of the Territorial Youth Band (TYB) arrived at Crestmont.
After a brief dinner, it was time for rehearsal, to begin our preparation for the Welcome of Cadets the following evening.
As we gathered to play together for the very first time, there was a lot of nervousness, and a huge amount of excitement! The atmosphere was electric!
The first piece we played together was from The Salvation Army Song Book (687)—which starts with these words: “In the Army of Jesus we’ve taken our stand,” and continues, “I’ll stand for Christ, for Christ alone.”
These words seemed appropriate for us.
During our time together, we had a visit from Territorial Leaders Commissioners Philip and Patricia Swyers, and were led in devotions by Captains Kyle and Lisa Smith, territorial youth leaders.
Following rehearsal, we had a chance to relax together, sharing food and fellowship around the tables. It was heartwarming to see these like-minded young people having such a great time together.
The next day we spent more time in rehearsal with the band and with our praise team in preparation for leading worship at the Torrance Corps on Sunday morning.
After a bus ride to the Tustin Ranch Corps we spent the afternoon in rehearsal with the cadets before our final preparations for our first public event.
Resplendent in our new “TYB” shirts, and a little nervous, we took our places for the meeting. Our youth were fantastic—very little went wrong, despite our limited rehearsal time, and all the glory belonged to God!
A number of the band members were touched by the words of Commissioner Gaither. Many of them reaffirmed their commitment to serve God and some of them experienced a strengthened calling to full-time ministry as Salvation Army officers.
We were privileged to lead worship at Torrance on Sunday morning—some of the TYB members shared their testimonies, and the band played “Ascalon,” music by Ralph Pearce, in honor of Eric Loveless. Eric was a great supporter of young people and I felt that it was fitting for us to play this; he would have been thrilled to see the formation of such a group.
The Territorial Youth Band are in the 14-24 age group and will be meeting three times a year to share their ministry all around the Western Territory. Please add the members of the TYB to your prayer list…we are praying that God will do great things though our music.