Testifying Through Music

You may not have heard of Kelvin Soh (on the left), but he has been sharing his worship songs and more importantly his testimony amongst the various churches in Singapore. I saw a DVD about him some months back, thought to share here:

Abandoned by his mother and raised by a drug addict father, Kelvin took to drugs when he was only eleven. By thirteen, he was not only addicted, but also active in gang activities. He then spent the next twenty years (some of you are not even that old yet!) in and out of jail for drug abuse and petty crimes. Subsequently, Kelvin was given three strokes of the cane for repeated drug use. Caning hurts alot, and leaves physical scars. Worse still, it disappoints those who love and care for you, and for Kelvin's case it was his grandmother who faithfully brought him up. Kelvin was at this stage at one of the lowest points of his life.

Even so, God never gave up on him. Shortly after the caning, Kelvin asked a Malay warden for a comic book. The warden (unknowingly?) gave him a Chinese bible, and he read a verse from Hebrews about how the Lord chastises those whom he loves. Kelvin was able to relate this to his caning, and broke down, gave his heart to Jesus, and turned over a new leaf.

God's blessings flowed from then on. While he previously had to be dragged to prison, he is now specially invited to give talks about overcoming addiction. His friends see the change and marvel at it. He also got married!

Today, he shares his testimony through music. He writes songs about his experience, and through this speak words of encouragement to addicts. Some of these songs have even won top prizes in songwriting competitions. He also writes worship songs (in Mandarin and Hokkien) that many churches use today. These songs stem from his own testimony, and speak about God's grace, and a desire to be a disciple of Christ. I've attached my favourite worship song from Kelvin below. Its about wanting to follow Christ, and although you may not understand the lyrics I think the music and melody speaks for itself.

Lessons?

- Has God touched or blessed you in a special way? You could express it through secular songs to speak your testimony to others.

- When writing worship songs, does it express a deeply embeded desire in your heart? Try to make it your personal expression of worship, rather than use 'default'-sounding lyrics (e.g. I'll give You praise, all my days, in every place).

- How else can you use music to reach out? E.g. run a guitar workshop in church and get people to invite their non-Christian friends.