A Cappella Gospel Sing

The current singing schedule is posted. Feel free to print out this schedule but keep in mind, it could change at any time or any day.

The plans for 2013 AGS are coming together very well and I am anticipating a tremendous time of beautiful singing and worship. I would ask everyone reading this to simply take a few minutes and intercede to God in prayer on behalf of all the groups for travel safety, for annointed singing, for the speakers at the Friday workshops, for the local committee, for the sound men and anyone else who has responsibilities at the event. We always say we want everything to bring honor and glory to our heavenly Father and we mean that. However, that puts a lot of responsibility on each one to have hearts that are prepared by confession, obedience and submission. Hearts that are clean and pure are vessels prepared for the Master’s use and will bring glory to Him. Join us as we pray and come together to enjoy what God has prepared for all of us whether as singers or as listeners.

Ray Yutzy

It has been some time since my last post and know that you may have come here expecting to see something new in relation to the 2013 AGS. Things are moving along very well in the planning of another event. The groups have been selected and are on target to be there. There will be a good mix of past and new groups. It is hard to know exactly what the best way is to select groups for the next event when there are so many great ones out there and in the past 2 years, we have not had a single bad group and don’t expect to ever have. We have been so pleased with the quality and integrity of every group that have been at our first 2 AGSs. Not only have we had quality groups but we have had tremendous crowds at both events. The atmosphere created by the presence of the Holy Spirit and by the selection of songs and the presentation of those songs has provided for some very meaningful worship times. For that we are so grateful and our prayer is that we can continue to provide both the atmosphere and the songs that will enhance the worship experience of everyone present.

I will be posting the list of groups here so you can see who all is committed to coming to the 2013 AGS. The schedule is not quite ready to be posted at this time but keep watching for it.

The excitement is mounting, the youth groups that provide food and beverages are getting ready to provide you with some wonderful food and desserts. So plan to come for both days and enjoy fellowship with other believers as you enjoy some of the best singing this side of Heaven.

Dates are Friday April 5 & Saturday April 6. Times are: Fri. 3:45PM to 10:00 PM or somewhere there abouts. Sat. we begin at 10:00 AM and go until we are done or around 8:00 PM. You will want to plan to be there until the end on Saturday to hear the finale. We have something different planned for this year. That’s all you get for now.

Keep watching our Facebook page for other information and for quick updates.

Ray

We are exactly four weeks away from the 2012 A Cappella Gospel Sing. What began sort of as an experiment in 2011 has developed into what we trust will be an annual event. At least until God leads in a different direction. For those of you that were at the AGS in 2011, we hope you will be back this year to worship with us. We hope you enjoyed it so much you will want to bring others with you this year. Many of you told us of your worship experience last year. Praise God who alone deserves praise and honor for last year’s successful AGS. It is not about those of us who do the planning and organizing, or the food service people, or the sound man, or the photographers, or the ushers, or the groups, or even our wonderful guests. It’s all about the Lord Jesus Christ. Pray with us that we can all focus on that truth this year.
For those of you who will be new guests this year, we trust the lineup of groups will bless and encourage each one as they stand between the audience and God and faithfully proclaim the good news of the gospel and how it relates to everyday life. I trust the different styles and types of groups will not be a distraction, but rather an enhancement to your worship experience. I have, for some reason, been under the impression for a long time that God probably originally intended for all singing groups to be male quartets. It has always seemed to be so natural. But, for whatever reason, He chose to also bless (maybe as an afterthought) many different combinations of singers such as ladies trios, families, mixed quartets and, larger than quartet, male groups. So we felt that since God is okay with them, we should be too. Hence the wonderful mix we have coming to this year’s AGS. In all honesty, I am very excited with the mix of groups we will be blessed with this year. So come with prayerful anticipation to see what God has in store for all of us.
As you may notice on the Schedule page, we have some TBA (to be announced) slots on Saturday. Part of the reason for them is that one of the groups cannot come because of health issues. Join us in praying for Sisters By Heart. One from their group is experiencing health challenges this year and is unable to come. We hope they will be able to join us next year. But stay tuned for something different in those slots. Who knows, we may do some congregational singing during one of those slots. Perhaps some of the groups will surprise us with something different. We shall see.
Food will again be available for purchase this year. Last year we had a wonderful menu of delicious food available. We are confident this year will be no different.
We will be conducting drawings again this year for CD giveaways. It’s always nice to get free music from the groups. Each group has the privilege to set up their product tables so you can purchase their recordings and whatever else they are marketing from their table.
So come to the 2012 AGS table of worship and feast on manna from God and from the food booths.
Ray Yutzy

For those of you who have been waiting for news on the 2012 AGS, here’s a bit of an update. We have sent out invitations to all the groups that requested one. We will have quite a few new groups in 2012 and I am very excited about that. We will also have some of the veteran groups from 2011 participating in 2012 which is really neat. Remember to set aside April 20 & 21, 2012 as very important dates to be at Goshen, IN at the Clinton Frame Mennonite Church. I want to encourage all of you to help us promote this event wherever you go. We will have promotional cards and posters available before long to pass out to churches and friends. Our goal is to pack out Clinton Frame.

Our goal as promoters of the event is for this to be an opportunity for groups to minister to the needs of the listeners with the abilities and talents God has blessed them with through the infilling of the Holy Spirit. It will not happen without Holy Spirit annointing and intervention on all aspects of the event as well as on each and every group member. When we hear you say that you were able to worship and were encouraged in your walk with God, that is when we can say “Praise the Lord” and “mission accomplished”. It’s all about Him and glorifying His High and Holy name. So please join us in praying for the 2012 AGS and for each group as they begin heart and song preparation.

We recognize the tendency for an event like this to become more of an entertainment event than a time of worship and reflection on God and His goodness. Therefore, we invite anyone to come who loves A Cappella Gospel singing and will come with a heart to worship and glorify our Redeemer and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Keep watching the group page for the list of groups as they commit to come. Also, go to our facebook page for updates. While you are there, hit the “Like” button.

God bless everyone and we wish all a Happy Thanksgiving!

Ray Yutzy

Excitement is building for the A Cappella Gospel Sing on April 1 & 2, 2011. We are so thrilled to see how God is bringing it all together. The committee of five men in the Goshen/Middlebury area are doing a phenomenal job of taking care of so many details. I hope you will be at the Gospel Sing so you can meet these men and give them a hearty “Thank You”. A few of the details; Food! we need food. There will be a food stand taken care of by the Fairhaven/Woodlawn Church Youth. There is also a youth group from Living Waters Church doing a Coffee Bar. All will be there for you to purchase and help these groups with their fundraisers. Another detail; local add sales for the book we are printing. That all takes a lot of time and time is a precious commodity. Thank you guys for your tremendous effort in that. The book will feature all the groups with a picture and some information and history. It will be available for purchase. Detail; coordinating other people like the ushers, photographers, videographers, etc. Detail; having meetings to plan all of the above. That also is a big time consumer. To the wives and children of these five men: A huge “THANK YOU”! for your patience and understanding through this time. You played a major role in just being patient with your husbands and me. We love you for it. There are other details involved, but I can’t remember them all.

We look forward to meeting you at the A Cappella Gospel Sing. Come and bring your friends and relatives, even if you don’t like them. Maybe God will use this time to work on your relationships. We are praying God will use the songs and the groups to minister to the needs of our hearts as well as yours. We are committed to doing our best for the sake of the Kingdom of Christ for He alone deserves any credit or honor for the results of this venture. This is our first try at this. Your presence and support will largely determine whether we will continue with an annual event. That is our goal and desire, but we need YOU! Since it is our first time at this, expect a few mistakes to be made. But we will try and laugh at those and move on and make it an enjoyable and blessed time for you. See the schedule page for the singing schedule.

Thank you for reading these words. If you care to respnd with suggestions or ideas, feel free to.

Ray Yutzy

For: The Sharon Bethel Quartet and Harmony Quartet

You might wonder what would inspire someone to put together a weekend of singing without any musical accompaniment. When the Sharon Bethel Quartet began singing back in 1994, we were not thinking at all about the possibilities of being asked to sing in so many different places and venues. But as we began responding to invitations to sing here and there, it became clear that many people, whether Mennonite or not, thoroughly enjoyed A Cappella Singing. As time progressed and we were privileged to sing in some of the Gospel Sings around the country where there are usually 12 to 18 different groups present, an idea began to form in our minds. We are often the only A Cappella group in the whole event. Would it work to do an all A Cappella event? Will people come to listen? Will the groups come? Will those that come get bored? Will we look like dummies if we try something like that? I guess we do anyway. So why not give it a try?
So, there you go. We are doing it. We received encouragement from the Harmony Quartet from TN and they offered to help support and promote it. It is a joint effort by both Quartets and with a lot of help from a local committee formed in the Goshen, IN area. Our home is in Iowa but we felt it is too far West to draw a crowd for such an event. Also, the Mennonite community is not as large as those further East.
The format we are using is one that seems to work in many of the Gospel Sings we have attended in the past. It is not to be a competitive event. But rather a time when groups can get together to not only sing for an audience, but to also form relationships and friendships that come from having experienced many of the same joys and sorrows that go along with a singing ministry. Our experience has been that after a weekend of singing together and giving each other support and encouragement that it begins to feel like family. And it truly is a part of the family of God.
So why not come and join us for this first, and hopefully annual, all A Cappella Gospel Sing? We hope this can become an event that will encourage youth, as well as older people, to form their own groups and to get involved in the ministry of singing. If the support is evident and the Lord continues to bless and lead us to continue, we would give consideration to also offer singing workshops to help groups in their presentation as well as help develop a sense of how great the possibilities are of a singing ministry. Perhaps some vocal assistance and training could be incorporated. Just some more random thoughts about the possibilities an event like this could present.
We welcome your response to this post and would also welcome other ideas or suggestions for improvement. We are still open for a few more groups. Give suggestions.

Ray