Preacher, music minister make a mighty combo
> GoUpstate.com, South Carolina USA
> Sunday, December 03, 2006
>
> Preacher, music minister make a mighty combo
>
> Caption: Vincent Downing with part of his family, son Trey, bottom,
> daughter Tia, center, and wife, Natasha. Not in the picture are son
> Zacchaeus and daughter T'nija.
>
> Extract: "Vincent might be blind, but he rewired the church sound system.
> He also oversees Mount Nebo's video ministry, producing DVDs of church
> services.
> "Don't let the blindness fool you. It's a physical deception," Vincent
> said.
>
> Voices shout. Hips sway. Hands clap.
>
> The sanctuary seems to shake with the Holy Spirit when Vincent Downing,
> music minister at Mount Nebo Baptist Church, leads the choir.
>
> "Ain't no party like a Holy Ghost party, 'cause the Holy Ghost party don't
> stop," he sings with the choir as his fingers dance across the keyboard
> and his oldest son, Trey, backs him on drums.
>
> Mount Nebo's father-son musical team is as special as the music they make
> together.
>
> Vincent is blind. He lost his sight when he was 7, the same age Trey is
> now.
>
> Trey is shorter (even standing) than the Sabian cymbal in his full-size
> drum set. But his precise pounding is the heartbeat of the praise music
> that doesn't just stir the soul, it makes souls pulsate and pews vibrate.
>
> Trey's mother, Natasha, said he was banging on pots and pans before drums.
>
> Vincent began teaching him to play at the age of 2. It only made sense
> that he would musically guide his son.
>
> Vincent taught himself to play keyboards when he was 15. He's also taught
> himself to play the drums and other instruments he's been able "to get
> (his) hands on."
>
> Vincent was named Mount Nebo's minister of music last March.
>
> Bethany Henderson, daughter of church pastor Ronald Henderson, suggested
> Vincent after the congregation prayed for a music minister.
>
> Bethany met Vincent at Carver Junior High School, where she attends and
> Vincent often DJs school dances.
>
> Mount Nebo wanted a music minister with a heart for youth.
>
> "It was meant to be," Vincent said. "I love young people. Young people are
> my heart."
>
> Ronald Henderson never doubted Vincent's abilities.
>
> Vincent might be blind, but he rewired the church sound system. He also
> oversees Mount Nebo's video ministry, producing DVDs of church services.
>
> "Don't let the blindness fool you. It's a physical deception," Vincent
> said.
>
> He has set up a recording studio at his home in Pauline, where he and
> wife, Natasha, live with their four children. Trey is big brother to Tia,
> 6, Zacchaeus, 3, and T'nija, 7 months.
>
> Zacchaeus seems to be following in his older brother and dad's footsteps.
> He already wants to play guitar.
>
> But Vincent's skills aren't just limited to the music studio.
>
> When Natasha needs her brakes worked on, she asks him to do it.
>
> "He's the fix-it man," she said.
>
> Vincent is also his mother's handyman.
>
> Patricia Downing has six children, but Vincent is "always there. When I
> need something done, he can do it."
>
> Just as remarkable as the Downings is the church they serve.
>
> When Henderson started preaching at Mount Nebo last May, seven to 10
> worshippers attended church services. Most had stopped coming, driven by
> old age into nursing homes or the grave.
>
> Even church deacon James Martin had stopped coming. He was undecided about
> returning to Mount Nebo or finding another place of worship when Henderson
> approached him at work and invited him to a service.
>
> "It took a minute to find out he's for real," Martin said. "He loves
> everyone here."
>
> Martin, 59, has worshipped at Mount Nebo with his family since he was a
> young child.
>
> "Mount Nebo has never had this many children here," Martin said. "There's
> things going on here today I haven't seen in my lifetime."
>
> The congregation increased almost tenfold after Henderson's arrival. Most
> of the new members are kids who seek refuge in the church from pressures
> surrounding them outside its walls: peer pressure, drugs and drive-bys.
>
> Henderson "keeps it real," church members said. And that's why they love
> him.
>
> He doesn't sugarcoat sermons and is up front about his past and present
> struggles with sin.
>
> "We all have a closet full of skeletons," Henderson said. "I was just like
> a lot of people sitting in the pews today. A lot of people know of Christ,
> but they don't know him."
>
> Henderson attended church. He tithed. He knew the songs in the hymnal. But
> outside of the sanctuary, God rarely crossed his mind.
>
> Before rededicating his life to God three years ago, Henderson was a
> "wayward young man.
>
> "Until I knew I knew Christ, I didn't know him."
>
> Henderson credits God for Mount Nebo's turnaround.
>
> While many churches struggle with dwindling memberships, the pews at Mount
> Nebo are packed with a fresh-faced congregation. So is the choir loft.
>
> The youngest singer in the 22-member choir is 5; the oldest, 31.
>
> There are 40 kids in Mount Nebo's basketball league, and nearly 100 kids
> attended a recent youth summit at the church.
>
> Henderson has baptized about 50 people since September 2005.
>
> "We've had kids join and their parents join afterwards," he said.
>
> "The spirit of this place is unbelievable. There's no friction, no strife,
> no animosity."
>
> Henderson wants to minister at Mount Nebo full time. But right now the
> church has other needs, like financing transportation to and from
> services.
>
> The church was recently donated two acres of land, on which Henderson
> hopes to someday see a new sanctuary and family life center, along with a
> park featuring basketball courts and an amphitheater.
>
> All that depends on the availability of funds, now limited because of the
> young age of many of Mount Nebo's newest members who have created a
> thriving church body.
>
> "I have a passion for young people because they have it so hard. They're
> faced with more obstacles. They have a lot more tearing them down,"
> Henderson said.
>
> Henderson is former unit director of a Boys and Girls Club after-school
> program at First Baptist Church of Spartanburg's Hangar.
>
> Mount Nebo has formed partnerships with Spartanburg High School and
> Whitlock Junior High School.
>
> Henderson tells teens "God created them for a purpose," and that they can
> make a difference.
>
> "We all are ministers. These kids are ministers. I tell them that."
>
> During last week's sermon, titled "God Can Turn It Around," Henderson
> assured churchgoers God could help them overcome the problems they face.
> Whether it's trouble with overdue bills or grades, "[God] can part your
> Red Sea," he declared.
>
> Henderson often tailors worship service messages to youth.
>
> Last week's sermon touched on peer pressure.
>
> "I know somebody who had more peer pressure in this world. Jesus!"
>
> When Henderson ended his message with an altar call, three people stepped
> forward -- a young man and two youngsters.
>
> Henderson thinks many teens are drawn to Mount Nebo by the loving message
> that they matter.
>
> "All kids want to be loved and accepted. They want to feel like they
> belong. If the church doesn't give them a place to belong, the world
> will."
>
> Kim Kimzey can be reached at 562-7264 or [log in to unmask]
>
>
> http://www.goupstate.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061203/NEWS/612030310/1028/LIFE
>
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