Angel,
This was very interesting.  Thanks for sending it.
God bless.
Vinny
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Angel" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, December 06, 2006 1:17 AM
Subject: Preacher, music minister make a mighty combo


> 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
>>