About ANCHORED MUSIC MINISTRIES...

Mission Statement:

Anchored Music Ministries is a non-denominational non-profit organization dedicated to providing culturally
relevant, high-quality leadership development training in worship arts wherever it is needed.
Our firm desire is that we and everyone we encounter would learn to lead lifestyles of worship.

Founded in 1995 by Christian musician Bryan Thomas Schmidt, Anchored Music Ministries is a ministry devoted to facilitating and equipping leadership in churches throughout the world. Since our first workshop in Ghana, West Africa in the Summer of 2001, we have worked with churches on four continents and countries such as Brazil, Ghana, Italy, Bulgaria, and the United States to help them develop their worship teams and provide high quality training where it has not been readily available. Subjects frequently covered in our workshops include: worship planning, theology of worship, the biblical view of worship, Christian music history, songwriting for worship, musical arranging, music theory, team building and relationships, conflict resolution, and spiritual development of the worship leader.

Anchored Music Ministries works in partnership with local church leaders, parachurch organizations and others to provide training. Groups we have partnered with include Presbyterian Church of Brazil, Global Evangelical Church of Ghana, International Bible Society, Salvation Army Prison Ministry, Covenant Theological Seminary, Kirk Of the Hills Church (St. Louis, MO), Colloquium, and Presbyterian Mission International. In addition to workshops, we do outreach events and lectures as well as small group training. The needs of each unique situation are assessed by Anchored Music Ministries' leadership along with local leaders and then a program is proposed and developed in partnership together. We recruit people with extensive background in the various areas where training is needed to come and provide training on site, assisting them with fundraising, trip planning, coordination, etc.

If you should desire to work with us, please contact us at 314-781-9120 or through the email links found on this website. We thank you for your interest in and support of our work to answer God's call and call His people to more fulfilling worship experiences.

ANCHORED MUSIC MINISTRIES’ CORE VALUES:

1.  The Ultimate Goal of Missions is Worship
While fully affirming the great commission to take the gospel to the nations we also affirm the ultimate goal of missions to be the gathering of God’s people from every tribe and tongue and nation to worship before the Lamb who was slain. (Matthew 28:18-20; Revelation 5:6-14)

2.  Cross-Cultural Worship Glorifies God
In keeping with the biblical vision of heavenly worship we recognize the importance of and strive for worship that values and expresses the diversity and unity of the body of Christ historically and around the world today to the greater glory of God.  (Romans 15:5-13; Revelation 7:9-17)

3.  Indigenous Leadership Development is Vital
As the gospel goes to the nations it is vital for indigenous leaders to be trained in biblical worship in order to rightly apply biblical principles to their own unique cultural contexts with understanding, discernment, and engagement.  (1 Corinthians 9:19-23; Ephesians 4:1-16; 2 Timothy 2:1-2)

4.  Worship Arts Must Reflect Culture While Remaining Within Biblical Parameters
The use of music and other worship arts in a particular culture will be meaningful expressions of that culture while at the same time remaining within biblical parameters that reject the idolatry and wickedness expressed in every culture. (John 17:13-19; 1 Corinthians 14:1-25)

5.  Teaching Focus:  Understanding, Planning, and Leading Gospel-Centered Worship
Planning and leading God-glorifying corporate worship of the people of God requires careful instruction in and understanding of a gospel-centered approach to worship that presents Jesus Christ as the source and object of worship to the glory to God and the Christ-like transformation of the believing worshiper. (John 4:19-26; Romans 8:28-29; Hebrews 2:10-13)

6.  Corporate Worship Fuels and Motivates a Life of Worship
Corporate worship on the Lord’s day is a primary means God uses to equip and motivate believers for a life of worship lived before the face of God the other six days of the week.  (Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 10:31; Colossians 3:23-24)

What Is Authentic Worship?

Gospel-driven biblical worship is worship from the hearts of believers in union with Christ by faith and filled with the Holy Spirit.  It is worship according to the Word of God and includes the biblically commanded elements of preaching and reading the Word, prayer, singing, the sacraments of baptism and the Lord's supper, the presentation of offerings, confessions of faith, vows, and testimonies of God's grace in people's lives.  Biblical worship is to be in the power of the Holy Spirit and through the glorified God-man Jesus Christ who prays for us, declares God's Word to us, sings with us (Hebrews 2:11-12), and perfects our worship as He presents it to the Father who is worthy of our praise, receives our worship through Christ, and rejoices over us with singing (Zephaniah 3:17).  This corporate public worship occurs under the oversight of elders, utilizes the gifts of the congregation and edifies the gathered worshipers by being contextually relevant.  Corporate worship on the Lord's Day leads into a life of worship as the scattered believers glorify God in families, workplaces, communities, and into all of God's creation before gathering again on the next Lord's Day in corporate public worship.  Faithful worship draws on the richness of past expressions of biblical worship as well as the freshness of present expressions of biblical worship.  Authentic worship is worship that reflects the culture of the worshippers -- both past and present -- in ways that speak with the unique voices of the people and how they communicate with and experience God.  In music, liturgy, language and style, such worship reflects the hearts of the people in ways that best reflect the truth of the gospel and sustaining grace as experienced by the people of this cultural reality.  The true worship of God is to be arranged and presented in a way that is a re-presentation of the gospel of saving and sustaining grace with an expectation that people will be formed and transformed into greater Christ-likeness during the worship service.