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This post is a giant shout out to Esther Strathy, one of our keyboardists with The MrJ Band.
This past month Esther has been coming in extra early on Sunday mornings to help me check and double-check our music charts before we launch tour in 30 days. (That’s right, I drive the MrJ Truck and Trailer out for summer tour in 30 days!) Yesterday was a prime example of how valuable Esther has been to us all. She sees things that the old man misses. Yesterday it was a right-hand fingering in one of our keyboard parts that was impossible for a human to play without their fingers falling off. It sounded great, but I had visions of Sparky’s pinky flying off into the front row of campers. (Okay, get that vision out of your brain.) (Sparky is our crazy musician from Bakersfield.) Anyway, I wanted you to know that much is going on behind the scenes as The MrJ Band prepares for tour. God is at work in you all, and he delights in what others can’t see. Get in the Word, Stay in the Word. (Check out 2 Cor. 4: 14b-15 in Contemporary English Version) --►This is why we tour! Shining God’s light into the lives of children and their families, MrJ – Kurt Johnson  Dear MrJ Band Family, HERE'S A STORY THAT'LL BE GOOD FOR YOUR HEART I received an email with these words just a month ago. It will be well worth your time to read this paragraph: "Five of the girls from our church in Hacienda Heights, CA, accepted your challenge to stay in the Bible for 21 days, They have followed your teaching of reading 1 chapter, writing 1 verse, saying 1 prayer and sharing all of that with 1 person. As of today they are on QT DAY 416!!"(**NOTE to readers, that is 416 days in a row these ladies have read and shared their Bible quiet times!! By the time you read this they will be passing 450 days!) She went on to say... "The girls have even given a testimony about it at their church and have been an inspiration to many, both young and old. Some of their parents have even started having regular Quiet Times in God’s Word because of them. And the girls’ younger siblings also wanted to get involved. We also have a group of 1st and 2nd graders who are now on day 72 of Bible reading"(**DID YOU GET THAT? 1st & 2nd graders in the word, writing the word, sharing the word for over 100 days now!!)She closes with... "You have sown many many seeds into kids’ hearts. God will help these seeds grow and bear fruit in the hearts of the next generation. Please also give a heart-felt 'Thank you' to all the people who support of your ministry." With much gratitude, Helen Wang Great Commission Church International The ladies of Hacienda Heights show us their journals with 400+ days in the Bible! (See BELOW for one of their book pages... sweeeeeet!) This is year 44 for The MrJ Band. The casts of this children’s theater troupe have performed in front of more than 250,000 children, and powerfully shared our Savior with them. MONSTERS UNDER MY BED! The MrJ Band will bring this year's theme, There's A Monster under My Bed, to thousands of kids this summer. We developed this show immediately following the events September 11, 2001, and boys and girls need God's light in their lives just as much today. "ONE OF MY BEST INVESTMENTS" Not only do MrJ Ministries bring the good news of Jesus to young children and their families but we mentor our young cast members to grow in spiritual and artistic development. More than 300 young cast members have experienced the transforming power of serving God through service in The MrJ Band. The challenging work and time sacrifice required of our cast is great, and in all The MrJ Band’s history it has been a guiding tenet that we compensate our cast members fairly. Just this past week one of our long time donors put it this way: "Kurt, I consider my gifts to The MrJ Band to absolutely one of my best financial investments. Your young cast members shine "God's light" on children who long for God's light in a very dark world. " WHY I WROTE YOU I write to you to ask you to help our ministry compensate these talented and committed young artists. We are not in a financial position to provide that compensation without your help. We have young people with faith beyond their years. We have a cast with talent that will engage and excite young children. The Holy Spirit is going to use these teens and young adults big time! HOW YOU CAN HELP OUR CAST Today I ask you, the reader, to become an ongoing ministry partner with The MrJ Band through monthly giving. We simply cannot fund this mentoring of young people any longer without your help. Many of you are, or have been, faithful donors to this work. I want to thank you for your support. But today I am asking you to begin, restart, or increase your giving to MrJ Ministries. I cannot soften my request in these times. Our ministry to these young cast members has increased and expanded many fold. We are rich with God’s best serving on our team, but we do not have the funds to support these gifted road warriors. **NOTE: Praise report! Last summer the giving of our support team completely covered our payroll expenses. It was amazing. And I prayerfully ask if you could join us and meet this need again. Join us shine God's light into the lives of young children and their families! HOW TO GIVE Your gifts will reach us via checks made out to MrJ Ministries and sent to: MrJ Ministries 2542 174th Ave NE Redmond, WA 98052-6222 OR you can easily set up automatic monthly giving through PayPal CLICK HERE to donate using PayPal or paste this link into your browser: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=Y5L4CJ9JA8FYS All gifts to MrJ Ministries are tax-deductible. MrJ Ministries is an IRS approved 501c.3 You will receive a giving record at the end of this year. THANK YOU FOR YOUR GIFTS AND PRAYERS Pray for the cast members whom God will use to reach thousands this summer. Pray for life-change in our audiences. AND add extra prayers for life-change right here in the lives of our cast. Shining God's light into the lives of young children and their families! MrJ—Kurt Johnson ↓READ BELOW↓ — One of the pages from a young girls Quiet Time journal during her 400+ days in the Bible. Wowza!!!  Dear MrJ Band Event Hosts,
Now is the time to book your 2019 events with The MrJ Band. YOUR RESPONSE REQUESTED HERE It is time to make arrangements for our winter & summer tours for 2019. If you are looking to host an event in 2019 now is the time to give me your best dates. I suggest giving me your first, second and third preferred dates. The more flexibility you give me, the more likely you will end up with The MrJ Band at your event. NOTE to CAMPS – You have priority when it comes to selecting dates because you have so many factors that often lock you into certain dates. Now is the time to lock us into your calendar. The best place to start is for you to have The MrJ Band Calendar open in front of you so that you can see the dates we have available. Yes, some winter and summer dates are already spoken for but there are plenty of weeks available at this time. The MrJ Band CALENDAR The best way to access this schedule is to go to... www.TheMrJBand.com Then navigate to the BOTTOM of the page CLICK on BAND MEMBER LOGIN then CLICK on BAND CALENDAR NOW CLICK on the .PDF version of The MrJ Band Calendar. This will always be the most up-to-date information on the comings and goings of MrJ. THEME for your Event
I look forward to hearing from you. Most years these tour dates will firm up around October 1st and I will begin the process of sending out confirmations and contracts. Shinning God’s light into the hearts of young children and their families, |
AuthorMrJ and Cast Members Archives
January 2022
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