Nursing Home Visit: The Ministry of Music

This morning I had the very special opportunity to minister through music at a local nursing home with one of my students. We've been working on several duets over the past few months, and I've been itching to get her into a few more performance venues (she's a very hesitant performer) so this seemed like a perfect opportunity!

I had such a wonderful time performing duets...





and seeing this student get up the courage to perform a solo piece! For the remainder of the time, I played some hymn arrangements on my own. It had been too long since I'd done any kind of music ministry- I thoroughly enjoyed myself!

The audience was very engaged and responsive, especially one dear woman in the front row who clapped after every song, sang along with some of the music, and thanked us with tears in our eyes as we were leaving.

I used to perform at a nursing home on a weekly basis right after I graduated from college and my studio and church responsibilities weren't quite so demanding. I was always blessed by the experience, and I'm determined to try and make it more of a regular occurrence.

I'll keep you posted, but I'm hoping to get more of my students involved in visits over the summer! I want all my students to see their music as a ministry- something they can share with others, and taking it to a community like the one we visited today is an excellent way to get that thought process started.

Do you do trips like this with some of your students? Or do you minister personally in your community? I'd love to hear about ways you're using your music as a ministry!