Hello friends,
What a great start to 2014 for Worshipworks Ministries! We have officially launched CRUSE INSTITUTE FOR THE ARTS ONLINE! (www.cruseinstitute.org) There are some great young students that have enrolled from here in the US as well as Brazil and Thailand. And the good news is, we have extended this semester’s deadline until Friday evening, January 24th!
Some of the music courses include: Piano, Vocals, Bass, Guitar, Sight Singing and Ear Training, Contemporary Theory, Technical Production, Worship Lab 1A/B and others.
Some of the Bible courses include: Essential Elements of Worship, Biblical Finances, Principles of Leadership, The Anointing, and others.
The instructors this year are some of the finest young worship leaders and a few old ones as well! CIFTA is truly blessed and grateful!
The Friday deadline might be too quick but it’s not too early to be thinking about the fall semester. And remember—whether students want to take a full load in preparation for the music/bible degree, or just need to add to their skills, ALL COURSES ARE ONLY USD $99 + registration fee and the cost of books.
As you can well imagine, there’s been a scurry of activity here since the middle of November in preparation for the opening of the school. The Lord blessed us to be able to be here in Austin during the holidays but the travel schedule for Worshipworks is already in full swing.
This past weekend, we were blessed to be with our dear friends, Ps Frank and Parris Bailey and the wonderful people of Victory Fellowship in Metairie, LA. They have a wonderful college, Bethesda College, and we were privileged to teach one of their ITS classes on worship—a complete 8 week course in 3 days! Pastor Joe taught the Essential Elements of Worship Class and my goodness—hungry students coupled with the powerful classes on worship and BAM–Holy Ghost showed up in a BIG WAY! And then Sunday am and pm, we just saw the Lord move in powerful demonstrations of His presence with many answering the altar call and many coming for prayer. Thank you Lord—you are always faithful!
What’s coming up? So glad you asked! The travel itinerary includes Weslaco, TX—San Diego, CA—Los Angeles, CA—Ft. Worth, TX—Summerville SC—Jacksonville, FL—Shreveport, LA—Seattle, WA and that’s just February and March!!!
You know, the Lord spoke a word to us at the end of last year about His purpose, His plan, His path and His provision for 2014 and so we will close this update with those same words to you.
The Lord reminded us that He still had a purpose for WMI to be on the earth. At times, all of us tend to question whether God still has a purpose for us but I promise you—HE DOES. We aren’t too old, too young, too rich, are too poor. God still desires to use us to forward His Kingdom in the earth. And if there is a purpose, there is also a plan, but not just any plan—A MASTER PLAN—A HEAVENLY PLAN!
Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT) says, “ For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope”.
And included in His plan is a path that we are to walk. His path for us could be a broad path or a narrow path but one thing’s for sure—it is a sure path. The Lord challenged us to get up every day and pray, “Lord, order our steps today. We desire to walk your path you’ve laid out for us.” We love Psalms 65:11—“You crown the year with a bountiful harvest; even the hard pathways overflow with abundance”.
Friends, please know you have a purpose, God has a plan, there is a path to walk and on that path, there is God’s provision!
In Genesis 22, Abraham was instructed by God to take his son Isaac and offer him as a sacrifice. Abraham had practiced following the Lord’s voice, building an altar and meeting God at the place of sacrifice. After years of living a lifestyle of worship, when God asked him to offer Isaac, he knew God would provide. It was a narrow path up to the place of worship but Abraham believed God. And you know the rest of the story—on that path of sacrifice, God’s provision was there!
V 13 and 14 (Amp) says, “Then Abraham looked up and glanced around, and behold, behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up for a burnt offering and an ascending sacrifice instead of his son! So Abraham called the name of that place The Lord Will Provide. And it is said to this day, On the mount of the Lord it will be provided”.
May this year, 2014 be your greatest year as you fulfill His purpose, His plan, walk His path and find His provision—AMEN!
As we close, we must take a moment to thank those of you who have sowed sacrificial gifts to help us launch the school. We could not have done it without your generous gifts. Even though the school is up and running, it’s just the beginning. Have you ever heard of Kahn Academy? It is an online school totally funded by corporations like Microsoft and private donations. Because of the generous gifts of God’s people over the past year, we’ve been able to drop our course prices by two thirds!
Perhaps there are others who feel a stirring to be apart of raising up the next generation of worship leaders, pastors, teachers, and evangelists! Help us—we are faithful stewards and are providing quality education all around the world. Go to www.wmiglobal.org, click on contributions, and click “give to WMI”. As always, your gifts are completely tax deductible.
We covet your prayers as we teach, preach, and lead others into the presence of God. It’s with joy we write—
Until next time—many blessings!
Ps Joe and Becky Cruse
