I come in contact with many independent Christian musicians and artists who ask me, “how do I get started in my music mission?” Here’s what I shared with one musician who wants to put together a band. Hope it helps you. What I share is what I have learned in my mission over the past 20 years.
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Its all about relationships my friend.

Here’s my 2 cents.
1- No one will take your calling and mission as seriously as you will. Get ready for rejection, apathy, complaining, lack of vision, etc. You will need thick skin to be a leader, I know this first hand.

2- Trust that God will bring the right people your way, pay close attention to people He brings into YOUR world. Don’t scour THE world looking for people. Its a waste of time. Pray for good people to come to YOUR world. This is what I do every day with Indieheaven. I pray the Lord draws Godly and sincere people my way. Once they come into my world, I do my best to engage them. Some respond, some do not. Some join my mission, some do not.

Through this, I have learned these 3 very important lessons…
1- You MUST WORK hard AT your mission/calling/vision
2- You MUST PRAY hard FOR your mission/calling/vision
3- You MUST be CONTENT with the PORTION that God has for your mission/calling/vision

If you can do these 3 things, God will bring INCREASE to your mission/calling/vision in HIS time.

You need to be intentional in what you are doing. You cannot expect to invest capfuls of work and thimbles of faith and expect God to overflow you with blessings and success. It simply does not happen that way. Keep your expectations in line with your investment. You cannot invest a penny and think that God will return to you a dollar in a day. It does not happen that way. It is a slow burn. You do not become muscle bound by lifting weights in one day.

We tend to be impatient people, I know I am. I want to see results right away from my investments. When I say investment, I do not mean just finances. It can be investment of time, investment into relationships, investment even of prayer. It’s like I think God is my own personal vending machine, dispensing what I want from Him right away. Just need to push the button for my favorite drink. Wrong, wrong, wrong way of thinking. That is an “entitlement attitude”.

I encourage you to first find out why you want to have a music mission. What is pushing your buttons? Is it fame? Is it fortune? Is it simply because you want to rock out for Jesus? All of these are not good reasons for anything we want to do.

Make service to others the reason for your mission, and do it with passion and excellence, and people will be drawn to you. Trust God for His provision. Remember, PROfessional VISION equals PROVISION.

I do hope you realize the desires of your heart. Here’s a great scripture for us to base our missions on. It is Psalm 51:16-17, from The Message Bible.

16-17 Going through the motions doesn’t please you,
a flawless performance is nothing to you.
I learned God-worship
when my pride was shattered.
Heart-shattered lives ready for love
don’t for a moment escape God’s notice.

Let’s Be Independent… together!
keith mohr