Time Out Conferencewww.timeoutconference.org
Steve Bell
Ryon Paton and I received this email from fellow Time Out Conference attendee, Jim Richardson, which we felt was appropriate to share since we’ve enjoyed Steve Bell’s worship and spiritual leadership at the Time Out Conference!!!
Enjoy ...
Dave and Ryon - Per our recent conversation and your request, this is a belated update email to you regarding Steve Bell and his diverse and growing ministry. One of the relationships that Steve developed through the Time Out Conferences is with Frank Wright who is, as you know, the CEO of the NRB (National Religious Broadcasters). Frank invited Steve to perform at the closing dinner for their annual conference in Nashville in February. This is the largest annual worldwide gathering of the Christian radio, TV and web media industry. Michael W. Smith was one of the performers at an event earlier in the week. The closing dinner is a gathering of most of the leaders of many important media organizations and includes the annual induction of NRB hall of famers. Following the induction ceremony, Steve did a 4 song, 30 minute set of his symphony concert with the Nashville symphony. As you can imagine, it was magical and very moving. Charles Stanley followed Steve with his key note and was clearly taken by the performance. I was fortunate enough to have been able to attend and witness it first hand. There is something going on here. After Mr. Stanley finished his keynote, Steve did a solo to conclude the evening. I think what impressed me most was that many (maybe most) were not familiar with Steve’s music before the concert. The response and ovation suggests that most or all are now fans. One of Steve’s objectives is to begin to gain exposure more broadly in the US to accelerate the impact of his ministry and music.
Toward that end, there are some additional initiatives that we are working on that I thought you would want to be aware of:
Concerts - The lifeblood of the ministry historically has been in performing concerts in churches throughout Canada and now increasingly here in the US. The ministry team has done this hundreds of times over many years and can deliver on its end seamlessly and efficiently. We have had Steve perform at our church or at other venues on the Peninsula a half a dozen times over the past decade and he remains our church’s favorite son. A concert can be done in conjunction with several churches or a single church depending on capacity and interest. A number of Time Out guys indicated real interest in trying to put a concert or two together. If there is enough interest, it would be good to try to group several together within a region for maximum efficiency. Most logically, this would be in Northern and/or Southern California to start with.
Symphony Concerts - These productions have been a huge success and we believe that there are some doors opening in selected regions in the US. There are a number of different ways to approach this. The first is from the ground up by building a following incrementally. This is what Steve has done over the years throughout Canada and is in the process of doing in the Bay Area. A more accelerated approach is to come through a large church in conjunction with a symphony. Through the symphony network that they are creating, there are near term potential opportunities in the Chicago and Dallas areas. If we were able to network with a large church in either market area, these could actually come together pretty quickly. Based on what I saw personally in Nashville, I have no doubt that they will be very highly regarded and successful.
Home Concerts - These are the hidden jewel of the Bell portfolio and an emerging trend in the evolving music industry. Steve enjoys doing small, intimate in home concerts and story sessions as much as any other performance venue. We hosted one several years ago and it was extraordinary. The purpose of these gatherings from the ministry’s perspective is to build the “brand” geographically and to connect with potential partners. Typically the comfortable size of a home concert is approximately 30 - 50 guests depending on the size of the house. This allows for sharing, conversation and a level of intimacy not achievable in a regular concert. We have talked about trying to string together a couple weeks of them in a large geographic area. For example, it would seem to be pretty manageable to string together a series of sequential performances starting in Sacramento moving to the east Bay, San Francisco, the Peninsula, Monterrey and the Central Valley. The idea would be to get a network of home concert venues (hosts) together that would be interested in bringing a high quality group of artists through once a quarter. We would invite friends, neighbors and community members together for an evening of entertainment, fellowship and perhaps even outreach. We would charge $15 or $20 per person for the artists while providing any food or beverages as the hosts.
Symphony Tour Trips - Steve, Mike and the band are concluding the second tour of the Symphony Sessions concert in Canada. As I mentioned, my wife and I went to the Edmonton concert with another couple during the first tour and it was one of the most enjoyable and inspiring evenings we have ever had. I would encourage anyone that has been moved by his music and message to consider trekking up north for a concert. There are two concerts remaining this season at the end of March (the 28th and 29th) in Ottawa. I realize that this is a long ways away but depending on individual travel schedules, there may be some folks who would be interested. I am going to try to arrange my schedule to be there and may be able to serve as point for any others who are interested. Steve says that the Ottawa symphony hall is classic, beautiful and relatively small (900 seating capacity) with great acoustics. If we do put a group together, I will work with Dave and Steve to procure VIP seats.
Steve’s website, www.signpostmusic.com, is a great source of information on what the ministry is up to including its development and promotion of other great and emerging Christian artists.
Guys, I think that you know how I have personally been impacted by what God is doing with and through Steve. I really believe that He has plans for Steve that probably exceed what we might conjure up on our own and likely extend well beyond the boundaries of the traditional music ministry. I know that during and after the last Time Out Conference, a number of guys came up to me asking for more information about Steve as it relates to getting involved with or tracking his ministry. While there are a myriad of ways to both participate in and enjoy his unique talent and vision, I tried to briefly summarize above some of the ways that others have become involved in helping Steve’s impact grow.
Finally, I have attached a link below to a narrative that Steve recently did on a new song. It is quite interesting to learn more about how true inspiration happens in this world that is foreign to many of us business guys. The link tells the story and also includes a raw mp3 version of the new song.
http://signpostmusic.com/stevebell/songstories/birthofasong.html
Good stuff. I hope you enjoy it.
Posted by Dave Dias on 03/14 at 09:07 PM