As one of the many clubs and religious organizations that Florida State has to offer, the Baptist Collegiate Ministry (BCM) is a unique community of college students who create an environment focused on worshipping God and fostering lasting relationships with one another. They hold a weekly worship service every Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m., and a part of this service is a musical portion led by the worship team. This worship team is comprised of talented members who lead service attendees with a set of live contemporary Christian music.
Her Campus (HC): To begin, please introduce yourselves and tell us what you do on the team.
Zach Ford (ZF): I’m Zach Ford and I play the cajón.
Savannah Blasdel (SB): I’m Savannah Blasdel and I sing.
Cooper Lovett (CL): I’m Cooper Lovett and I play the guitar.
Anna Rawls (AR): I’m Anna Rawls and I sing.
Emma Johnson (EJ): I’m Emma Johnson and I sing.
HC: What is the purpose of this group?
CL: Our purpose is to help set our worship service’s mood and lead those who come in a time of praise and worship through song. Worship is anything that glorifies God, and it’s cool to get to sing and take a time of veneration.
HC: What made you all want to lead in the BCM?
SB: Music has always been an essential part of my life since it symbolizes my connection with the Lord, so it’s a cool opportunity to inspire others to do the same thing.
EJ: It’s also our peers and fellow students who are all in the same stage of life, so the fact that they trust us in that and allow us to lead them is really amazing. It’s also cool because we, as musicians, can glorify God in the best way that we know and are most comfortable. I think we are all pretty qualified and do our best in this position.
HC: How do you go about making the setlist for the worship services?
EJ: Before this semester, we had a much smaller team and we often couldn’t meet ahead of time to plan songs due to COVID-19 restrictions. However, recently we have gotten our stuff together. We even have a spreadsheet that Cooper, our fearless leader, made: now we have practices on Sundays and know what we are going to do for the service.
HC: Tackling coronavirus-related drawbacks so smoothly truly shows your resilience as a group! What is your favorite worship song to perform?
AR: I love “Way Maker” by Leeland; I like hearing the names of God. There are so many different names of God in the Bible. It is super powerful when it’s all put in one song, especially since the names resonate with each person differently.
SB: Recently, the song “Promises” by Maverick City has been a favorite of mine, not necessarily to perform, but because it had a significant impact on my life. I’ve been thinking about how God has been faithful through how crazy the world has been. It has pushed me to learn how to depend on Him and know that He is enough.
HC: What was the moment during a given performance or worship that has stuck with you the most?
CL: I can’t forget the time when all the instruments stopped playing and you could hear everyone singing together! It was something special.
EJ: We had a great night last semester, and we had an impromptu worship night. It was truly Spirit-led, and we played the songs that we thought were going to lead our students best at the beginning of an uncertain semester with online classes. I remember that night being a night of pure worship and zero stress—it felt amazing!
HC: What do you hope those who hear the music get from what you’re doing?
ZF: Spiritual rest.
CL: Time away.
HC: Is there a final message you would like to share with anyone out there who feels like they are being called to serve on a worship team but doesn’t feel capable?
SB: The Lord equips you for what He calls you to, so if you feel like the Lord is leading you in that direction, then He has given you the ability to do that.
ZF: Worship takes many forms, and it doesn’t mean if you aren’t musically gifted, you aren’t capable of worship. Finding where you are meant to be and serve is more important than worrying about whether you are good at it. God is going to make you good enough.
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