Why is Campus Crusade’s ‘Music Ministry’ doing Internet stuff?

This is a question that we’ve heard recently, even from within Campus Crusade for Christ.  If people within our organization are confused, it’s probably unclear to some of you who partner with us, too.

What guides everything that Keynote does is Acts 17 and the creative communication of God’s unchanging message.  Paul entered Athens, saw the spiritual worldview of the people there (vs 22), and explained the gospel to them.  He even used the words of their own poets.

Keynote’s mission has always been to use the language of “pop culture” to plant the gospel in the hearts of lost people.  It started with music ministry and has expanded to three outreach arms:

Keynote Artists

blue sky nine and our other artists continue the original ministry, styled for today’s audiences.  Weaving together songs and stories that touch hearts, they call people to respond to the gospel.  blue sky nine recently returned to a prison that they’d played at last year.  After the concert, a man who had committed his life to Christ at last year’s concert came up to talk to the band.  He described how he’d seen his life change incredibly and then said, “There’s nothing I want to remember about being in prison… except the day last year that blue sky nine came.”  That’s what it’s all about!

Keynote Creative Communications Group

This team exists to equip, coach, and train others to communicate the gospel through clear, compelling, and creative media.  They provide communications training to Campus Crusade staff and students around the world.  They also run the Keynote Summer Project.  Through the Summer Project bands this past summer, 1048 people chose to follow Christ!

Keynote New Media Labs

This newest part of Keynote is taking creative communication to the Internet/mobile/digital realms.  Communication has changed – it used to be one-to-one (conversations) or one-to-many (lectures or broadcasts).  Now it’s many-to-many.  A video uploaded to YouTube or a statement published on facebook might lead to many online exchanges between people who have never met face-to-face.  How can we bring the Gospel into these conversations?

I’m sure that many of you don’t use facebook – that’s OK.  But 500 million people do, and they spend a lot of time there.  What if we could take the Gospel to them where they are?  We can!

Obviously, technology is key to all three of Keynote’s outreach strategies.  It’s exciting to be in the middle of this, helping any way that I can to move these efforts forward.  Thank you for the part you play in keeping us going through your prayers and gifts!