MCC Summerbridge volunteer seeks the heart of worship

Joshua Lake isn’t looking to improve his performance when he grabs his guitar, walks on stage and steps up to the microphone. What he really wants, for both himself and his audience, is an encounter with the Spirit of God.

“Whether we sing the same song for an hour or sit silent, there’s no one way of looking at [worship],” says Lake, who is serving his home community as a volunteer in Mennonite Central Committee’s Summerbridge program. “I’d rather allow the Holy Spirit to do the work. Music is just one facet.”

Summerbridge is a Canada-wide summer service program that encourages the development of leadership skills. It allows participants to stay in home areas while reaching out to meet the needs of their communities.

Lake’s position as one of several worship leaders at Gateway Community Church, a Mennonite Brethren congregation in Lower Sackville (a suburb of Halifax), isn’t his first time on stage. He first began playing drums in the church band at age 12. But after seven years of practice and performance, he quit.

“It just became too routine,” he says.

During that break he attended a three-week youth retreat in Winnipeg. It restored his sense of purpose within the church and helped re-energize his spirit.

“It overwhelmed me,” Lake says. “Each night we were there sharing and worshipping. I could never get enough.”

When he got home, Lake decided to go back to his church worship team and move further to the front of the stage. Now, however, his focus is not the music or the routine but is firmly set on reverence.

The church has organized a network of people to pray during the service, as a support to the worship team. Lake says the intercession helps keep the band’s focus on God rather than the people they are playing to.

It’s a worship style that stresses sincere worship over group performance and translates, he says, into a different kind of experience. “It’s been incredible. I’m aware of [the people] but it becomes more personal. You can feel the presence of God walking through the room.”

As a Summerbridge participant, Lake will be spending much of his time in the local community. In addition, July 25 to August 10 he is touring with “La Danse Celebration”, a group of 250 musicians and speakers travelling across Canada to worship and build relationships among youth.

—Jonathan Thiessen, MCC Canada Communications