Here is a humbling note we received after the airing of The Door. Praise God!
I am from Minnesota, USA and viewed your program on God TV during the Super Bowl.
In fact I got into worshiping the Lord more than watching the Super Bowl. Praise God and many thanks for your wonderful spirit filled service! I even had tears streaming down my face because I was so moved!
Monday, February 22, 2010
Monday, February 8, 2010
Opening The Door into a new territory
Hey guys, check out this article that Christian Marketplace put in their February 2010 issue!
Opening The Door into a new territory
Clem Jackson met with Mark and Carrie Tedder to talk about a groundbreaking worship project in China and about living and ministering in what for many is a closed land.
In 2008 Mark Tedder and his Worshiplanet band, together with a group of Chinese musicians performed a worship concert in a theatre which is home to the biggest International Church in
Beijing in China. Whilst that in itself was unusual the most amazing part of the project was that the whole event was recorded and filmed – a first for a worship concert in China. The result was The Door, a CD and DVD package issued earlier in 2009 in the UK by Integrity Music Europe.
At the time Mark and some of his family were living in Beijing but have now returned to Colorado and I met up with him and his wife Carrie on a visit to England at the end of last year to talk about the project and life in China. I began by asking them about the ministry of Worshiplanet.
Mark: Worshiplanet is an international equipping ministry. We really have a heart for working with worship teams and local churches all around the world and so, where we are invited, we will take a small band with us and will go and work with, train, equip, local worship ministries and local expressions of worship in various nations.
CJ: You recently spent two years in China but how did that all come about?
Carrie: About five years ago we were invited by the Chinese government to do a series of benefit concerts for the Disabled Federation of China. The deal was they would raise money at the concerts by selling tickets (they paid our expenses) if we could sing what we liked. They said OK; we couldn’t speak but we could sing what we liked. We did a series of 90 minute concerts all over mainland China for two weeks and it was from that series of concerts that we really got a big heart for China. When we found out that the International Church in Beijing, 4,000 people and fourteen congregations, were without a worship pastor we very quickly volunteered. We spent six months raising funds for a two-year stay in China so we didn’t cost the church anything, found a little apartment and lived there.
CJ: To shift the family and shift the home all the way from Colorado to China, how difficult
was that for you Carrie?
Carrie: Easy! I travel easier than he does. (“she does” - Mark). It wasn’t too bad mainly because our kids are older. Now we would have done it, if our kids had been younger, in fact we have made moves like that before. Whilst there are some remote places, China is easier than we think, particularly the bigger cities like Shanghai and Beijing.
CJ: While you were in China The Door project came about; why The Door?
Mark: We called it The Door because we really sensed from the very first time we went to China that the door was open; God clearly has been opening a door in China for evangelisation, for proclamation. The other reason we called it The Door was because doors are significant in China. The door is probably one of the most significant parts of the home. Even if you live in a shanty the door, the threshold, is a very significant part of that house. If you are invited into a person’s house in China it’s a high honour; they have opened their door and are saying ‘please come and spend time with us, come and eat with us’. Wherever you go you see above each threshold the symbol of the door that’s on the cover of the project.
CJ: You talk about a door being opened but in the West we hear all sorts of conflicting stories about how free Christianity is, about the persecution of pastors. What’s your experience having spent two years there?
Carrie: Someone told us when we first arrived in China that ‘any statement you make about China is true – somewhere in China’. And we know there is persecution going on, there are horrible things happening, they continue to happen, it will take forever to change this. At the same time there are amazing things happening; like 18 months ago they passed a ruling which said it was no longer illegal to be a card carrying Communist Party member and to be a Christ follower in Parliament. We know there are believers who are very high up in the government.
So you’ve got this underlying history of bad things happening but you have this fresh move
of God’s Spirit. There are believers throughout society in China from the peasant population all
the way up to government.
Mark: We even got the opportunity to be interviewed about what we were doing in China
on Beijing Radio (17 million listeners) and although they had this file on us, they knew all about us, the interviewer just says “You’re with Worshiplanet – what is Worshiplanet?” and then she says to me “Just say what you want to say, I don’t really care, it’s OK.”
CJ: Have you been back to China in 2009?
Mark: We were there in February; we try to go there once a year now. We are planning another tour there again with the government - the same organisation wants us to come back again - in
2010 if we can get the money together.
CJ: What were the challenges in writing songs for the project that were translatable into the Chinese context?
Mark: I tend to write songs based on what is happening in my life, in my congregation’s life, in
the life of the church, kind of more around me. So the expression and the songs that came from The Door project were mostly written in Beijing. What we did is we fused these two worlds together. We brought a Western song and combined it with Chinese ethnic instruments. In terms of fusing Chinese instruments and bringing Chinese musicians onto the project, that was a challenge. People in China don’t view a Guzheng (a long wooden stringed instrument that looks like a harp laying on its side), or a Yangqin (a hammer dulcimer type of instrument), as instruments for worship. It was a big risk to use them but we had heard young Chinese musicians playing these instruments in their homes; it was just a beautiful expression of worship.
Carrie: We let the Chinese musicians we used create around what Mark had written, so there
was a lot of creativity on their part.
CJ: And on the CDRom you have the words in Chinese script alongside the English translation
of the words too.
Mark: To be honest with you The Door was never meant to be released outside of China; it
was meant to be for the Chinese Church. There is nothing at all like this in China, this is a first. When we had it pressed in China we said, 'Look, take this record and copy it as many times as you want to and give it out to as many villages and towns and cities as you can. Get it out there.
Carrie: And we’re praying that this will be a prototype because if this eventually gets permission it means that some other things will get permission too and that’s actually much
more important.
by Tony Cummings
tony.cummings@crossrhythms.co.uk
For more info on Christian Marketplace visit http://christianmarketplace.org.uk/
Opening The Door into a new territory
Clem Jackson met with Mark and Carrie Tedder to talk about a groundbreaking worship project in China and about living and ministering in what for many is a closed land.
In 2008 Mark Tedder and his Worshiplanet band, together with a group of Chinese musicians performed a worship concert in a theatre which is home to the biggest International Church in
Beijing in China. Whilst that in itself was unusual the most amazing part of the project was that the whole event was recorded and filmed – a first for a worship concert in China. The result was The Door, a CD and DVD package issued earlier in 2009 in the UK by Integrity Music Europe.
At the time Mark and some of his family were living in Beijing but have now returned to Colorado and I met up with him and his wife Carrie on a visit to England at the end of last year to talk about the project and life in China. I began by asking them about the ministry of Worshiplanet.
Mark: Worshiplanet is an international equipping ministry. We really have a heart for working with worship teams and local churches all around the world and so, where we are invited, we will take a small band with us and will go and work with, train, equip, local worship ministries and local expressions of worship in various nations.
CJ: You recently spent two years in China but how did that all come about?
Carrie: About five years ago we were invited by the Chinese government to do a series of benefit concerts for the Disabled Federation of China. The deal was they would raise money at the concerts by selling tickets (they paid our expenses) if we could sing what we liked. They said OK; we couldn’t speak but we could sing what we liked. We did a series of 90 minute concerts all over mainland China for two weeks and it was from that series of concerts that we really got a big heart for China. When we found out that the International Church in Beijing, 4,000 people and fourteen congregations, were without a worship pastor we very quickly volunteered. We spent six months raising funds for a two-year stay in China so we didn’t cost the church anything, found a little apartment and lived there.
CJ: To shift the family and shift the home all the way from Colorado to China, how difficult
was that for you Carrie?
Carrie: Easy! I travel easier than he does. (“she does” - Mark). It wasn’t too bad mainly because our kids are older. Now we would have done it, if our kids had been younger, in fact we have made moves like that before. Whilst there are some remote places, China is easier than we think, particularly the bigger cities like Shanghai and Beijing.
CJ: While you were in China The Door project came about; why The Door?
Mark: We called it The Door because we really sensed from the very first time we went to China that the door was open; God clearly has been opening a door in China for evangelisation, for proclamation. The other reason we called it The Door was because doors are significant in China. The door is probably one of the most significant parts of the home. Even if you live in a shanty the door, the threshold, is a very significant part of that house. If you are invited into a person’s house in China it’s a high honour; they have opened their door and are saying ‘please come and spend time with us, come and eat with us’. Wherever you go you see above each threshold the symbol of the door that’s on the cover of the project.
CJ: You talk about a door being opened but in the West we hear all sorts of conflicting stories about how free Christianity is, about the persecution of pastors. What’s your experience having spent two years there?
Carrie: Someone told us when we first arrived in China that ‘any statement you make about China is true – somewhere in China’. And we know there is persecution going on, there are horrible things happening, they continue to happen, it will take forever to change this. At the same time there are amazing things happening; like 18 months ago they passed a ruling which said it was no longer illegal to be a card carrying Communist Party member and to be a Christ follower in Parliament. We know there are believers who are very high up in the government.
So you’ve got this underlying history of bad things happening but you have this fresh move
of God’s Spirit. There are believers throughout society in China from the peasant population all
the way up to government.
Mark: We even got the opportunity to be interviewed about what we were doing in China
on Beijing Radio (17 million listeners) and although they had this file on us, they knew all about us, the interviewer just says “You’re with Worshiplanet – what is Worshiplanet?” and then she says to me “Just say what you want to say, I don’t really care, it’s OK.”
CJ: Have you been back to China in 2009?
Mark: We were there in February; we try to go there once a year now. We are planning another tour there again with the government - the same organisation wants us to come back again - in
2010 if we can get the money together.
CJ: What were the challenges in writing songs for the project that were translatable into the Chinese context?
Mark: I tend to write songs based on what is happening in my life, in my congregation’s life, in
the life of the church, kind of more around me. So the expression and the songs that came from The Door project were mostly written in Beijing. What we did is we fused these two worlds together. We brought a Western song and combined it with Chinese ethnic instruments. In terms of fusing Chinese instruments and bringing Chinese musicians onto the project, that was a challenge. People in China don’t view a Guzheng (a long wooden stringed instrument that looks like a harp laying on its side), or a Yangqin (a hammer dulcimer type of instrument), as instruments for worship. It was a big risk to use them but we had heard young Chinese musicians playing these instruments in their homes; it was just a beautiful expression of worship.
Carrie: We let the Chinese musicians we used create around what Mark had written, so there
was a lot of creativity on their part.
CJ: And on the CDRom you have the words in Chinese script alongside the English translation
of the words too.
Mark: To be honest with you The Door was never meant to be released outside of China; it
was meant to be for the Chinese Church. There is nothing at all like this in China, this is a first. When we had it pressed in China we said, 'Look, take this record and copy it as many times as you want to and give it out to as many villages and towns and cities as you can. Get it out there.
Carrie: And we’re praying that this will be a prototype because if this eventually gets permission it means that some other things will get permission too and that’s actually much
more important.
by Tony Cummings
tony.cummings@crossrhythms.co.uk
For more info on Christian Marketplace visit http://christianmarketplace.org.uk/
Friday, February 5, 2010
Stop The Presses!
Don't forget to tune into God TV this weekend, February 7 & 8 to watch the airing of The Door project! Remember you can go to www.god.tv/thedoor or check your Dish Network listing for channel #365 to see when it will be airing in your area.
Below is a media release that God TV put out yesterday about The Door...
GOD TV airs ground-breaking event from China
‘The Door’ offers vibrant cross-cultural worship from
As part of GOD TV’s commitment to broadcast what is happening in the Body of Christ across the globe, the international network is to air one of the first LIVE worship events ever recorded in Mainland
Combining Western songs with Chinese instrumental sounds and with musicians from Beijing and the USA, ‘The Door’ sets a new trend in today’s worship and can be seen on GOD EUROPE this Sunday, 7th February at 18.00 and 23.30 as well as the GOD Channel UK at 19.30 (GMT).
Produced during
The project was spearheaded by US ‘musicianary’ Mark Tedder, who served as a worship leader at the fellowship for two years. He and his wife now lead the international worship equipping ministry, Worshiplanet.
“The heart of the Door project was that God would use it to encourage local churches throughout
The Door is a breakthrough for the Church in
“GOD TV has a vision to serve the Chinese people and ‘The Door’ is an event not to be missed!” said GOD TV co-founder and head of television,
“Prepare for a season of grace that will come upon you in the next years – for where you have been My suffering Church, prepare to be My mass evangelists,” she wrote in a prophetic word entitled ‘
For more information about The Door visit: www.worshiplanet.com
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Global broadcast of "The Door"
God TV brodcasts "The Door"!
Hey everybody! We are excited to let you in on the latest news from around the world. God TV are broadcasting "The Door" on all of their Global platforms on February 7th and 8th.
Please go to the following web link and find out the broadcast times in your area. The programme will be aired on all feeds, broadcasting in Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, Greater China, UK and the USA on February 7th & 8th - following is a promo of the show, courtesy of God TV.
http://www.god.tv/thedoor
Friday, December 4, 2009
The Door is featured this month in Charisma Magazine. Below is the article in full. Praise God, He is still using The Door to get the message out there!
A live worship recording is highlighting the indigenous sounds of the Chinese church––and drawing people to Christ
Indigenous Music Of The Chinese Church
A live worship recording is highlighting the indigenous sounds of the Chinese church––and drawing people to Christ
A live worship project that joins musicians from the U. S., Europe and China is highlighting the indigenous sounds of the Chinese church––and drawing people to Christ.
Produced during China’s Olympic Games, The Door was recorded during a Sunday service at Beijing’s 4,000-member International Christian Fellowship––where worshipers’ identities are checked by government agents before they can enter the hall.
“To get into the church, you have to show a foreign ID of some sort,” said Arkansas-born musician Mark Tedder, 47, who served as full-time worship leader at the fellowship for two years and spearheaded the project.
“There is a police presence at the front door.” Remarkably, authorities gave their offi cial permission, but Tedder and his team still made sure the hard drive containing the recording left China quickly. The main condition was that the team should not broadcast the recording before the Olympics.
“It was a miracle to pull it off , simply because it’s never been done before,” said Tedder, now based in Colorado.
Captured on both CD and DVD, the live worship recording brings standard Western worship sounds alongside 2,000- year-old traditional Chinese instruments such as the dulcimerlike yangqin, the harpstyle guzheng and the drone pipe hulusi.
“We wanted [the recording] to give the vibe that local worship teams could actually incorporate and redeem some of these ancient instruments,” Tedder said.
Tedder did not intend to make a commercial recording and initially distributed the album freely. But the project caught the attention of Integrity Music Europe and was picked up for distribution. In the U.S., the CD is available at worshiplanet.com. “I had no idea it would go outside of mainland China,” Tedder admitted.
“The heart of this project was that God would use it to encourage local churches throughout China.” There have been other major worship initiatives in China––notably the famous Canaan Hymns by Xiao Min, who wrote more than 1,000 indigenous praise songs.
In addition, Hong Kong-based Vine Band released From Ashes to Beauty in both English and Mandarin.
But The Door is the fi rst offi cially sanctioned live project to come out of China.
Reports claim that lives are being changed through it. “We’re hearing stories from China that villages are sitting down in one person’s home who has a TV and watching The Door project,” Tedder said. “People are getting saved through it.” —CLIVE PRICE
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
A Small Story of God's Marvel
We received this from a friend in the UK:
A small story of God's marvel:
I was asked very recently by a local church to help them out by leading worship singing at their evening service. The curate told me the Bible verses he would base his talk on and the basic layout of the worship programme. He asked that we both pray for guidance on suitable songs. He asked me to pray particularly about the song between his talk and the prayers.
We both did this and when we met to discuss the songs, we had both written down the same song for between the prayers! Your song: Be Still. Wow!
Many people were kind enough to speak to me afterwards and I was amazed by how many said that the "Be Still" song had really taken them into a mood of prayer.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Doors are opening!
The Door is opening many doors throughout the world! We just received this email from a friend working with pastors who are planting churches in Muslim countries.
Hi from the Philippines!
I'm here for a training seminar for two weeks geared to language coaches who train missionaries. I played one of your songs during a devotional (Redeeming Light of God) and a number of the Filipino missionaries who serve among Muslims asked if they could copy it. I wanted to ask your permission before I allowed them to do this.
And from Niger, Africa
We are in charge of Sunday night's church service here. I'm in charge of leading worship. Thought you might like to know that actually YOU are leading us in two songs. :) We are the People of God and How Great is Our God - off your Waiting for the Son cd. So, how about that?!?"
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