This past weekend we celebrated 1 year of ministry as Isaiah 61 One. What started out as a Night of Worship! grew into something bigger than I ever thought.
Originally, I wasn’t planning to have a band at all. I have been in many bands and there are many dynamics with using actual musicians that I didn’t want to have to deal with, plus, at my age it is hard to find competent musicians that can volunteer any real time without being paid. Rachel and her mom gave me a cool little toy called a “Trio” for Christmas. It’s basically a band in a box. You plug your guitar into it and it into the PA. Play your chord progression into it and the Trio magically (well, it seems like magic…) adds bass and drums~ My idea was to work up a worship set with just my guitar and Rachel and the Trio. I even got pretty proficient building songs with the magic box.
Fortunately, “a man makes his plans but the Lord directs his steps” (Pro 16:9).
The band actually starts with a “coincidence”. Mark Dupuis “accidently” invited Rachel and I to a 5th Sunday Worship Jam at his home church. I use the words “coincidence” and “accidental” because Mark and I had never met before and he thought he was inviting another Danny and his wife. When I got the invite I asked Rachel if we knew Mark. She didn’t think we did, but we both know his pastor, Tim Swanson, so we thought maybe we’d met him through him.
Danny Powell and Mark Dupuis
We show up on Sunday night, walk in, and thank Mark from across the room for inviting us, not understanding why he looked so confused!
Months later in May 2016 I walked into the East Texas Healing Center to visit with Cindy Hyde (the director). I had done some work on her laptop and thought I was stopping by to follow up on the condition of her machine. During the course of that conversation she mentioned that the HC needed some revival and that the LORD shared with her that there needed to be more worship in the healing center. Rachel and I had been knowing for over a year that we would be leaving the comfort of our home church to go lead worship somewhere and the time to go out was getting very near. I didn’t think at the time that it was the HC we would be leading at, but I thought it would be good to actually go out and lead worship somewhere so I volunteered to do a Night of Worship!
At first I was going to use the trio but then I decided to ask my new friend Mark if he’d like to come play with me. He did. Next I asked a guy I had played with in bands back in our 20’s, Scott Johnson, and he was in. We rounded out the group with my friend Lee Norman whom I’d played with at Holly Springs Baptist Church.
That was a year ago. That first night we had the “Ever Changing Band” from Vineyard Church Nacogdoches kick things off. Then Rebekah from that group came and joined us as we went into our worship set.
Zach, Danny, Rachel, John, Mark, Tykisha, and Lee
Here we are a year later, with a full band, Zachry Powell, TyKisha Wortham, John Fontenot, Mark Dupuis, Lee Norman, and Rachel and myself getting ready to record our first CD project together.
Zach, Danny, Rachel, John, Mark, Tykisha, and LeeThank you to everyone that supports the music ministry.
Grace ‘n Peace
Rev. Daniel Powell (aka Danny)
