Worship albums continue to arrive at the good ship Cross Rhythms in a tidal wave and it’s not just the CCM companies who are releasing them. Independent worship albums are also being released in abundance. The composers/worship leaders who release the latter are seldom as well known, though, as London-based Ivo and Malin. For this intriguing duo regularly lead worship at one of the largest churches in the UK, the famed Kensington Temple. With Ivo and Malin’s EP ‘Holy One’ out now it seemed a good moment to quiz the worship leaders about their ministry.

Tony: Can you start by giving us some background about yourselves?

Ivo: I was born in 1977 in a small town in north-central Bulgaria. My dad was a drummer and my mum a nurse. Having spent countless nights at my mum’s hospital or sat by the side of the stage in restaurants where my dad performed with his band my parents decided I wasn’t going to be a doctor and signed me up for piano lessons at the age of six. I spent the next five years playing classical piano and learning music from Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, Gershwin, Mozart and Tchaikovsky to name but a few. Nearing the teenage years I rebelled against classical music and to the horror of my parents I came home one day and announced that I was no longer going to play classical music. A few days later my dad returned home with a pile of “evergreens” (jazz standards) and said, ‘Here. if you won’t play classical music, you will play these instead,’ and that’s how I began my journey into blues, jazz and pop music. Today I’m so glad that my parents found a way to keep me interested in music and did not allow me to drop years of piano training just because I didn’t fancy playing classical music anymore.

My encounter with God came at the age of 12. My parents at the time were no more than nominal orthodox Christians and decided to split up at that time which caused a lot of pain and hurt but nevertheless God had a plan and was able to use this unfortunate event for good and ultimately for the salvation of my whole family. Having been divorced my parents went separate ways and my dad re-married whilst my mum had to find work abroad in order to support us and my music studies which were in full swing by then. It was a Sunday morning and I was staying at my grandparents’ house when my dad came and woke me up early and asked me if I was interested in coming along to this church where they had the latest Yamaha keyboard so I can have a play with it. Somewhat suspicious what that church is I was too curios about the keyboard to refuse the invitation. Little did I know that my dad had become a Christian through the daughter of his new wife and they were now attending the local Pentecostal church. So we went to church and I soon found myself in keyboard “heaven”, playing the latest synthesizer in town. I began to spend time with my step-sister who also played the piano and undoubtedly yet again music had a profound impact on my life. Having “tortured” the pastor and my dad with questions like “Where does God come from?” and “How do you learn to speak in tongues?” I soon began to encounter God through worship and gave my life to him. Not long after that my mum, who was working in Yemen as a nurse, became friends with a small community of western missionaries who embraced her and helped her to discover God much more that she had ever done before as a somewhat superficial orthodox Christian. I can only thank God that he in his mercy and love used the hardship of a family divorce to turn our hearts to him.

My teenage years were both exciting and yet full of struggles. I was doing my music college studies (from the age of 13) in the capital Sofia having to rent accommodation and manage my time on my own as both of my parents lived hundreds and in some cases thousands of miles away. The local Pentecostal church became my second home and I quickly got involved in church life as part of the youth worship and later on the main services too. The country was going through painful political and economical changes having come out of the Eastern Block. In my teen years I recall times where I had to queue at 5am for bread and milk before rations ran out and then rush back home and onto school to do my music studies for the day. I think the sum of all those factors made me grow up a lot quicker than many kids my age. I began listening to Christian music from Integrity/Hosanna Music and I dreamed of travelling aboard to experience the kind of worship I heard on the recordings. At the time my step-sister had gone to study at Christ For The Nations in Dallas, Texas and as much as I strived to go there too it never quite worked out.

Having completed my music college at the age of 18, I was drafted in the Bulgarian army for over a year to complete my compulsory army service. Fresh out of the army on 4th July 1998 I returned to my local church where a friend of mine told me of a vibrant church called Kensington Temple and how much she was enjoying studying at their Bible school. Having never thought of going to England I decided to give it a go and see how things turn out and so in the month of August 1998 I came to the UK. Having arrived in London I worked briefly as a waiter in Leicester Square and later on as a self-employed carpenter for a year and a half. I started attending Kensington Temple (KT) the day after I arrived in London and it was about a year later that I began to get involved in the worship life of the church as a volunteer playing keyboards for Wednesday and Sunday services. In October 1999 I was offered a part paid and part apprentice study position with the music department of the church under the leadership of music pastor Dave Wellington. Later on that became a full time position as the assistant music director of KT. As part of my worship leader apprentice programme at the church I was attending classes at the School of Creative Ministries which KT was running at the time and it was there that I met my beautiful wife Malin who was studying singing. After proposing on her graduation night we got married in the summer of 2000 and have since lived and served in London and KT where we often lead worship together with the other members of the KT worship team. We released our debut EP CD in January 2006 and hope to continue writing songs and serve the body of Christ.

Malin: I was born in Sweden. I lived with my family in the countryside just outside a small town called Tidaholm. I have two brothers, two sisters and two step-sisters. We have always had a lot of animals like dogs, cats, birds, rabbits and even hens and pigs. When I was eight I joined the local orienteering and ski club. I trained and competed in orienteering from spring to autumn and trained cross-country skiing in the winter until I was about 13. Although being very successful, there were other things that seemed more interesting like singing and horses. I joined the Church of Sweden’s gospel choir and I was taking care of other people’s horses till I eventually bought my own horse at 15. I joined the choir because I enjoyed singing and not because it was gospel. At that time I didn’t know a lot about God as my immediate family is not Christian. I knew that my grandmother was praying for me and my mum’s cousin (Krisola) used to try to talk to me about God and invite me to her Pentecostal church, but I was not very interested. I did start to get more interested when I heard there was singing involved. I eventually agreed to go with her and found that I really enjoyed it and also I saw that they had something I didn’t have: Jesus. It did take some time before I opened up to Krisola. I found myself going to church more often and I was always invited to the church’s social events. I gave my life to God when I was 15, but struggled with leading a Christian life as most of my friends were non-believers. I didn’t decide to get baptised until just before I turned 20.

A few days after my baptism, I went to the UK to work and improve my English. For some reason I stayed on for longer than expected. I still didn’t live fully for God, but a friend from my home church was in London at the same time as I was in the UK. She was doing the School of Creative Ministries course at KT’s Bible school. The course focused on singing, dancing and acting. My friend said she thought this course would be great for me. So I went to KT to check it out. I applied to enroll in the autumn of 1999, went for an audition and to my surprise I was accepted. That year I got to know God on a more intimate and personal level. Not only did I get to know God, but I also got to know Ivo who had just started working for KT. On my SCM graduation he proposed to me and not long after that we got married.

After SCM I started my career in accounting. I am now a part-qualified Management Accountant hoping to qualify this year. I also joined the KT worship team as a backing vocalist and after about two years I started leading worship alongside Ivo. Two summers ago, God put on my heart to express my love for him in my own words. It took me a whole summer to finish the lyrics for “Holy One”, but when I had finished it, I gave it to Ivo who put music to the words and it became the first track on our EP. I am also part of a cell group at KT, as well as leading my own group of five wonderful girls.

Tony: Are you active in the worship at Kensington Temple every week and what are your feelings about worship emanating from such a large congregation?

Ivo and Malin: It’s a great privilege for both of us to be involved with such a dynamic and vibrant church such as KT. Particularly for me (Ivo) as I am part of the full time KT band. As part of my remit I am actively involved in all areas of KT worship life which includes co-ordinating all the volunteers (we have around 80), rehearsing and training bands and also help organise and run worship events like our Summer School of the Arts. Malin is also actively involved as a volunteer on the singing side. Together we worship lead at some of the main services and events at KT.

We have been doing it for some time now and so sometimes you forget that on a Sunday almost 5,000 people pass through the doors at KT and we are live on the web. In fact sometimes it’s best to forget because thinking about those numbers can get in the way! It’s funny because in a way we both feel that leading a large congregation is much easier than in a more intimate setting like a home group. In the big crowd there is already a certain kind of dynamic, there’s a vibe and the congregation and the worship band are feeding off each other. On the other hand it is often a bit more rigid because you are trying to help get so many different types of people into the presence of God. Another thing about a large congregation is that everything is exaggerated. the sound has to be big and the choices you make often have to be definite. You can’t afford to half try something because if it’s a hit it’s great, but if it’s a miss you are going to know about it! We think that whilst there’s great value in corporate worship and large celebrations some of the best worship experiences have been in the smaller more intimate settings, that’s where the ‘trade’ is really learnt, there’s no band, there’s no hiding, it’s warts and all so to speak and it’s where you can really explore worship. We’ve always thought that if you can lead worship in a small group then leading worship in front of a big crowd is only a matter of experience, because leading worship in front of a big crowd doesn’t always mean you can do it in front of five or 10.

That’s why we love leading worship at KT, because during the course of a week you can get both. It might be on the stage in front of 1,000 on a Sunday and then on Tuesday Malin is leading worship in her cell in front of six people in a small backroom! The beauty of KT is that it’s such a multi-cultural church which is a great testimony that we as a church are reaching people in such a multi ethnic city as London. Our recent census showed that we have an amazing number of 118 nationalities represented at Kensington Temple which for us at KT Worship means that the songs and music do not need to be in one particular style or “box”. We might start the service with a rock style song, carry on into a calypso rhythm, then a revamped old gospel standard and finish it off with a good old hymn and the best things is that congregation are right there with you enjoying and engaging with every minute of it. It’s funny then how the EP ended up as it is because it’s more of a scaled down version of who we are stylistically as we feel that our musical influences are much broader than what you hear on first impressions. In a way the EP is a reflection of where we were at the time when the songs where written. Sometimes, songs write themselves but sometimes it takes weeks of perseverance and adjusting the lyrics and music until they both fall into harmony in order to serve their purpose.

Tony: You seem to have musical influences considerably broader than the usual Redman, Delirious? kind of thing. What are those influences?

Ivo: I’m glad you asked. In my early childhood I was classically trained as a pianist, but as I became a teenager I somewhat rebelled against classical music and began listening to Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder and a mixture of the blues and jazz. Later on in music college I remember sneaking away in the afternoons to spend time learning what we called the “evergreen” standards such as “Misty”, “Summertime” and other jazz standards. I guess all this ultimately had a profound effect on me as a musician and later on as songwriter. It was after I got saved that I was also introduced to music from Ron Kenoly/Integrity, Michael W Smith and BeBe and CeCe Winans which quickly became my favorite worship music in my first steps as a Christian. Later on I came to KT and the last six to seven years have been spent listening to and digesting the music of the likes of Kirk Franklin, Fred Hammond, Israel Houghton, Matt Redman, Delirious? and the Hillsong teams. To be honest, you never stop learning and I am constantly looking to take the odd refresher lesson here and there or observe someone else’s style and technique in order to ‘sneakily-borrow’ ideas and get inspired. I think it’s healthy to have all these influences, it becomes like a melting pot and so what comes out can be influenced by more than just one person or style. I think worship could be far more reflective of the Creator rather than the created and our God is so wonderful, colourful and awesome that I don’t think one style can do him justice!

Tony: Of the songs on your CD, which one most completely expresses where your heart is at the moment?

Ivo: If you asked me that question a year ago I would have said “Holy One”, but today it has to be “Search Me Oh God”. It’s very personal for me and it really sums up my desire to be filled with the things of God and be honest in my worship times. I learned a lot when that song ended up being on the recording and I would love to share the story with you: It was the first day of the recording when we found out that the drum cymbal stands were missing from the studio and we could not begin working on the three tracks we initially planned to record. People were on the phone calling favours to borrow stands… rushing to shops trying to buy them, it was hectic. And just in that moment as some of us were beginning to panic and think that it’s all going wrong from the very start… God had a plan. He said: “Do the song you’ve been worshiping with in your quiet place. just one voice and the piano, no drums, no bass, no guitars.no choir” and so track four “Search Me, Oh God” came to be. It was a fresh reminder to me and us as worshipers and musicians that it’s not about the instruments, great singing, clever arrangements or sleek guitar lines, but about simply coming before God, pouring out our hearts in worship.

Malin: For me it would have to be “Your Endless Love”. God has shown me, through an amazing answer to prayer, that he loves me and cares for me more than I can imagine. The way he came through for us has proved to me that his ways are higher than ours, much higher.

Tony: What plans do you have for the future?

Ivo and Mallin: We’re looking forward to the future with a sense of excitement, because there seems to be a lot happening in the worship life of our church and UK as a whole and we’re so happy to be part of what God’s doing through worship in this day and age. Here at KT we’re looking to train and equip people who are passionate about worship and music. It is vital to pass on our experience to others and help them grow both spiritually and musically. We’re running weekly musicians and singers training/rehearsal nights which have been very popular and we’re already seeing the fruits of that. We plan to continue serving as worship leaders at KT and contribute to the recently launched KT Sounds label which will aim to produce a variety of music from praise and worship to rock to classical and hip-hop to name but a few styles. We hope to release another two or three EP CDs in the coming year which will culminate with the release of a full album compilation.

On the larger scale of things, our church is focused on tackling and influencing the giants of our day, ie, media, education, law, politics, etc and Malin and I together with the KT worship teams would certainly like to do our bit in the area of music and media in order to have a positive Christian influence in this world. We plan to get involved in worship events in the wider Christian body in London and across the country because God has laid on our hearts a desire to see worship leaders, songwriters, musicians and creative people from different churches and denominations come and work closer together to further the Gospel in this nation and the world by means of worship, music and the media.  

These days I firmly believe that in life my top down priority should be:

1. God
2. Myself+God+family
3. Church family+ministry
4. Work
5. Social life+hobbies

Ever so often though in our lives these priorities gets mixed up in the wrong order. Far too often work takes over ministry or serving God, or social activities and hobbies become just an excuse and distraction from having a close relationship with God. We start to say things like but I need to pay the bills – yes but you’ve not been to church for a month, I need to work overtime – yes but your wife and kids never see you at home, I need to be at football training every week – yes but you’ve stopped coming to the prayer gatherings.

At this point alarm bells should be ringing in your mind, but sadly far too often our focus has shifted, blurred and we no longer see the danger ahead. We are driving down the highway of life at 100 mph without our spiritual glasses on and we’re heading for a crash.

Jesus said in Matthew 18:9 “And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.”

Now I don’t think you should take this scripture too literally and gouge your eye next time you look at a guy/girl in a way you know you should not, but what Jesus is saying here is: Hey! It’s better to reach heaven having missed out on that fat pay check than to neglect the kingdom work, it’s better to miss that promotion than to destroy your family because you’re never at home, it’s better to enter heaven having sought first the kingdom than chase after what the word demands from you each day.

It’s time to Re-Focus your life again.

Steve Jobs the CEO of Apple having found out he has cancer once said this in a lecture to Standford University students: “I wake up every day and ask myself the question: If this is my last day on earth, is what I am about to do today going to have a lasting impact on my life and the life of others? And I if I find that there are too many days and weeks when the answer is ‘No’ I know it’s time to change!”

How much more for us who are Christ followers? Is what we are about to do from day to day having an eternal impact for the kingdom or are we just sailing aimlessly though life. If the answer is ‘No’ then it’s time to Re-Focus and change direction.

If that job is getting in the way between you and God and the kingdom, go talk to your boss and demand a change in schedule and if he won’t listen it’s time to look for a new job.

If that oh so special person who you are about to marry is pulling you away from church and driving you towards sin it’s time to draw the line and say we’re gonna live by Godly standards or I will have nothing to do with you.

If this sports team practise is always keeping your from home – it’s time to lay it down and be there for your family. They need you!

I was attending a study at the Pastors Academy recently and the lecturer said something very true and profound: He who denies the church denies Christ!

The church is the body of Christ and if we reject the church we reject Christ.

In The Message translation of Ephesians 1:20-23 it says “The church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church. The church is Christ’s body, in which he speaks and acts, by which he fills everything with his presence.”

So I plead with you today. Re-Focus and fix your eyes on higher things above and not on temporary earthly things below. The reward is no other than Christ himself and everything that he has promised to you in His word.

Shalom

Bold Church : The Unseen Side (part 2) – Ivo Ivanov: Tidaholm Pingst by TidaholmPingst

Many of us long for God to move in our churches, community and nation, but before that can happen we must ask ourselves the question:

What is the cost of revival?

We will get to that in a minute. I think about the great revivals through history and one of the things that stands out is that they came and they went. Much like “the cloud of God” in the Old Testament – it came and it went. Today however I believe that the Holy Spirit is ever-present among us and in us and we must expect and pray for a new kind of revival: “A personal revival” one in which each and everyone of us lives in personal revival every day and therein lies the challenge.

Pastor Craig Groeschel wrote a book called “The Christian Atheist” and the summary of the book is this: we say we believe in the God of the Bible, but we live our lives as if He does not exist. My old pastor Colin Dye says we sing the song “I surrender all”, but what we actually mean is “I surrender only that which I choose to surrender”.

We say “You’re all I need, you’re all I ever wanted”, but for many of us in the west our greatest goal in life is to earn more money, have longer holidays, a better car or a higher a status amongst our friends. And as a result we keep “sacred cows” in our lives which not even God is allowed to touch.

You see the thing is God does not want 50, 70 or 99% of your life He wants 100%. And before you call me a hypocrite and ask if I have surrendered all 100% of my life to God, let me say that I too am not perfect and struggle daily with my flesh as most people do.

One thing I have come to realise though is that when I was a “baby” Christian my favourite Bible verse was “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16. I loved living safe in the knowledge that God loves me just as I am and that because of the Cross I now have eternal life with Christ.

Today however some 20 years later my favourite verse and purpose in life is this “Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13-14. I’ve come to realise that there’s more to life in Christ then what happens at the point of salvation. After salvation comes transformation and a renewed purpose in life.

It’s time we really grasped who we are in Christ and start behaving like the glorious and victorious church we’re called to be today! Pressing forward towards the goal to win the prize.

The Bible says: “When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.” 1 Corinthians 13:11

Some of us have been in church for over 20 years yet we still behave like children in the faith, feeding on baby formula milk rather then sinking our teeth in to the big steak of The Word and going out full of God’s strength, joining the battle for the lost.

Reinhard Bonke said “The church my friends is not a luxury cruise ship – it’s a rescue boat for the salvation of souls and every hand is needed on deck”.

I pray that God will break our hearts with the things that break His heart. It’s time we put God and the needs of others first in our lives. That’s what Jesus and His disciples did. They paid the ultimate price for the sake of the Gospel – death! The least we can do today is to die daily to our flesh and seek first the Kingdom.

For people in the west the cost of calling yourself a Christian is almost zero. By enlarge we don’t have to suffer persecution or fear for our lives because of our faith in Christ. Many in other parts of the world however are not so fortunate as us and daily die for the cause of professing Christ as their Saviour.

“The church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church. The church is Christ’s body, in which he speaks and acts, by which he fills everything with his presence.” Ephesians 1:17. God has chosen to act through His church – you and I. And unless we’re willing to lay all of our lives on the line, revival will remain a distant dream.

So there you have it: The cost of revival is your life, 100% yelled and surrendered to Christ.

Are you willing to pay the price?

Discipleship needs to become a whole lot more personal affair than it is now if we are to leave a legacy of passionate people on fire for God.

Whilst forming home, cell or connect groups (call them what you will) partially solves that need, it still leaves a lot to be desired of the group’s leaders who are often thrust into the role before they are ready to lead or even worse without having an adequate leader who not only oversees them, but also mentors them.

I wonder if many of us who are pastors and leaders in the church need to spend a whole lot more personal one-to-one time with our key people [read mentoring] to ensure that the future leaders of the church are standing on the shoulders of giants and seeing even further than the giants themselves rather than looking at them from down below and often failing to reach their thru potential.

Your thoughts on how to look after and mentor strong leaders are most welcome.

Blessings,
Ivo

The essence of this quality is encapsulated in the classic “stonecutter short-story.” It powerfully illustrates the importance of perception in our approach to what we do. Whether you think you’re just earning a living, doing the best at your job, or you’re leaving a legacy, this story demonstrates that there is great value in thinking positively and in seeing the bigger picture.

The Three Stonecutters “I am Helping Sir Christopher Wren…”

This version of the story illustrates 3 stonecutters who are building London’s magnificent St Paul’s Cathedral, designed by the great British architect and designer, Sir Christopher Wren.

“One day, after work on his cathedral had begun, Sir Wren unrecognised by the workforce, walked among the carpenters and stonecutters.

He asked one of the workmen:

“What are you doing?” “I am cutting a piece of stone“, the workman replied.

He asked the same question of the second stonecutter. “I am earning five shillings two pence a day”, the second workman replied.

He asked a third workman the same question, and the man answered, “I am helping Sir Christopher Wren build a magnificent cathedral to the glory of God.”

A leadership quality might be seeing the bigger picture, but it’s essential to help others share that vision.

We Need Cathedral Thinkers

In this story the third stonecutter’s response illustrates a leadership quality which the others lacked.

Lets end this note with a thought provoking passage:

“Cathedrals are incredible testaments to human endeavour. It is not only their grandeur or splendour, but the thought that they often took more than fifty years to build. Those who designed them, those who first worked on them, knew for certain that they would never see them finished. They knew only that they were creating something glorious which would stand for centuries, long after their own names had been forgotten…

We may not need any more cathedrals today, but we do need cathedral thinkers, people who can think beyond their own lifetimes and beyond their own personal short term ambitions.”

Originally, the talented pianist Ivo Ivanov comes from Bulgaria, but he has resided in London for over 10 years. At the age of five years old Ivo started to take piano lessons and continued his musical education until he was 18y.o.
- But you never stop learning, he smiles.

Lived in London

He moved from his homeland to London where he was involved in leading music in a Christian church with between 5000 and 6000 members. From his seat behind the piano Ivo and the others in the team led concerts in places like Wembley Arena and the Royal Albert Hall.
It was in London that he met his wife, Tidaholm girl Malin Andersson – now Ivanov. Sharing a passion for music and praise.
- Malin is working with finance, but music is what she is passionate about. We do have some songs together. She writes the texts and I usually do the music.
In 2007 we released a CD, says Ivo.
Now, the pair are translating some of the songs to Swedish to be used here.

Ideal location

The birth of daughter Olivia, soon 1.5 years, was the reason which brought Ivo and Malin to
Tidaholm.
- Tidaholm is a perfect place to grow up. Here we are close to family.
By moving to Sweden, Ivo is able to spend much more time with daughter Olivia than he could have done in London.
- In England, I would have been given 10 days paternity leave. The Swedish system with it’s parental leave is just fantastic. It was worth moving here just to able to stay home with Olivia for a year!

Music Pastor

But since March 2009 Ivo does not just care for her daughter, but he also works part-time as a music pastor in the Pentecostal Church in Tidaholm.
- My main job is to be responsible for the music, but it is not a very large church so I also do a little bit of everything, says Ivo.
The main part is to be with and lead the Church in worship, help with the youth gatherings,
responsible for media such as the website and doing various posters and also to preach once in a while.
- So far, I have an interpreter when I preach. I’m currently studying Swedish and have finished the first level, but I want to go to the next course, so I can talk without having a translator. But it is not so easy, singing in Swedish however, is much easier, says Ivo.

Teaching others

Despite the difference from the job in London, Ivo takes his role in the Pentecostal Church in Tidaholm very seriously.
- I am actually more nervous to play here than in front of the thousands of people in England. In a small group you feel more intimate and makes it more sincere. But it is not always Ivo himself sitting behind the piano, as he is careful to involve and educate others.
- Everything should not depend on me. It is important to give others a chance to get involved and let them grow. There must be more than one or two people who can take care of things.

Compromise

The Pentecostal Church is made up of people both young and old, and it’s important to play music that appeals to everyone.
- Personally, I love the poetic texts of the great old hymns with their grandeur, but it is not something that young people relate to. We can use the band with the guitars and drums and still do the old hymns, but in a new modern way. Then all are satisfied, said Ivo.

Ideally, he wants not only to reach out to the church congregation, but to the rest of Tidaholm also.
- My vision is that the church should become more involved in the community, perhaps in various ways to help the poor as well as single parent families.

This weekend the church leaders have organized in the Pentecostal church a fun family weekend and they hope that it will benefit the church as well as those who do not usually come to church otherwise.

In any case it sounds like the beginning of a great new start for the local church and for Ivo and his family.

Lets see what the future brings!

“Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name.” Psalms 63:4 “Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the Lord.”

Psalms 134:2 “I will therefore that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.” 1 Timothy 2:8

“And the Levites…stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with a loud voice on high.” 2 Chronicles 20:19