Come&Live. Their mission is to establish the Kingdom of God within a community of musicians. Every now and then, you stumble upon a ministry or an outreach that is so incredible, you’re only thoughts are “Yes! I have got to be a part of that!”  Come&Live was that ministry for me.  Their business model is something so scandalous that could only the work of the Holy Spirit could accomplish it.

“Give.Love.Share.Revive” By joining hands with artists {musicianaries}, we provide them with guidance, direction and accountability to model a life of genuine faith. Our focus is in promoting the only true enduring treasure – loving others and living like JESUS. We choose to share music and profit as a humble example of radical generosity. We live simply to give generously, encouraging others to do the same. Our prayer is that God would use us to Give. Love. Share. and Revive

Their plan?  Artists giving their music away. Head over to their Downloads page and you will see over 30 cds for download.  You can download for free, pay with a tweet or facebook post, and you can also donate any dollar amount to the bands.

GIVE. We are all made to give. If we believe that our lives and music define our mission, then why not share them? Our art is plainly offered as a digital gift. There are no hidden agendas, no forms to fill out, and no fine print to read. This is one of the smaller ways we know how to spell radical generosity. Jesus said, “it is more blessed to give than to receive” – our heart is to daily move this statement into action. (Acts 20:35)

I had the blessed opportunity to attend one of their shows at the Anchor Fellowship in Nashville. My wife and I arrived early to see TD and Veronica Benton of White Collar Sideshow.  We were talking, and one of the bands asked us to go downstairs and be a part of their prayer group before the show started.

We walked down into the basement area, and there were all three bands that were playing that night, the speaker (Mattie Montgomery) and some of the C&L staff.  For the next 45 minutes they prayed together.  They prayed for the audience that would be soon arriving, for safe travels to the show, for the bands that were playing, and most importantly, that the crowd would experience Jesus.  They prayed for strongholds to be broken, for people to come to know Christ.

LOVE.  We are all made to love. Artists have the wonderful potential to live as missionaries; spreading the hope of Jesus, worshipping God, while giving all they have to love and serve others through the power of the Holy Spirit. Our passion is to love, train, mentor, and equip artists to clearly live and model the genuine heart of Jesus as {musicianaries}. Love never fails. (1 Corinthians 13:8)

There was an awakening in my heart that night.  “These guys are the real deal ”, I thought..  I’ve never experienced anything quite like what I experienced in that room, listening to these guys who were so burdened for their audience to come into an authentic relationship with Christ, that they were pouring out their hearts to God to show up that night.

It wasn’t about them, or their music, or even ministry.  It was about sharing the love of Christ.

SHARE.  We are all made to share. Our commitment is to share 100% of our profits to help meet backyard and global needs. This includes extreme poverty, human trafficking, homelessness, widows and orphans in distress, victims of war, and many others who legitimately need help. We partner with, and are inspired by, the works of countless organizations that serve as the hands and feet of Jesus. Come&Live! is made up of musicians and staff members who live as missionaries. We labor out of a genuine commitment to faith in Jesus, trusting God to provide for all our needs, so that we can live simply and give generously. (Deuteronomy 15:11)

At the end of the night, after the show Chad Johnson came up on stage and he asked all of the bands, crew members, staff to form a circle around the audience.  Come&Live closed out the night by praying for the audience.  For the next 20 minutes we were huddled up in a shoulder to shoulder circle as the bands began to pray over us.  I’ve been at shows where people would close out the night in prayer, but I have never been a part of something so personal and moving.

REVIVE.  We are all made to revive. Our united prayer, and weekly fast, is that God would revive the hearts of His children all around the world. This includes those who have already found Jesus as Lord and Savior, those who have wandered from His path, and those who have yet to discover the liberty He offers. Jesus is the great sacrifice for all men, for all time, and is the one and only true road to God. We pray that God would birth a renaissance of love that clearly demonstrates his grace and mercy showered upon all of humanity. (1 Corinthians 8:6)

Lives were changed that night.  This is the heart of their ministry.

“We have been called to heal wounds, to unite what is falling apart, and to bring home those who have lost their way.”

The bands and the guys at C&L didn’t pack up and head out after the show.  They stayed.  I saw Chad praying with guys who were completely broken.  I saw TD Benton praying over guys struggling with addictions, several guys were at the foot of the stage, still in prayer.  No one wanted to leave, so they stayed as long as they needed to stay.

Summarizing the work of a ministry in a single article is an impossible task to be sure, but I believe this quote by John Piper sums up a great deal of the ministry of Come&Live:

“God created us for this: to live our lives in a way that makes Him look more like the greatness and the beauty and the infinite worth that He really is.”  - John Piper 

Interview with Chad Johnson – Come&Live

How did C&L get started?  What were some of the conversations that were going on, whenever the idea for this was being talked about?

The early vision for Come&Live! (before it even had a name, let alone an identity) was deposited in my heart during a conference on worship with Pastor John Piper in Minneapolis, MN. I sensed the Lord speaking to me about what would be required to raise true disciples, committed followers of Jesus, inspiring a generation of youth. Much of that conversation with God had to do with the difference between making Christian entertainers VS. Disciples of the cross.

I originally spoke with my wife, pastor and some friends about the idea to pursue music from a missional perspective. They were all surprisingly supportive and encouraged me to take the step. I prayed often and asked God to make my path clear and straight.

How did you get bands to get on board with the idea of giving their music away for free?

I simply shared my heart with the bands and the idea that music as a gift, at least as an entry-point, made for a much simpler approach to music business and in sharing God’s heart of radical generosity with a global youth. Music delivered free is an extremely small way of communicating that our hearts desire to bless and encourage others, regardless of whether (or what) they can pay.

How many downloads have taken place through your ministry?

Last time we checked we were nearing the 325,000 Album downloads (or 3 Million+ songs) delivered to nearly 160 countries around the world. Considering we have been operating on a bare-bones budget, trusting God for our livelihood – and everything else – we’re floored by the response. Word of mouth has been a testament to the influential power peers have to communicate with one another. God has been very kind in helping us spread the word despite a lack of marketing resources.

What are the greatest needs for the bands that you support?

Financial support. This has been our toughest battle to date. We’ve poorly communicated the needs our bands have and we’re working to clarify both our mission and the needs that exist for C&L! and our artists. The original dream was to see artists supported by friends and fans along the way – in the same way that a missionary would build a small financial support team to serve God overseas. This is a journey, we are learning as we go!

Tell us about Fast Friday.

Sure. Fast Friday started back in my college days with a couple of friends. We decided to take the last day of the week to get together and pray for our campus and people around us each time that we got hungry and wanted to eat. I continued, off and on, over the years to fast and pray for the needs of others on Fridays. When God led me to start Come&Live! it just made perfect sense to start by fasting and praying. It’s really simple. We choose not to eat (or whatever God leads us to give up on Fridays), we get together and pray for others – asking God to move on their behalf.

You recently were a part of a missions trip to New Zealand, can you share with us what that experience like?

It was an incredible experience. Being in New Zealand is such an experience in and of itself. Being able to meet and make new friends along the way, helping pointing them to Jesus was amazing. God gave us some pretty radical encounters with non-believers on that tour, which really served to solidify what God had been placing on my heart for the lost. He really burdened us with the reality of how desperately the world needs Him. Everything about the trip was highly memorable and I long for the time that God allows us to go back.

Tell us about the Arrows are Deadly Missional Tour.

We’ve been hoping/praying about doing a C&L! tour at some point and the opportunity came up for us to launch one this summer with our friends in Showbread, Ascend the Hill, the Ember Days and White Collar Sideshow. The exciting part, from my perspective, is not another tour going out, but an opportunity for us to be missional about our approach to touring.

Everything from the way the shows are put together, the point we want to drive home to the listeners, having speakers on the tour, road pastors, looking for opportunities to bless someone along the way – at gas stations, Wal-marts, etc. Just asking God to be our everything through-out each and every day, not just for the 3 hour performance portion of our day. That mentality is really dated and doesn’t work to build true followers of Jesus. Clearly Jesus did not close His eyes to the world around Him just until the time that He stepped out onto a stage. Why we fall into this rut is further evidence of our dire need for Christ to come and transform us. Excited for what the Lord will do to bring glory unto Himself through this attempt to tour more missionally minded.

What are some of the challenges C&L face as a ministry?

Finances. They’ve been our greatest hurdle to overcome. God is faithful, though, and He continues to make a way. As long as He keeps us going, we have no excuse to stop. Lack of financial provision is not a good enough reason to apologize to the world for not reaching them.

Structure. Knowing how to pull off a dream that we believe is God-inspired is easier said than done. Half the battle is understanding God’s timing in it all and not becoming overwhelmed or discouraged by a lack of growth, planning, or anything else.

The devil. He comes to steal, kill and destroy. He’s annoying and a nuisance but he’s also been overcome by the blood. Jesus sent us out to “undo the works of the devil” and that really is what any “ministry” is called to do, regardless of what the outward expression may look like.

The “I am Living” videos are great testimonies from the artists.  What gave you the idea to do this?  What are some projects that you are planning on doing?

They honestly happened by accident (or at least what seemed accidental to us). We were doing artist interviews at Cornerstone and some really great stuff came out of those that our film-maker friend was able to turn into testimony pieces. Our goal/plan is to continue releasing these as God gives us opportunity to.

Tell us something about Chad

I’m slowly learning to become more like Jesus. I want the world to encounter God and to share Him with everyone. It’s not easy staying in love with Jesus. Everything in the world tried to pull me out of relationship with Him. I’m hungry and thirsty for the kingdom and righteousness. Everything else gets added. Lately God has been teaching me much about the concept of continual joy and what it means as believers to live that out. I’m realizing that everything God has invited us into is impossible for us to accomplish out of our own strength. So I’m learning to give up. I’m learning to die. The sooner I get out of the way the sooner Jesus can take over and actually make something incredible out of me.

Be the domino that God uses to touch the lives of others.  (think domino effect) What does that phrase mean to you personally?

It’s funny because I was playing Domino’s with my five year-old son back over the Holiday break. I was setting them up around a table and then he would hit one and laugh as they all fell down. The Lord spoke to me in His still-small voice reminding me that, often times, prayer works the same way. We may pray for someone with a physical issue in their body, or a financial need, or a marriage that needs restoration, etc. etc. And many times we don’t see a response to our prayers. God showed me that we are to just continue pressing in to Him with our needs and know that every prayer counts. Every prayer has a purpose. Each of our prayers matter and He hears them all. All it sometimes is the tipping point on one domino (or prayer) and the whole lot of them fulfill their purpose and someone is healed, restored, taken care of, etc. It was a really powerful moment and thought for me.

Thank you Chad for taking the time to answer these questions.  Our prayer is that God will continue to bless the ministry of Come&Live and the bands that you support.

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