Latest / Mission SONlight CHATT / Mission SONlight Chatt Season 4 Ep. 26 Jennifer LaMountain - Faith for Today

Transcript

Mission SONlight Chatt Season 4 Ep. 26 Jennifer LaMountain - Faith for Today · Mission SONlight CHATT

0:13
Welcome to Mission Sunlight Chat from the media
0:15
missionaries of Network 7. We are at the General
0:17
Conference Session Exhibit Hall here in 2025
0:21
in St. Louis, Missouri, where the church has
0:24
the business meeting they hold every five years.
0:27
And in the exhibit hall are hundreds of ministries
0:30
sharing what they are doing with and for Jesus
0:34
and how he is working around the world. What
0:37
a blessing to be a part of that. And here at
0:40
Network 7, we are thankful that we get to do
0:42
Mission Sunlight Chat, stories behind mission
0:44
and ministry with many different folks. As you've
0:47
been watching, if you've been watching this series
0:49
of podcasts, you've seen us talk with folks from
0:51
all around the globe. You can connect with us
0:55
at missionsunlight .org. 1 -423 -855 -4877 is
0:59
the number to call or text us. And hello at missionsunlight
1:03
.org is the email if you want to connect with
1:05
us there. Right now we have Jennifer LaMountain.
1:09
Yes. And Jennifer, I know there's a couple of
1:12
different ways that people can reach you. So
1:14
I'm not sure which one to say you're from. So
1:16
tell me which preferred ministry name you want
1:19
me to use. Oh, that's fine. Yeah. Well, for the
1:21
longest time, people know me for my music ministry.
1:23
And if you need to get in touch with that, just
1:25
go to JenniferLaMountain .com. Okay. Of course,
1:28
the music's everywhere, you know, online. Any
1:31
digital format you're in, you can find me. And
1:34
are you still on the morning? song uh platform
1:37
uh yeah but uh that's kind of an older platform
1:40
okay that was the the music store and distribution
1:44
of actual physical products and you know we've
1:46
kind of moved beyond that so the digital world
1:49
is what's king and Do they find you on, boy,
1:54
I'm sorry, I'm not up to date. What are the platforms
1:56
to find you? You can do a station on Pandora
1:59
for me, Spotify, wherever. You go, you will find
2:02
me. Okay. Jennifer LaMountain. And if they want
2:05
to go straight to a website, if they want to
2:06
shoot you a text, maybe they want you to come
2:08
and sing for their church. That's right. You
2:09
still doing concerts? Yeah, I do. JenniferLamountain
2:11
.com. All right. Very good. JenniferLamountain
2:15
.com. We don't usually get to the contact ahead
2:17
of time, but now that I... Oh, sorry. Well, I
2:19
threw it out there. Nope, that's good. I asked
2:21
the question. You gave me the answer. Jennifer,
2:24
you have not always been a musician, or maybe
2:28
you have. We're going to learn more about your
2:30
history. But before we do that, let's have a
2:32
word of prayer. Would you pray for us? Yes, absolutely.
2:34
Let's pray. Dear Lord, thank you for the chance
2:37
that we get to have conversations about you and
2:39
the way that you've changed our lives. And the
2:41
directions that you're leading us further. So
2:43
thank you for this time that we have together
2:44
and the opportunity to do that. We love you,
2:47
Lord, so much. Please come quickly. Amen. Something
2:50
I always find interesting asking people is where
2:52
they came from. What? brought you to where you
2:55
are today. So give us a little background about
2:57
your childhood growing up years. What was your
2:59
family like? Sure, it's a happy thing to talk
3:01
about. I grew up in Tennessee, actually Cleveland,
3:04
Tennessee. Oh, not far at all from us. Yeah,
3:07
exactly. I know Chattanooga quite well. But my
3:10
grandfather owned some property there, and he
3:13
made the... Broom corn. Boy, I lost the term.
3:21
I used to stitch those things and wind those
3:24
things. But the broom corn, I don't know if you
3:26
remember those old kind of brooms and made out
3:29
of broom corn. I have three of them in my house.
3:31
And big warehouse brooms. He provided those for
3:33
the southeast. Okay. That was a thing that was
3:37
on the farm as well as cattle on the farm. So
3:40
I grew up with gardens and moving cattle between
3:44
pastures and things like that. So I was a farm
3:46
girl. In Cleveland, Tennessee. In Cleveland,
3:49
Tennessee. And my mom and her two brothers decided
3:53
to keep their homes on their father's property.
3:56
So there's multiple generations, and they're
3:58
still there to this day. My sisters and I have
4:01
moved away, but it was a wonderful place to grow
4:04
up. and a solid family that you could trust and
4:08
depend on. It was, you know, it's what anybody
4:11
would probably wish for. And my grandfather built
4:14
the church that I grew up attending in. I was
4:18
married in that church, as was my mother and
4:20
all of my family that I can name. But, yeah,
4:25
so that was kind of where I started. And I had
4:28
two older sisters that are fine musicians. I'm
4:30
going to just fill you in on that. How I ended
4:33
up into music is really because the whole family
4:35
was musical. Was your grandfather? I never saw
4:40
him play anything, actually. But that was through
4:41
your mother then? Yeah, well, it was actually
4:43
through my father more so. And some other people,
4:46
you know, my aunts and uncles, and we all would
4:49
get together and play and sing. And my oldest
4:52
sister is probably the best musician of all of
4:54
us. She learned classical guitar, had a great
4:57
year, and she's never worked as a musician. She's
5:00
a home health nurse, but as far as in our early
5:04
years, she was a key to any of the groups because
5:07
she was so good at what she did. And so I would
5:10
watch her. and my other sister, they would sing
5:13
and play for church and for Sabbath school. And
5:16
I sat there wishing, wishing they would let me
5:19
join them. And they wouldn't. They just kept
5:22
saying, no, no. Finally, when I was three years
5:26
old, they let me join them. So that's when I
5:30
started doing songs with my sisters in church.
5:33
So you've been doing music since you were three,
5:36
so for about 20 years now. I've been doing it
5:38
from whenever I can remember. I've never remembered
5:41
a time without music in my life, yeah. It's the
5:44
way I understood my world. I do remember one
5:47
of my earliest memories is of sound and things
5:51
like that, but one of them was my mom sending
5:53
me out to the flower beds to sing. To the tulips.
5:56
She said the tulips would grow if you sang to
5:58
them. Did it work? Well, they did. They came
6:01
up in the spring, sure enough. I think she was
6:03
just trying to get me out of the house. I hear
6:06
you. Yeah. So what was that like growing up with
6:09
the brothers and the sisters? Yeah, my two older
6:12
sisters, and then I had cousins who were just
6:15
like siblings. They were boys and girls, and
6:18
we all grew up together like we were siblings
6:20
there on the farm. And it's a wonderful thing.
6:23
Even to this day, when we get together, we're
6:24
just... family so two older sisters two older
6:28
sisters yeah i'm the youngest and no brothers
6:30
no brothers for me okay i guess i misunderstood
6:32
i thought you had mentioned that you had brothers
6:34
that stayed on the property that was my mom's
6:36
brothers i'm sorry yeah my mom My mom and her
6:39
two brothers, my grandfather's children, they
6:42
built their families and their life there in
6:44
Cleveland because of that farm and because of
6:46
his influence and their desire just to continue
6:49
to be part of the close family, close -knit family.
6:52
I like that. Yeah. And it's still fun to go home?
6:56
Absolutely. I was just there before I came here
6:58
and had a little vacation. We all went out on
7:00
the lake and did some skiing and whitewater rafting
7:02
and all that kind of fun stuff. Oh, I hear the
7:04
southern accent coming out now. Yeah, you give
7:07
me a minute, it'll be there. It's just where
7:09
I grew up, for sure. All right. So you are raised
7:16
in Cleveland. Maybe you attended a nearby college,
7:19
I'm going to guess. Yes, I did. And I did mention,
7:22
you know, something that might be interesting
7:24
to some people. I know a lot of your viewers
7:26
come from a lot of different denominations and
7:28
things, but Seventh -day Adventists, many of
7:29
you are Seventh -day Adventists, and I am. And
7:32
I was raised as a Seventh -day Adventist. I'm
7:34
actually a seventh -generation Seventh -day Adventist.
7:36
And the church I grew up in, as I said, my grandfather
7:40
had built that church. That almost goes back
7:43
to when the church was begun. Not really. Seven
7:47
generations. Oh, well, yeah, seven generations
7:49
kind of does. And it actually comes from my father's
7:52
side. He's from Arkansas area. Yeah, but so for
7:56
me, I mean, once you get beyond two, three generations,
7:58
it's the same thing. You're growing up in an
8:01
established belief system, an established culture
8:03
that is influenced by your church and your belief
8:06
systems through the church. And, you know. That
8:11
is possibly unique, but I'm sure there's some
8:15
listeners out there that can relate to this.
8:17
And there comes a point you have to make this
8:20
decision on your own. Even though I grew up in
8:23
the church, I couldn't wait to be baptized. I
8:25
believed everything I heard. I believed it all.
8:27
It wasn't until I was in my late 20s that I had
8:31
a crisis with God and railed against him and
8:34
had to decide whether he was being real with
8:37
me, whether God was who he said he was or not.
8:40
And when I dealt with that situation is when
8:42
I grew so much more in my spiritual journey because
8:46
I chose it for myself, really chose it. I don't
8:49
think before I was choosing it. It's just it's
8:53
different. We keep growing. We keep maturing.
8:55
And there was that point for me that I had an
8:59
opportunity to decide whether this was really
9:02
going to be what I believe for myself. Can you
9:05
share what was significant about that that brought
9:07
you close to Christ? Sure. Closer? Closer, yeah.
9:12
It was shortly after I had begun full -time music
9:16
ministry, and I was in Indonesia at the time,
9:21
and I had been helping to raise awareness. I've
9:24
spoken on behalf of children my whole career
9:27
because they're the most marginalized group out
9:29
there, and I just had a heart for that. I knew
9:31
I had to do something for them. you may remember
9:36
the tsunami that affected that region of the
9:39
world, and it affected Indonesia as well quite
9:41
greatly. And I was there to help raise awareness,
9:44
to become more aware myself of how I could help
9:46
and how audiences here in the U .S. help. And
9:50
in that process, at one of the sites, you know,
9:54
I was handed a little girl because there was
9:55
no place to lay her. And I was just to hold her
9:58
until she died. That was all that was left to
10:00
be done for her. And it was probably something
10:03
in my medicine cabinet at home would have helped
10:05
her. But it was just too late at this point.
10:08
And so instances like that had happened through
10:11
the course of the days. And I end up back at
10:13
the hotel in Jakarta in the nice five -star hotel
10:17
where they've put me, which probably cost $20
10:19
a night. But I knew what those $20 could have
10:22
done for the people I had just seen that day.
10:24
And I was just... I was kind of messed up in
10:27
my head because it's too much trauma. It's too
10:29
much hurt to see in this world. And you have
10:31
to say, why? And you have to rail against God
10:35
at that point and say, God, these are innocents
10:37
that are witnessing that. So I'm sorry I'm getting
10:39
emotional, but these are the things that I care
10:43
deeply about. And it hurt me so much. that I
10:47
couldn't believe that he was who he said he was.
10:49
I said, how can this be? Here I am in this hotel
10:52
room. I refused to sleep on that bed. I laid
10:55
on that floor that whole night weeping with the
10:57
Lord, saying, why is this happening in this world?
11:00
And are you who you say you are? And of course,
11:04
I've come to the conclusion, he's been faithful
11:07
to me in these small things, so he is who he
11:11
says he is. When he says he's going to be victorious
11:14
in all things, including what I didn't understand
11:17
there in Indonesia, I believe him. It's either
11:22
all or nothing. So for me, I decided he has been
11:26
faithful, and I will trust the things that I
11:28
don't see fixed now, that if he says he's going
11:32
to fix it, if he's going to make it right, he
11:34
will. There is a musician named Brandon Heath
11:37
that sings a song, Give Me Your Eyes. He says
11:41
in that, give me your heart. And in that moment,
11:42
you had Christ's eyes and Christ's heart. When
11:48
we hurt that bad, how much more does the Father
11:50
in heaven? Exactly. You know, he neither sleeps
11:53
nor slumbers. That text means something totally
11:55
different to me now. I recognize he sees everything.
11:58
He sees your hurt. He sees every pain you have.
12:02
He knows the number of hairs on your head. So
12:04
he knows every pain that you have. And he has
12:08
to take all of that from all the living on this
12:11
earth. And he has put together a great plan.
12:17
And even though today we might not always see
12:20
him working to fix it, he has a way and we will
12:26
at one point see it all made right. We will see
12:29
it. Yeah. We know how the story ends. Yeah, that's
12:32
right. And he wins. Yeah. Your friend Elizabeth
12:35
Talbot down the corner from us here was here
12:38
earlier and said that very thing. She has it
12:40
on the front of her latest magazine. Jesus wins.
12:43
Jesus wins. Yep. Well, Jennifer, thank you for
12:46
sharing that part of your story. We want to talk
12:48
about Jennifer LaMountain music and some of the
12:50
things you have going on. We'll do that in just
12:51
a moment. First, I want to encourage our listeners
12:54
and our viewers to check us out, connect with
12:57
us at missionsunlight .org. And remember, you
12:59
can always text us or email us. We love to hear
13:02
from you. Would you click the share button and
13:04
let someone else know that you are watching and
13:07
or listening and that they can join in the conversation
13:10
and be a part of the Mission Sunlight chat community?
13:12
We will be back in a moment. Being a media missionary
13:24
can mean many different things. It means the
13:27
love of a home at the heart of the planet. The
13:30
intrepid spirit of a village and the vibe of
13:33
a great metropolis. It means camera one and camera
13:37
two. It means transforming a school, orphanage,
13:41
or hospital. It means fire, rain, ice, and snow.
13:46
It means gifts by the dollar and by the check.
13:50
It means donations that roll and donations that
13:54
fly. It's a movement on a trail or down a motorway.
14:00
It means family. All of us together. And individually.
14:07
It's who you are or who you are becoming. And
14:11
to her, it's a simple gesture that means hope.
14:15
Whatever it means to you, being a media missionary.
14:19
means more than you might think. Welcome back
14:30
to Mission Sunlight Chat here in the exhibit
14:32
hall of the General Conference Session. Exhibitors
14:35
galore here, and one of the exhibitors that is
14:38
here in the exhibit hall is Jennifer LaMountain.
14:42
And Jennifer, you are here sharing which ministry?
14:48
Yeah, I actually am here as an employee of Faith
14:53
for Today ministry. I don't know if you know
14:55
that ministry, but for 75 years, Faith for Today
14:59
has been broadcasting on broadcast television
15:03
here in the United States and North America.
15:05
Our first telecast was May 21 of 1950, and that
15:10
has continued to this day with... media made
15:15
specifically for reaching the secular -minded
15:19
individual. We're here to make friends with people
15:22
who would probably never walk into a church at
15:24
this point, that although we're wanting to walk
15:27
along in the journey with them until they find
15:29
the divine, we're just going to walk beside them
15:31
until they're ready for that question and ready
15:33
for that search. So we help them with, right
15:36
now, what I love about working with Faith for
15:39
Today is that we're We're finding multiple connection
15:43
points with people to be able to help them with
15:47
their relationships or with their health or with
15:50
varying aspects of whole person wellness. Our
15:54
TV show called Lifestyle with Roy Ice, you've
15:57
got to check it out. It's at lifestyle .org.
15:59
But we touch on everything from drowsy driving
16:02
to cancer to caring for someone who has dementia,
16:07
Alzheimer's, everything under the sun. We hit
16:10
all these. life coaching type topics and we are
16:14
the number one life coaching show in the north
16:16
america area so in the united states we have
16:20
about four million viewers a week but i love
16:22
working with this ministry because we're meeting
16:25
people's needs what they're asking for what they're
16:28
needing we are providing and we're attracting
16:31
them to us and saying hey we want to be your
16:33
friend and it's a non -transactional thing we
16:35
just simply care for them and when they ask us
16:38
for more help then we have the way to help them.
16:41
And, of course, we believe that the divine would
16:43
be an essential part to anybody's wholeness and
16:48
wellness. But that's not the first thing we go
16:51
to them with. It's like the handshake of, hi,
16:53
how are you? I am so -and -so, and I am here
16:56
to be your friend. So that's what Faith for Today
16:59
does in the group of media ministries of the
17:03
Adventist Church, and I love that dynamic. Because
17:06
most of my career has been on stage in concert
17:09
ministry, and I'm telling you, I loved it when
17:11
churches and communities got it and used my concert
17:15
as a friendship opportunity and a way to just
17:19
connect with their neighbors and love on them
17:21
and have a fun evening event together that might
17:24
lead to something or not at the moment, but it's
17:27
just another bonding experience. I think that's
17:29
very critical. And that's long -term evangelism,
17:33
if you want to think about it. Yes. But it is
17:35
the most beneficial and it's the most rewarding
17:37
for me as a person. And it's also the most, if
17:41
I may, the one that gets the surest results.
17:46
It's the one that really takes. Yeah. And people
17:51
grasp for the long term. If people don't build
17:53
that relationship, it's either easy for them.
17:56
relationship to wither. We know that. We both
17:58
have had that struggle in our own journey. We
18:00
had to catch Jesus for ourselves, not for someone
18:03
else, not a spouse or a parent or a sibling,
18:07
whatever. We had to connect with him. You talk
18:10
about touring. You talk about your musical career.
18:12
Tell us a little bit more about that. You went
18:15
to the same place I went to college, Southern
18:18
Adventist University. Southern Adventist University.
18:20
I graduated from there with a music education
18:22
degree, and I actually was a high school music
18:25
teacher for several years. I did not know that
18:29
about you. Yes, I taught up at Andrews Academy,
18:31
Georgia Cameron Academy, and then a community
18:33
arts senator. And then I moved to Florida and
18:37
there was no teaching position. And I happened
18:40
to have sung on a few net meetings that you might
18:43
know, Net 95, Net 96. The people knew who I was
18:46
and thought I knew how to do a concert. And I
18:48
was like, well... I don't have a teaching job.
18:51
Maybe I should figure out how to do a concert.
18:53
And that's kind of how I fell into doing music
18:56
ministry and concerts. And I did it for well
19:00
over 20 years. So that was a large portion of
19:03
my life. And I still, even though I work for
19:06
Faith for Today, I still go out and sing on the
19:08
weekends, different camp meetings, different
19:09
events, when it fits my schedule. Were there
19:13
any particularly favorite place or notable places
19:16
that you toured or sang? I got to get a shout
19:20
out to all my Romanian friends. That country,
19:23
they love music, and they create high -quality
19:27
music as well. So I love you guys so much. I
19:30
couldn't pick just one, even though I called
19:36
out Romania. I just got back from the Philippines
19:39
last year, a beautiful place here in the U .S.
19:43
I could almost visualize every single church
19:45
I've ever been in just because I have that kind
19:49
of memory for some reason. I remember the buildings
19:51
more than I do the people, which is kind of strange.
19:54
No, but all these places that I've been able
19:56
to walk in where you have a moment with people
19:59
and you can begin to experience Christ's presence
20:01
because that's the way I've understood Christ
20:04
is through music. So it's really cool to me that
20:07
other people. experience him that way too. And
20:10
so it's fun to have those experiences. My wife
20:14
is of Romanian descent. A couple years ago we
20:18
got to go and visit many of our churches and
20:20
drive around to different places and see some
20:23
parts of the country where she knows her ancestors
20:25
are from. So that's a lot of fun. We do love
20:28
Romania. One of many great places to visit. Oh,
20:32
yeah. Yeah, well, I grew up playing violin, so
20:34
classical music is a big deal to me. And that's
20:38
probably why Romania came to mind, because they
20:40
do a lot of education with strings in their education
20:45
system. It typically has a string element to
20:48
it, and that's exciting to me to see kids grow
20:52
and develop in that way. So that's why I like
20:54
that. Amen. Yeah. When we get to heaven, are
21:00
you going to sing in the choir? Yeah, or I might
21:04
just sit in the library and let everybody else
21:07
sing. I don't know. I don't know where he's going
21:09
to place me, but I'll sing if given the chance,
21:12
or I'll sit and hold it together in the library.
21:16
Now, here's something. In Zephaniah, it's one
21:20
of my favorite verses. So what is it going to
21:22
sound like when God sings over us? And he does.
21:26
I know he does. We're going to get to hear that.
21:28
What is that like? Isn't that amazing to think
21:31
of? It's just amazing. You know, 2 Chronicles
21:34
20 talks about when God sings and how... It won
21:39
battles for the nation of Judah. Yeah, that's
21:46
pretty powerful music. Put the musicians right
21:49
at the front. I know. That'll be the end of it,
21:51
and it was. Anyway, there's some theological
21:54
explaining to do there, and we'll get into all
21:56
that. I know. But isn't music amazing in the
21:58
Bible and Scripture? Yeah. I'm not sure how to
22:04
ask you, but I'm just curious more about your
22:06
musical career because I didn't realize it was
22:08
just kind of the main focus for 20 years. I still
22:12
see Jennifer LaMountain as a regular musician,
22:15
and you are going where you're asked. So not
22:18
doing tours so much anymore, but if a local church
22:20
was interested, they could call you. The only
22:23
tours I do now are Christmas tours. Okay. But,
22:26
yeah, I had a son. And when he started grade
22:29
school, I decided it was time for me to be a
22:30
mom. So working for Faith for Today allows me
22:33
to sit at my desk at home and pick up my son
22:34
from school and be involved in his weekend events.
22:37
So that's why I, you know, when I was touring,
22:41
I was on the road 200 some odd days a year. So
22:43
this way, I'm being the mom. So here's a question
22:48
for you. I do a little bit of video on camera,
22:52
and so a few people will notice me and recognize
22:54
me. It's not a big deal. Rarely happens that
22:56
somebody gets excited about seeing me. But you've
23:00
been around, and you have seen hundreds of thousands
23:04
of people. Do you kind of get the people that
23:07
get starstruck with you? Because I don't see
23:09
you being at all, I'm a star at all. You're just
23:12
down to earth. I think it's very interesting.
23:16
This has actually been 10 years since we've been
23:18
in a general conference session like this. And
23:21
what has changed in technology over the last
23:24
10 years has changed the dynamic of celebrity
23:27
even. But yes, of course, I've had people handing
23:30
me notes underneath the bathroom stall to make
23:33
sure I would sign it for them. So yeah, you have
23:36
some crazy stuff going on. Wow, that's a little
23:37
personal. There you go. But I love the fact that
23:42
people have... been so affected by the music
23:45
that they they respond in that way that they're
23:46
so excited and there's there's something they
23:49
need to share and to connect with me even more
23:51
because it's a bit of a responsibility with it
23:53
isn't it? Absolutely because the music has done
23:55
something for them and helped them in some way
23:57
and I always know when I give a concert I know
23:59
it's part singing of Christ and and sharing the
24:05
gospel message but it's also part therapy. The
24:08
fact that he loves us and will carry us through
24:10
these difficult things becomes a therapeutic
24:12
moment with music. So I understand the power
24:15
of the music and the power of that influence.
24:17
And so I'm happy that people still recognize
24:19
me and hug me and all. But with technology changing,
24:22
I think that has helped make it less intense
24:27
when somebody sees you for the first time. Because
24:30
they've seen you enough in digital format or
24:34
online and internet and all those things. So
24:37
the connection is not so, oh, my goodness, I'm
24:40
seeing this person. I better grab them while
24:41
I can. It's not so intense. They don't crawl
24:44
under the bathroom stall anymore. So that's a
24:47
great thing. Well, okay, so there's, oh, that's
24:51
Christopher Beeson, that guy from Mission Sunlight
24:53
2. Hey, man, I'm going to give you this under
24:55
the stall. That's when I know I've really arrived.
24:59
There you go. That's it. Jennifer, thanks for
25:04
sharing that. That's an interesting perspective
25:06
on celebrity for sure. Sorry. We're going to
25:11
remember that for a long time, right, Jordan?
25:13
He's shaking his head yes. Jennifer, we've got
25:16
more to cover. I want to come back in just a
25:18
moment and talk just a little bit more. I know
25:19
you've got an encouraging word for our listeners
25:21
and viewers, so we're going to do that too. Thank
25:22
you so much to each one of you in our audience
25:24
for being a part of the program today. Thank
25:26
you for clicking the share button and letting
25:28
someone else know that you've been blessed and
25:31
that they could also be blessed in sharing the
25:34
program. So click share. Let somebody else know
25:36
by text or email, however you want to tell them.
25:38
Let a friend know. Let an enemy know. Whoever
25:40
you want to let know that they're. missing out
25:43
on Mission Sunlight Chat, share it with them
25:46
today. We'll be back in a moment with more Mission
25:48
Sunlight Chat. Our salvation is a day -to -day
26:00
matter, isn't it? The real principle of the Sabbath
26:05
is reconnecting ourselves with the Creator. We
26:12
must learn to abide in Jesus now. We move ahead
26:16
with our mission objectives, recognizing that
26:19
we are serving together the Most High God. Welcome
26:35
back to Mission Sunlight Chat, where we are smiling
26:37
and enjoying our afternoon with Jennifer LaMountain.
26:41
I'm glad that they don't have us on camera during
26:43
the breaks because, you know, some of the outtakes
26:45
from this one might be too funny. Well, it's
26:48
been a long, grueling session. I mean, it's so
26:51
fun to see all these people, but it's exhausting
26:52
at the same time. Yeah, when you're standing
26:54
for eight, nine hours, ten hours a day. And just,
26:59
it's a blessing to see all the people, but it
27:01
takes a little bit of energy to do that, too.
27:03
Yeah, it does. Jennifer, speaking of that, you've
27:07
got different stories from different places you've
27:09
been. As you share our encouraging word, tell
27:12
us a little bit about, or just share some of
27:15
your experience from where you've been. Well,
27:18
you know, there's stories that come full circle
27:20
back to you of how the music impacts people.
27:22
And that's so critical. That was so encouraging
27:25
to me. So if you have stories of how people have
27:28
changed your life, please share them with those
27:30
people. There's times you get discouraged and
27:33
times you want to give up, and that was true
27:35
of me. Music ministry became a little bit of
27:39
a job as well, and there's points that I would
27:42
sing the songs and it felt like it fell flat
27:45
in front of me, like when you pray and it doesn't
27:48
go beyond the ceiling. That's exactly what the
27:50
music felt like to me at one point early on in
27:53
my music ministry. Let me just say an encouraging
27:55
word to anybody. It cannot go underrated. It's
27:58
just so valuable. Absolutely, absolutely. Yeah,
28:03
but this is one of my favorite stories because
28:05
it came full circle back to help me when I needed
28:08
it. And so many of you know my music, but No
28:12
More Night is a really popular song. And there
28:16
was one point that I sang it for an event, and
28:18
it was at the end of a week that I decided that
28:21
I was... going to no longer do music ministry.
28:24
I was going to shut it down. I would finish the
28:26
appointments I had and just call it quits because
28:29
it was too exhausting, and I felt like the music
28:31
was falling flat, and I sang No More Night that
28:36
morning for a service, and it was the speaker
28:40
that was there. It was Lee Vinden, actually,
28:42
and he did this beautiful sermon on the passion
28:45
of Christ, and as he introduced me, Well, he
28:49
started telling the story at the end of his sermon
28:50
about a boy named Travis who was dying with cancer.
28:53
And then he talked about Travis wanting his funeral
28:57
service. He said, I'm probably going to die,
29:00
Pastor, and I need you to plan my funeral service.
29:02
And it was clear as Lee was sharing the story
29:04
with us that this boy... was trying to use his
29:07
funeral service to save his friends and family
29:09
for Christ. One more time. Yeah. And so here
29:12
Lee's been telling this whole story and going
29:14
through this. And as he described all the details
29:16
of Travis's service that he wanted, he said he
29:20
wanted it on a Friday night because he wanted
29:22
it to represent him going into his Sabbath rest.
29:25
It was really beautiful, all these things. a
29:28
little teary -eyed. I'm going to cry right now.
29:30
And Lee said, you know, Travis wanted, as the
29:34
sun was setting on Friday night, for us to end
29:37
the service with his favorite song by his favorite
29:40
singer, Jennifer LeMountain's No More Night.
29:42
Well, and so my sound guy cues the song, and
29:44
I'm just bawling by this point because it blindsided
29:48
me. I didn't know the story. And I get up there
29:51
and I blubbered through the whole song. It was
29:53
a mess. And I sat down and cried, really cried.
29:56
And obviously Lee saw that I was sitting there.
29:58
He knew he had a great tie -in for a story. He's
30:00
a good speaker. And so he put that story there.
30:04
But he didn't know that I was kind of falling
30:06
apart and believing my songs didn't mean anything.
30:09
One week later, I was on the West Coast. That
30:12
was on the East Coast. I went back to the West
30:13
Coast a week later. I was getting ready for a
30:16
Saturday night event with a lot of artists there.
30:20
and I was working with the volunteers at the
30:22
table, and a lady came up to me, and when I had
30:25
a chance, I turned to her, and she said, she
30:28
asked me, she said, are you singing No More Night
30:29
tonight? And I said, well, no, actually not,
30:32
and I knew I couldn't change it because there
30:34
was too many people, there was orchestra, there
30:36
was whole things that would be switched out,
30:38
and I said, I am so sorry, and she said, oh,
30:41
she said, that's the song that led me to Christ.
30:44
Well, so I have to hear that because, I mean,
30:46
anything can lead a person to Christ, but I don't
30:48
hear it for that song very often. And so I said,
30:51
well, please tell me. And she said, well, I'm
30:53
a pediatric nurse. And she said, I work nights.
30:55
And she said, I had a patient who at night would
30:58
be in the most pain, and he just hurt so badly.
31:01
He would turn on your song, and he would play
31:03
No More Night over and over and over again. And
31:06
she said, this kid, he had a great faith in God.
31:09
And she said, on one of those nights, I heard
31:12
that song coming down the hallway. I was at the
31:14
nurse's station. And she said, I knelt down and
31:16
I accepted Christ because of his faith and hearing
31:19
that song. I said, that wouldn't happen to be
31:22
Travis, would it? And she said, oh, you know
31:24
him. And I said, well, no, I just heard about
31:27
him last week. And she said, oh, his parents
31:29
are here. So I dropped everything and I went
31:33
and I met. Travis's parents. They showed me pictures
31:37
of him. He was a harpist, and he played, or he
31:40
was a skateboardist as well, did the half -pipe
31:42
thing. And as... You're going to make me cry,
31:47
Chris. You're going to do this to me. Well, you're
31:49
making me cry. I know, I know. Well, here's the
31:51
thing. We've even got Jordan Shetty over there.
31:53
I know. These parents, they said they had...
31:55
promised Travis that if I was within 100 miles
31:57
they were going to come see me in concert and
31:59
it was a few years after that that I was able
32:02
to go to Travis's grave site and there on his
32:05
tombstone is his name and the dates and this
32:08
one inscription no more night no more pain no
32:12
more tears never crying again Jennifer LaMountain
32:14
and Walt Hara the songwriter I never got to meet
32:18
Travis But I cannot wait until heaven when I
32:22
can tell him how his story came full circle back
32:25
to me when I needed to hear it, when I was ready
32:27
to give up, when I was burned out. And the reality
32:32
is, every single one of us, God places in our
32:36
hands something at a time that he asks us to
32:39
do it. And we may not see the results here on
32:41
earth, but he is at work, and he is changing
32:45
people's lives. Sometimes the stories will come
32:48
back. Sometimes they won't. But wow, what we're
32:51
going to find out in heaven about the tapestry
32:53
that he used us to create. You know, he's going
32:56
to ask you to sing that song. Where it's real.
33:00
Yeah. No more night. No more night. Yeah. Well,
33:04
I don't think anybody can listen to that story
33:07
you just shared. Who's been through any grief
33:09
or loss and not shed a tear. That's part of it.
33:12
I'm sorry. It's okay. But it's good to cry. And
33:15
that's the thing. We need to go ahead and let
33:17
it out. God knows our tears. He knows how to
33:19
carry us through it. And when you're discouraged,
33:21
when you're hurting, keep in mind that he has
33:24
a plan for you. He has placed something in front
33:26
of you. And all you have to do is grab onto his
33:28
hand. He's the one who will make it something
33:30
amazing. You know, last Sabbath, I don't know
33:34
how people who are watching can connect with
33:36
this. They can look up the General Conference
33:38
first Sabbath of 2025, I guess, and hear the
33:41
closing song. They did a medley of coming again,
33:49
and we have this hope. Yeah. Of course, you know,
33:53
I lost my first wife, and we have this hope as
33:56
the theme of that service. And we sing that song
33:59
together. And the children, this last Sabbath.
34:03
As the adults were singing, We Have This Hope,
34:05
and the arrangement was just beautiful. It was
34:08
just a mix of the two songs. Because, you know,
34:10
coming again, coming again, that used to be kind
34:13
of the anthem of the Seventh -day Adventist Church.
34:14
I think it was in 1980 or 1985, the anthem became
34:18
We Have This Hope. They put it together for this
34:21
general conference, and the children started
34:24
singing. Coming again. As they were singing,
34:31
We Have This Hope. It was so powerful. Oh, yeah.
34:35
Music. Jennifer, you've had such a rich career
34:38
in music. It's been my privilege. I don't know
34:40
how you've done it because it just moves me and
34:44
it moves so many people in such a powerful way.
34:46
So on behalf of how many ever thousands, thank
34:50
you for moving us. Thank you for sharing this
34:52
testimony. I have been blessed. I'm sorry to
34:55
our viewers that I'm crying. No. it's okay. And
34:58
I hope you all know it's okay. You sit there
35:00
and cry. You don't have a camera on you and you
35:02
can cry, but no, God, God is so good to us. And
35:07
he has sacrificed everything in the chance that
35:11
we would accept him and we would follow him just
35:14
for the chance. He gave up everything. That's
35:17
the kind of God we serve, and I cannot wait until
35:20
he sets all things right. We're all reunited
35:22
as we should be, and we get to live forever with
35:26
him and hear him sing. Amen. Thanks for that
35:29
reminder. Jennifer LaMountain, it's been a blessing
35:32
to hear you and listen to you. You know, we've
35:36
had many guests here this week at the General
35:39
Conference, and only one other one has made me
35:41
cry, so thank you. Thank you very much. I even
35:44
got a tear out of Jordan. Oh, there we go. We
35:47
won't forget this one for sure. Jordan, if you've
35:50
got it in you, could you close us with a word
35:51
of prayer? Sure. Let's have prayer. Heavenly
35:55
Father, we thank you that soon there will be
36:00
no more night. And we thank you for the opportunity
36:03
to use music to hear those things. But we also
36:07
thank you for the opportunity for music to worship
36:09
you and the glorious God that you are to us.
36:14
We pray that you'll continue to bless Jennifer
36:17
in her ministry, both through Faith for the Day
36:21
and through her music ministry as she continues
36:24
to touch hearts and lives for your kingdom. And
36:27
I pray that if there's somebody listening that
36:30
has been struggling with something, that this
36:34
program will help them as they work through those
36:41
things in their life that they are struggling
36:42
with. And as they do that, I pray that maybe
36:49
they'll look for some music that will help them
36:52
because it's so powerful in dealing with grief
36:54
and dealing with other things that we go through.
36:57
Lord, I pray that you'll be with them and you'll
36:59
draw close to them and you'll comfort them and
37:01
be with us as we continue in our daily life.
37:06
In your name, amen. Once again, thank you so
37:09
much for being a part of Mission Sunlight Chat
37:11
and being a part of our family here. Our motto
37:15
here is stories behind mission and ministry.
37:19
And Jennifer, it's been a blessing to share stories
37:21
behind both our mission and ministry. Thank you
37:24
for having me so much. Jordan, thanks for taking
37:26
care of things over on the technology side. And
37:28
thank you to our listeners and viewers who are
37:29
just a part of our family by being there. And
37:32
when you connect with us, it is truly a blessing.
37:35
So don't forget to share. with others, click
37:38
the share button and let others know you're watching
37:40
or listening. Don't forget to text us 1 -423
37:43
-855 -4877 or email hello at missionsunlight
37:46
.org and of course you can always connect at
37:49
missionsunlight .org. Click the donate button
37:51
to learn more about what the programs are and
37:53
happenings are around the Network 7 family. Thank
37:56
you so much for joining us. This is Mission Sunlight
37:58
Chat. This has been a Beeson Brook production
38:03
in association with Network 7 Media Center. Executive
38:08
Producers Christopher and Rebecca Beeson Roddy
38:11
Scarborough Dawn and Nancy Van Ornum Associate
38:15
Producers Jordan and Ashley Wagner Gary and Dina
38:18
Bartle Wagner Your host today, Christopher Beeson
38:21
Director of Production and Audio Engineer Jordan
38:24
Wagner To suggest guests, topic questions, to
38:28
pray with us, or to give, visit missionsunlight
38:30
.org or text us at 423. 855 -4877 You may write
38:37
to us at Network 7 Media Center Box 25468 Chattanooga,
38:44
Tennessee 37422 This has been a production of
38:48
Network 7 Media Center.