Ambassador Youth Choir Brings Lively Music, Powerful Testimony

When the 41-member Ambassador Youth Choir performs at 6 p.m. today at , listeners can expect lively gospel music and moving Christian testimony.

"They sing Pentecostal-style gospel music, and they do a great job with it," First Assembly Pastor Scott McNees said. "There are a lot of people in this neck of the woods who like that style."

The group of teens, from Riverdale Assembly of God in Riverdale, CA, benefits as much as the audience.

"We do this not just to share the faith with other teens and other people, but we’ve found this is an amazing thing that happens in the choir," Riverdale music minister Jim Davis said.

Leaving their comfort zone of home and school and singing and testifying in front of strangers helps them grow, he said.

"It does something in their own heart--it strengthens them," he said. "And they come home, and many times their lives are changed. They have experiences, and just a confidence. It’s pretty amazing. We’ve watched it happen over and over again, and it’s exciting for us to see what happens in the choir."

This is the 23rd year that Davis and his wife Darla Davis, who is the choir director, have toured with the youth choir. One former choir member is now a school principal, while several have gone on to become pastors. The testimony the choir members share can be poignant.

"A lot of them are not from typical Christian homes," Davis said. "Some of them, their parents are divorced, they’re living with a grandparent, they’re struggling with typical teen issues."

Riverdale is a small dairy community in central California, near Fresno. While half the young people in this year’s choir were raised in stable homes, many of the others come from homes where "their parents are on drugs or in gangs," Davis said.

One girl has been in foster homes most of her life.

"She had a horrible life," he said. "She went through 13 foster homes before she came to Riverdale. And now she’s been with us going on her third year. I mean, she’s settled down, and God has just done an amazing thing in her life. She’s no longer troubled where they’re having to bounce her from home to home. She’s found a security in the Christian school, and the church, and the family that took her in. So she has a powerful testimony. Every time she shares it, we always get a response from that. Because there are usually kids sitting in the audience who are going through the same thing. We’ve had a lot of foster kids (in the audience), and they always respond to her."

Another boy is dealing with his parents’ divorce.

"He’s open and honest about it...He just opens up, and of course, he cries every time," Davis said. "There are kids out there in the audience who are going through the same thing, and he tells them, ‘I’m trusting in God, God’s going to take care of me, and I know that he’s going to see me through this.’ So there’s that hope, and that encouragement, that other kids can get from hearing somebody else say that."

Young audience members benefit from finding a common bond with the choir members.

"It’s good for them to realize that these kids are going through the same thing," Davis said. "They have the same struggles. The difference is they’re not getting bitter and angry at life, but they’re trusting in God, and they know that their faith is going to get them through it."

The choir sings two sets, with the first lasting 45 minutes to an hour. After that first set, several choir members share their testimonies. The testimonies works well with a song called "His Arms Are Open," which Davis wrote.

"It’s a song about the mercies of God and how his arms are always open for us," Davis said. "It kind of fits with their testimonies."

The choir usually sings a shorter second set, concluding with "Something Happens," a ballad.

"It’s a great song," Davis said. "It talks about how when the name of Jesus is prevalent, then miracles happen. Something wonderful, something supernatural happens. It always moves everyone...It’s just a powerful song."

The choir is accompanied by Davis on keyboards, plus a drummer and bass player. Prerecorded tracks are used for additional instrumentation.

"It sounds live," Davis said. "Most people don’t even realize the extra tracks are there. It gives it a real full sound, and gives a steadiness to the music."

The young people in the choir are able to take this two-week tour, which includes 12 performances, because they have worked ahead in their computer-based school curriculum. The group, which includes six adult chaperones, stays in motels and incorporates sightseeing days off into the schedule. For instance, they performed in Neosho, MO on Monday and then took a couple of days off in Branson, MO. On Monday they will tour the Gateway Arch.

The choir members fundraise to be part of the tour, everything from getting sponsored by family and friends to holding bake sales. The money they raise helps cover motel, gas and bus maintenance expenses.

"It means more to them if they raise the money," Davis said.

Churches they perform for also help, taking a free-will offering for the choir and typically providing a meal. First Assembly will feed the group this afternoon before the concert.

McNees knows Davis and the Riverdale Church because he served a church a few miles away for 17 years. He is pleased to be able to bring them to the area.

"We feel real privileged to have them," Pastor McNees said. "It’s nice that they would honor us by coming here."

McNees drove to Kansas City to hear the choir last year.

"It’s a great group of young people," he said. "Faithful, consistent--their testimonies are great."

McNees, whose church is in the latter stages of an extensive restoration, said the sanctuary seats about 300 people. Although the restoration is unfinished, getting this talented choir to perform was too tempting to pass up. There’s no telling when the youth choir will make it to this area again, McNees said, so today is the best opportunity to catch this dynamic performance.

"This is the time for people to come and hear them sing," he said. "They won’t be disappointed."

The concert will be held at 6 p.m. at Wentzville First Assembly of God, 111 West Allen Street. The public is invited.