Sing Beijing

Worshiplanet recently provided vocal training for our brothers and sisters living in Beijing. Our dear friend and vocalist, Giorgio Ammirabile from Italy, volunteered his time and came all the way to China to bless the church. He taught a series of vocal workshops at the Beijing International Church Fellowship where representative from seven different international congregations gathered to attend the workshops. We also filmed Giorgio (for future pod casts) teaching local worship leaders at our Saturday training event. The topics included; warming up the voice, proper care of a singer's voice, the role of the background vocalist, and using dynamics in worship leading. We had a wonderful time with our friend and appreciate his willingness to serve. It was marvelous to see the body of Christ working together to bless and encourage one another on to good works.

Forbidden City Concert

The sounds of ‘oh happy day, happy day, you washed my sin away’ echoed around the massive courtyard as the Worshiplanet Band sang inside the walls of The Forbidden City. An invitation from the Beijing International Education Exchange came just days earlier to play the 8th Cultural Events held to promote the Beijing 2008 Olympics. The band played on the Main Stage where they performed Mark’s two Olympic song competitions entries and as well as modern praise tunes. Playing in the The Forbidden City is the highlight of the Tedder’s musical history thus far in China. Along side Mark, Carrie, and Daniel Tedder you see Timon Timothy from Dominica. Timon studies in Beijing and often plays with the Worshiplanet Band. He is a great guy and also the son of a pastor in Dominica.  Timon is a welcome addition as the Worshiplanet Band’s newest bass player. For more photos, check out the gallery. 

High School Concert

Chinese students work hard. They endure long days which start at 7:00am and go until late in the evening – sometimes as late as 9:00pm! The Worshiplanet Band played to a group of these hard working students at a high school located on the outskirts of Beijing. At that particular school, the students were day boarders who only made it home every other weekend. “Your band will be a special treat for these students,” remarked the headmaster as the band set up their gear. They performed an hour long concert that was interwoven with Chinese love songs, praise and worship tunes, and of course Mark’s Olympic song competition entries. The 600+ sixteen year olds in attendance were one of the most fun crowds they have ever played to and  at the end of the concert a very large boy ran on stage on gave Mark a massive hug. That hug quickly turned into the band being bombarded by kids. There were many more hugs to follow and lots of conversations in which they were told, “we love you and please come back”. It was an absolute privilege to serve these kids and show them the love of God. Pray for China’s next generation!

Care For Children

Worshiplanet just played their first public concert since returning back to China. Care For Children invited the WP Band to open their evening event where more than eighty orphanage administrators gathered from all acrossChina. It was an honor to give the gift of music to those who work so tirelessly with Chinese orphans.  The Minister of Social Affairs was also in attendance. With his cell phone high in the air, he joined in with the crowd singing, 'Sing, Sing, Sing, Beijing'. It was a lot of fun particularly when someone in the back had the clever idea to turn off all the lights so the cell phone screens would 'look cool'. It was the first time the WP Band played in complete darkness...sure glad we had that music memorized!

Steven Curtis Chapman

The Worshiplanet Band recently performed a joint song with Grammy winner Steven Curtis Chapman. The concert took place at the Beijing International Christian Fellowship. Before Mark and Steven shared the stage together, the Worshiplanet Band played to a crowd of eager Beijingers. It was an awesome privilege to work with such gifted and mission-oriented Christian artists.  

Chaoyang Park

In support of the ‘foreign languages learning week’, the Worshiplanet Band performed on three bandstands at Beijing’s Chaoyang Park. It was a hot and sunny Saturday which made for a great gig atmosphere but also meant a lot of extra work for the Worshiplanet setup crew. It was an all day affair where Mark sang his Olympic song competition entries, Chinese pop tunes, and contemporary worship songs. Both government officials and Olympic Committee representatives attended the event. At one point, Mark even had a few of them joining in on ‘sing, sing, sing Beijing’! Radio 774 also interviewed Mark live at their mobile studio set up within the park. Beijing is hearing His praise!

Charity Events

Living in Beijing presents the Tedders with many unusual ministry and musical opportunities. Mark (with the musical help of Jeff Caylor) has been writing songs for various charities and charity events. In late spring he wrote fund raiser tunes for Morning Sun and Care For Children, both Christian charities working with children in China.  Care for Children liked his song so much that they pressed a CD for their donors and flew the Tedders to London to perform it at their annual fundraising event. It was the first time Worshiplanet worshiped wearing formal attire and where the audience included Lords, Ladies, and the Mayor of London! The evening was a big success for the charity and God was glorified.   

University Concerts

Worshiplanet recently performed a lunchtime concert for the Beijing Educational Institute. The BEI is a university dedicated to training future headmasters and principals. Deng Ya Ping opened the concert. She is considered to be the best female Ping Pong player in the world and is a four time Olympic Gold Medal winner whom the Chinese people adore. Several officials gave speeches and the Worshiplanet Band entertained the crowd of teachers. Everyone really loved ‘Come Like You Promised’ and ‘There Is A Place’. It is amazing how God uses the medium of music to show himself in sensitive countries.

CCTV

In response to the Olympic Song Competition, China Central Television did a story on Mark. CCTV is the state-owned, government sanctioned television medium and is beamed across the entire nation. As an American musician living in Beijing, Mark proved
an interesting person to the 'powers that be'. CCTV News recently took notice of Mark's song entry into the Olympic competition. The TV crew filmed Mark leading worship at the BICF, taking a cooking class, recording in his home studio, performing a university concert, and hanging out at the park.  To see the interview, go to the CCTV website.  Just above Mark's head are some blue Chinese characters with two arrows. Click that and hit play. 

Sound Mission 

Mark Shrimplin, a sound engineer for Woodmen Valley Chapel in Colorado Springs, recently volunteered his time with Worshiplanet. His primary task was to resource the tech and sound department at the Beijing International Church Fellowship.  Mark did one on one consulting with various sound and tech people within the church. He conducted a seminar for all back stage setup and production crew.  At that gathering there were 30 people; seven different congregations were represented within the BICF family. Mark also taught an all day workshop for the sound crew. This resource extends beyond the vast BICF community into the registered three-self Chinese church and it was even videotaped for use in the underground church.

Everything from the basic sound board to EQing and trouble shooting were covered during that time.  Mark also taught how to make the most out of what equipment is available.  Techs from different congregations also got to spend time talking with each other and discuss how to work together between services.  A major improvement seen was the amount of communication and teamwork between techs from different congregations.  Mark was able to encourage the techs and reaffirm their role in the church. 

Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games

The Band was able to work with Studio Classroom recently to perform before the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG).  Studio Classroom is training the BOCOG staff in the English language, so the English concert was part of their training.  The Band played some songs written by Mark Tedder for the Olympic Games, some contemporary Christian songs and a Chinese love song.  The event was a huge success and was followed by a question and answer time.  The Band and staff discussed the power of music in culture and in relation to the Olympics.  The staff also had many questions about the various nations where the Band had played.  Pictures were taken, friendships made and lives were touched in both the Band and BOCOG staff.  Check out their awesome Chinese website of the event!

All For Jesus   God The Victorious   In Your Name   Let Us Be Broken   Because of Love   Everything   Pilgrim’s Journey   God You Are My God   Such Splendour   Justice   O Church Arise   The Favour Of The Lord

It's Here

Mark Tedder released his newest CD, Pilgrims Journey, on November 17, 2006.  Including new and original songs written from Mark’s passion for worshipping God, this is a solo album praising God and encouraging believers around the world.  Mark blends funky sounds with a traditional feel to his music.  Although, unless you live in the UK, you will have to order it, this CD is well worth the wait.

To order Pilgrims Journey, visit KingswayMusic.com.  There you can also download the CD for a lower price. iTunes also has the CD available for purchasing. 

If you wish to hear a sample of one of the songs, right-click a bolded title and choose ‘Save Target As’. 

For other news and products visit Mission:Worship.com.

To read a review of the album, check out CrossRhythms.com.

Beijing Blog

If you want to see photos and hear about life in Beijing, check out the new blog at: Carrietedder.typepad.com/.