God’s Door Is Always Open

By Terry Ayers

If anyone would have told me back in the late seventies that thirty years from then I would not only be attending church on a regular basis, but I would actually be leading their praise and worship services, I would have laughed squarely in that person’s face!

Yes, it’s true that I had already given my heart to our Lord and Savior, when I was a mere lad of eleven – due in part to my wonderful grandfather who preached the gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the rural areas of southeastern Oklahoma. As a matter of fact, my first life’s memory is that of being a little boy and my mother taking me outside of the church to get a drink of water from the spigot that was located on the side of a little one-room country church house.

My mom carried around this little collapsible tin cup that I would eagerly drink from when I got thirsty. On the lid of this little tin cup was carved a sailing ship. In later years this would prove prophetic, as I would sail all the oceans of the world as well as visit six of its continents.

God’s gift of music had always been my passion and I eagerly learned how to play and sing and express my thoughts through composing my own music. I was quite fortunate and in 1978 I recorded my first album of songs with members of the Dallas symphony.

That summer I packed my bags and headed for Los Angeles with dreams of becoming the next big rock star! [Sound familiar to anyone?] I landed a job with a major record label in their mailroom and I began to study the music business and how it worked. I was in my mid-twenties by then and had turned my back on God. He just wasn’t cool enough for me. To quote George Bernard Shaw, “Youth is wasted on the young.”

Fortunately, God never turned His back on me, and by His grace I managed to survive a lot of tumultuous times. In the nineties I began entertaining onboard the world’s most elite cruise ships. It was on one of these ships that I met my future wife. We have been married for thirteen wonderful years and this past December God blessed Patricia and me with a beautiful, healthy baby girl whom we named Ruby.

Music throughout my life has enabled me to experience so many wonderful times. The places that I have traveled and the friendships that I have established truly span the globe.

But as we head into this new millennium, I now find myself in God’s service full-time and you can believe me when I say that nothing has ever been as rewarding as the work I am presently involved in. It is an awesome responsibility and I do not take it lightly.

I have recently re-located my family from Nashville where I was minister of music for Covenant Baptist church to central Michigan where I am now Director of Fine Arts for Okemos Christian Center located in Okemos, Michigan (a suburb of Lansing).

In addition to heading up the Praise & Worship team here at O.C.C., I have established a Sunday Afternoon Jazz Vespers Concert Series with the jazz studies program here at Michigan State University. The series features some of America’s greatest jazz musicians and is held once a month at the church. Throughout my lifetime God has truly blessed me even when I did not deserve those blessings and I owe everything I have to Him. So if you ever have occasion to visit the Lansing area, please come and join us as we worship the giver of life.

Terry can be contacted at TAyers@okemoschristiancenter.com

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