Saturday, April 2, 2011
Josh's new comedy CD
Josh's new comedy CD is turning out fantastic! He's not had a new one since 2008 because we had trouble figuring out a way to record him live again. I finally found a way to do it, and this will undoubtedly be his greatest comedy piece yet! We've been laughing hysterically as we've been trying to edit it, even though we have heard all of the stuff before! He's also playing two piano solos on it, so everyone should enjoy those too (be sure to listen for me playing the bass in the background!). We are wrapping up production this coming Monday night, then will be sending off his artwork (which Josh designed himself) to the printing company. It will be for sale sometime in late April! -Stephen
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Lots Of News On Our Ministry 3-5-11
Well, if you've been checking our schedule, you can see that God has really been blessing this year! Since I was able to finish up college last semester and have no classes right now, I've really put more time into booking work. Love it that the Lord has been blessing my efforts.
We have been hard at work recording Josh's new comedy CD. He hasn't had a new one since 2008! The reason for this was that we could not duplicate the way that we did it before, and we could not find a new way to do it without shelling out piles of money on recording equipment. I finally figured out a way to record him, and we have been recording his material little by little in our concerts. We're just about done, and have only a few things that we want to get down left. A couple more concerts should do it! Be watching for his new release "Is He Doin' It Yet?"!
I've been gathering together some great songs for my upcoming new solo CD. I'm really looking foreword to this one! I've not recorded a new solo CD since spring 2009 because we released the video and instrumental CD so close together late 2009/spring 2010. I think that this will be the first CD that I will have more freedom in song selection and expressing myself in the arrangements.
I've also been hard at work on new piano solos. People who think that they know me and have heard everything that I can play may be surprised with the new direction I'll be taking in the arrangements!
These days we are encouraging people to sign up for our new e-mail program! This is a new thing that we have recently started to give people special notices about upcoming concerts, new CDs, our first ever Homecoming concert (still in the works, more on that soon!), and more! People who sign up will receive special updates from me about once a month. You have my word that I will not send you spam, forewords (I REALLY hate those!), or sell your e-mail to anyone. Send an e-mail to foresterministries@yahoo.com today, and say that you want to be included in this program!
If you haven't done so already, check us out on Facebook! Go to http://www.facebook.com/ and search "The Forester Brothers". Like us, and get updates and news there, as well as great new pics!
Of course, don't forget to check back here as well!
-Stephen
We have been hard at work recording Josh's new comedy CD. He hasn't had a new one since 2008! The reason for this was that we could not duplicate the way that we did it before, and we could not find a new way to do it without shelling out piles of money on recording equipment. I finally figured out a way to record him, and we have been recording his material little by little in our concerts. We're just about done, and have only a few things that we want to get down left. A couple more concerts should do it! Be watching for his new release "Is He Doin' It Yet?"!
I've been gathering together some great songs for my upcoming new solo CD. I'm really looking foreword to this one! I've not recorded a new solo CD since spring 2009 because we released the video and instrumental CD so close together late 2009/spring 2010. I think that this will be the first CD that I will have more freedom in song selection and expressing myself in the arrangements.
I've also been hard at work on new piano solos. People who think that they know me and have heard everything that I can play may be surprised with the new direction I'll be taking in the arrangements!
These days we are encouraging people to sign up for our new e-mail program! This is a new thing that we have recently started to give people special notices about upcoming concerts, new CDs, our first ever Homecoming concert (still in the works, more on that soon!), and more! People who sign up will receive special updates from me about once a month. You have my word that I will not send you spam, forewords (I REALLY hate those!), or sell your e-mail to anyone. Send an e-mail to foresterministries@yahoo.com today, and say that you want to be included in this program!
If you haven't done so already, check us out on Facebook! Go to http://www.facebook.com/ and search "The Forester Brothers". Like us, and get updates and news there, as well as great new pics!
Of course, don't forget to check back here as well!
-Stephen
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Recent meeting on 2-13-11, plus e-mail news!
Had another great meeting this morning.......but whew, this can get tiring! I wasn't able to get much sleep last night, so it was that much harder today!
Funny thing is that it seems like I usually do better in our meetings when I am at least a little on the tired side! I always pray a lot before going on, and when I'm tired, it's even easier to recognize how much I need God's help in what Josh and I do!
Great meeting, nice people, and (as in many of our churches), GREAT FOOD!
One other thing. We are now starting a special e-mail list. People in our concerts can sign up to receive special notices about upcoming new CDs, news about our first homecoming concert (as soon as we finish ironing out the details), and updates about other special happenings in our ministry.
If you have not seen us in concert lately, but would like to get on our list, send me a notice at foresterministries@yahoo.com letting me know that you want to get in on this. You have my solemn word that I will not send you spam, scams, junk mail of any kind or forewords (all of which I HATE getting!).
-Stephen
Funny thing is that it seems like I usually do better in our meetings when I am at least a little on the tired side! I always pray a lot before going on, and when I'm tired, it's even easier to recognize how much I need God's help in what Josh and I do!
Great meeting, nice people, and (as in many of our churches), GREAT FOOD!
One other thing. We are now starting a special e-mail list. People in our concerts can sign up to receive special notices about upcoming new CDs, news about our first homecoming concert (as soon as we finish ironing out the details), and updates about other special happenings in our ministry.
If you have not seen us in concert lately, but would like to get on our list, send me a notice at foresterministries@yahoo.com letting me know that you want to get in on this. You have my solemn word that I will not send you spam, scams, junk mail of any kind or forewords (all of which I HATE getting!).
-Stephen
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Update on parents health + ministry news
Good news! Both of our parents seem to be doing better in their health as of late!
Mom is still having some pain in her ear, but we are thankful that it apparently is NOT cancer, as one doctor had feared! The swelling that she has suffered through has gone down greatly ,and the severity of the pain is greatly reduced! (Though she does still suffer at times, so keep her in your prayers.
Dad seems more stable in his health lately. He has gone a decent length of time now with no attacks in his health from his Meniers problems, and is doing fairly well. He has had trouble with his one ear in the last couple of days, which is usually a sign that the sickness is going to return, but as of right now, his only problem has been another bout of hearing loss in that ear.
Josh and I are doing well in our meetings. God has been good, and has allowed me to book 13 new dates since I resumed booking work after the holidays on January 4th.
We sang for a great church this morning. They had an 8:30am service, which was a little bit of a bummer for us, since we had to be there at 7:30am, and had over an hour 1/2 drive! (plus getting up earlier for preparations!).
Service was great though, and we sang and preached for them again at 11:00am for their second morning service, which was also fantastic!
Keep watching our website for new dates being posted, and check us out on Facebook soon!
-Stephen
Mom is still having some pain in her ear, but we are thankful that it apparently is NOT cancer, as one doctor had feared! The swelling that she has suffered through has gone down greatly ,and the severity of the pain is greatly reduced! (Though she does still suffer at times, so keep her in your prayers.
Dad seems more stable in his health lately. He has gone a decent length of time now with no attacks in his health from his Meniers problems, and is doing fairly well. He has had trouble with his one ear in the last couple of days, which is usually a sign that the sickness is going to return, but as of right now, his only problem has been another bout of hearing loss in that ear.
Josh and I are doing well in our meetings. God has been good, and has allowed me to book 13 new dates since I resumed booking work after the holidays on January 4th.
We sang for a great church this morning. They had an 8:30am service, which was a little bit of a bummer for us, since we had to be there at 7:30am, and had over an hour 1/2 drive! (plus getting up earlier for preparations!).
Service was great though, and we sang and preached for them again at 11:00am for their second morning service, which was also fantastic!
Keep watching our website for new dates being posted, and check us out on Facebook soon!
-Stephen
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Both of our parents really need prayer.
If you've been following for any length of time, you know that our Dad has battled a number of health problems on and off for some time. He has had an inner ear infection that we thought was Vertigo, but turned out to be some form of Menieres disease (same thing, only recurring and nearly incurable). He also has some problems with his ear processing salt (your inner ear does that, in case you did not know). We still don't really know what's wrong with him, if it's just one of those problems or a combination of both, but he has been very sick, lost hearing in that ear, lost balance and equilibrium, and other problems. The good news is that his heart seems to have completely healed and is working well, plus his ear problems have not been quite as severe or long lasting as they come and go.
Mom, on the other hand, is really sick right now. Over the Christmas holidays, she began having some pain and swellings in her left side of the face, and is now in torturing pain. It was not diagnosed properly at first, but doctors are now calling it a "mass". Tests will be done in a little over a week to determine what it really is (and rule out the possibility of cancer, we hope).
Please pray for both of my parents, Glenn and Sue Forester.
-Stephen
If you've been following for any length of time, you know that our Dad has battled a number of health problems on and off for some time. He has had an inner ear infection that we thought was Vertigo, but turned out to be some form of Menieres disease (same thing, only recurring and nearly incurable). He also has some problems with his ear processing salt (your inner ear does that, in case you did not know). We still don't really know what's wrong with him, if it's just one of those problems or a combination of both, but he has been very sick, lost hearing in that ear, lost balance and equilibrium, and other problems. The good news is that his heart seems to have completely healed and is working well, plus his ear problems have not been quite as severe or long lasting as they come and go.
Mom, on the other hand, is really sick right now. Over the Christmas holidays, she began having some pain and swellings in her left side of the face, and is now in torturing pain. It was not diagnosed properly at first, but doctors are now calling it a "mass". Tests will be done in a little over a week to determine what it really is (and rule out the possibility of cancer, we hope).
Please pray for both of my parents, Glenn and Sue Forester.
-Stephen
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Family & Florida
For the first time in a while, I'm writing about bad news.
We have had to cancel our Florida tour/family vacation. This is due to our dad's health. In the last 48 hours, his health has taken a turn for the worse and his menieres disease has returned. He went deaf in his infected ear again, started staggering, losing his balance, vomiting, and was generally as sick as he was a few months ago.
The only encouraging thing at the moment is that, as of this writing, he is already getting a little better! In the past, his sickness would come and go capriciously, and when it came, it would usually go VERY slowly, so the fact that he is already a little better is good news!
However, He is in no condition to drive an enormous motor-home nearly 2,000 miles down to Florida, and even if he got well suddenly, there is still a possible chance of him getting incredibly sick down there.
This, of course, leaves us with all of February and March w/ no ministry bookings. I only accepted bookings for those months in Florida, and now have canceled those dates. If you are reading this and you are a pastor or person that books concerts, we are now wide open for February and March!
Please pray for our Dad. This is a very hard way for him to live. We are hoping that he will be relieved and be all right soon.
-Stephen
We have had to cancel our Florida tour/family vacation. This is due to our dad's health. In the last 48 hours, his health has taken a turn for the worse and his menieres disease has returned. He went deaf in his infected ear again, started staggering, losing his balance, vomiting, and was generally as sick as he was a few months ago.
The only encouraging thing at the moment is that, as of this writing, he is already getting a little better! In the past, his sickness would come and go capriciously, and when it came, it would usually go VERY slowly, so the fact that he is already a little better is good news!
However, He is in no condition to drive an enormous motor-home nearly 2,000 miles down to Florida, and even if he got well suddenly, there is still a possible chance of him getting incredibly sick down there.
This, of course, leaves us with all of February and March w/ no ministry bookings. I only accepted bookings for those months in Florida, and now have canceled those dates. If you are reading this and you are a pastor or person that books concerts, we are now wide open for February and March!
Please pray for our Dad. This is a very hard way for him to live. We are hoping that he will be relieved and be all right soon.
-Stephen
Saturday, January 1, 2011
2010 Year-In Review!
Wow, is it really 2011?......That's just not right! It seems like only yesterday we were all hopped up about 2010!
I'm sure many of you who read this will be making some fine New Year's resolutions. Some resolutions that you could make for God could include:
1. Lose xxx number of pounds. (God would like that!)
2. Read through your Bible this year.
3. Win more souls for Christ.
4. Stop going to Mark & Andrea Forester's Concerts! (Just kidding on that one.....maybe!)
5. (If you are a pastor) Book The Forester Brothers in your church this year!
Some great things that happened this year included:
1.We got to see many people saved. We don't know of an exact number, and there are always those who may accept Jesus and not tell us, but I do know of a couple of meetings this in particular where people told us. In February, I sang in the morning for a baptist church and preached, and two or three kids came foreword to pray for their salvation.
We also sang for a revival in May, doing both the music and kid's show material, and know of at least one that trusted Christ in the kid's programs!
And then, there is Riverwalk Baptist Church, where we have gone three years in a row to entertain in their family carnival event, and give the audience the gospel four times. God richly blessed there, and we saw a large number of kids and adults trust Christ as their Saviour!
2. Our parents health improved!
We had a number of scary health-related events happen in our family in 2009 and 2010. Some things that Mom and Dad have suffered through between them include: Shingles; severe ear infections that caused hospitalizations, and led to the discovery that Dad could no longer process salt very well (hello low-sodium diets!); a herniated back disk; heart troubles; and many other problems related to the ones already mentioned.
But, by late 2010, these problems seemed to have cleared up well! Dad is not completely out of the woods in some things , and mom has been dealing with a mysterious swelling infection on the left side of her face for a few days and could use prayer. However, we are glad that God has helped us through some pretty dark and difficult days, and made us stronger through them!
3. We released our first instrumental CD.
It turned out beautifully, has been selling well, and the songs have been getting great reactions in concert!
4. We returned to the Charles Novell School of Music.
For the first time since 2007, Josh and I returned to this wonderful week-long school event to hone our skills and learn many new things in gospel music and ministry. We had a wonderful time, learned new things in piano, theory, performance, and stuff from other classes offered as well. We also reconnected with old friends and made new ones!
5. Our number of concert dates went up.
In 2009, we sang for 52 different dates. In 2010, it went up to 63.....and that's with several cancellations, and having a limited amount of time to pursue booking due to college work! By God's grace, we hope to double that number next year!
6. We joined the MGMA.
The Michigan Gospel Music Association is a great place for gospel singers to get together and share good times, laugh, and put on concerts together to promote gospel music and each other's ministries. We joined them in November this year, and made it in by unanimous vote! We hope to do more to help them in their work in 2011.
7. We finished college!
There were times this year when I was not sure if I could make it through certain struggles (the main one being Algebra, Latin word for "Voodoo"!), but we managed to pass all of our classes, and worked things out so that we would not have to come back for more school in January. We just have to go back in May to get ordained, and get our double degrees in Bible and Music!
8. We are now on Facebook!
It is now easier than ever to stay up to date with what we are doing in ministry. Our Facebook ministry page is linked to our website. Go to our home page, click on the Facebook logo, and you can instantly see all of our latest news with exclusive pictures from our lives and recent concerts!
Be sure that you check our website, blog, and Facebook pages often!
We have a lot of big plans for 2011, and will be posting the latest happenings at these places. Between the three, you can: See our concert schedule (which receives new additions often), buy our new CDs, see new pictures, read our latest concert news, updates, 2011 ministry goals, and prayer requests! (Whew! That was a lot!)
God's been good! He's treated us better than we deserve! We can hardly wait to get this new year underway!
-Stephen
I'm sure many of you who read this will be making some fine New Year's resolutions. Some resolutions that you could make for God could include:
1. Lose xxx number of pounds. (God would like that!)
2. Read through your Bible this year.
3. Win more souls for Christ.
4. Stop going to Mark & Andrea Forester's Concerts! (Just kidding on that one.....maybe!)
5. (If you are a pastor) Book The Forester Brothers in your church this year!
Some great things that happened this year included:
1.We got to see many people saved. We don't know of an exact number, and there are always those who may accept Jesus and not tell us, but I do know of a couple of meetings this in particular where people told us. In February, I sang in the morning for a baptist church and preached, and two or three kids came foreword to pray for their salvation.
We also sang for a revival in May, doing both the music and kid's show material, and know of at least one that trusted Christ in the kid's programs!
And then, there is Riverwalk Baptist Church, where we have gone three years in a row to entertain in their family carnival event, and give the audience the gospel four times. God richly blessed there, and we saw a large number of kids and adults trust Christ as their Saviour!
2. Our parents health improved!
We had a number of scary health-related events happen in our family in 2009 and 2010. Some things that Mom and Dad have suffered through between them include: Shingles; severe ear infections that caused hospitalizations, and led to the discovery that Dad could no longer process salt very well (hello low-sodium diets!); a herniated back disk; heart troubles; and many other problems related to the ones already mentioned.
But, by late 2010, these problems seemed to have cleared up well! Dad is not completely out of the woods in some things , and mom has been dealing with a mysterious swelling infection on the left side of her face for a few days and could use prayer. However, we are glad that God has helped us through some pretty dark and difficult days, and made us stronger through them!
3. We released our first instrumental CD.
It turned out beautifully, has been selling well, and the songs have been getting great reactions in concert!
4. We returned to the Charles Novell School of Music.
For the first time since 2007, Josh and I returned to this wonderful week-long school event to hone our skills and learn many new things in gospel music and ministry. We had a wonderful time, learned new things in piano, theory, performance, and stuff from other classes offered as well. We also reconnected with old friends and made new ones!
5. Our number of concert dates went up.
In 2009, we sang for 52 different dates. In 2010, it went up to 63.....and that's with several cancellations, and having a limited amount of time to pursue booking due to college work! By God's grace, we hope to double that number next year!
6. We joined the MGMA.
The Michigan Gospel Music Association is a great place for gospel singers to get together and share good times, laugh, and put on concerts together to promote gospel music and each other's ministries. We joined them in November this year, and made it in by unanimous vote! We hope to do more to help them in their work in 2011.
7. We finished college!
There were times this year when I was not sure if I could make it through certain struggles (the main one being Algebra, Latin word for "Voodoo"!), but we managed to pass all of our classes, and worked things out so that we would not have to come back for more school in January. We just have to go back in May to get ordained, and get our double degrees in Bible and Music!
8. We are now on Facebook!
It is now easier than ever to stay up to date with what we are doing in ministry. Our Facebook ministry page is linked to our website. Go to our home page, click on the Facebook logo, and you can instantly see all of our latest news with exclusive pictures from our lives and recent concerts!
Be sure that you check our website, blog, and Facebook pages often!
We have a lot of big plans for 2011, and will be posting the latest happenings at these places. Between the three, you can: See our concert schedule (which receives new additions often), buy our new CDs, see new pictures, read our latest concert news, updates, 2011 ministry goals, and prayer requests! (Whew! That was a lot!)
God's been good! He's treated us better than we deserve! We can hardly wait to get this new year underway!
-Stephen
Monday, December 27, 2010
Singing in Columbus, Mi.
We had another great meeting this past Sunday in Columbus, Mi. The crowd was fantastic, and loved everything that we did! They were also one of the best laughing crowds that we've sung for in a while. I preached a short message at the end as well. They were very appreciative at the table, and the pastor enjoyed us so much that he already booked us back for next August! I'll be posting that dates on our schedule as soon as I double check something to confirm it.
Be sure to keep checking our schedule. After new year's eve, I'll be locking myself away from the world until I get our schedule filled. God always has been good about getting us new bookings, but He expects me to put in my part of the effort!
-Stephen
Be sure to keep checking our schedule. After new year's eve, I'll be locking myself away from the world until I get our schedule filled. God always has been good about getting us new bookings, but He expects me to put in my part of the effort!
-Stephen
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
College Concerts, Church Cantatas, Plays, Etc.
Just because we are out of school now does not mean that we have had nothing to do! We go out last Thursday, went to college choir rehearsal on Friday, then sang for their annual Christmas concert on Saturday night. We were at our home church on Sunday morning, and then I had to come back early that night to get ready for Dixie Baptist's annual Christmas cantata that night! Two huge Christmas concerts two nights in a row! The only thing that was difficult for me was that I sang through the whole cantata on the way to church for practice, sang the whole thing again for early rehearsal, then again for the actual concert......three times in one night! I wasn't hoarse at the end, but my voice was VERY tired!
Both concerts went really well. Tonight, we are having the annual kid's program of the Nativity. It was supposed to be on Sunday evening two weeks ago, but we got snowed out! Even though Josh and I are college students (soon to graduate) we never were able to get away from jr. church. Hope it goes well!
Next Sunday will be the encore performance of the church cantata. If you missed it the first time, come our to Dixie Baptist Church at 6:00pm for one of the best Christmas concerts that you've ever heard. I know, because I was there once already!
-Stephen
Both concerts went really well. Tonight, we are having the annual kid's program of the Nativity. It was supposed to be on Sunday evening two weeks ago, but we got snowed out! Even though Josh and I are college students (soon to graduate) we never were able to get away from jr. church. Hope it goes well!
Next Sunday will be the encore performance of the church cantata. If you missed it the first time, come our to Dixie Baptist Church at 6:00pm for one of the best Christmas concerts that you've ever heard. I know, because I was there once already!
-Stephen
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Finished!
Well, it's official: Stephen and I are done with our college classes! As of tonight, we have finished up our requirements for our associates' degrees and we will be graduating in May. It's a pretty exciting feeling to get through this stage of our lives, and we're excited to see what the Lord has for us in the future! We won't be taking any classes in Spring 2011, so we'll be heading off to Florida to do some dates down there. God is good, and we can't wait for what's in store next!
-Joshua
-Joshua
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
I Live!..... Again!
WOW it's been forever since I last posted a blog! Sorry about that, everyone! School has been hectic, but it's almost over! Tomorrow will be our last day of classes for the semester and then we'll be out for the year!...... (Man.... this blogging stuff is kinda nostalgic.... it... smells familiar.. I KNOW this place!) Sorry.... Anyway, word on the street is that penguins DO in fact taste better than unicorns! I have tried and I know for myself! (Don't ask............ seriously, don't...)
-Joshua
-Joshua
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Blessings from God!
Josh and I have been given a nice reprieve in college this week. We were supposed to have three final exams today, the worst one being in the sinful world of Algebra! But, our teacher got stuck in snow in the dorm driveway this morning and could not make it........further proof that there is a God! The test has been moved to Thursday, so we have a couple more days to study and (hopefully) pass the class.
-Stephen
-Stephen
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Saturday & Sunday Morning
Our two meetings this weekend went really well, which is nice since they were both at the same church! We sang for a Christmas banquet on Saturday, and then came back Sunday morning for a Sunday school concert, then two specials in the morning service, then a kid's show in the morning service for Jr. church.
The food was great, people loved us, sold lots of CDs, and they already booked us back for a different event next year!
-Stephen
The food was great, people loved us, sold lots of CDs, and they already booked us back for a different event next year!
-Stephen
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Christmas Concerts
The Christmas season is now officially upon us! I am happy to say that I've already got all of my Christmas shopping done...and it's been done since mid-November!
The ministry goals that I posted in my last blog are already starting to come true! The booking is going well, and plans are slowly coming together for our first annual homecoming concert. Most of the other plans will come together a little later next year, but I'm already excited about them and making my plans!
I am now involved in TWO Christmas cantatas! My college is having their annual concert on December 18th, and our home church is holding their choir cantata the next evening on December 19th (with an encore performance on Dec.26th).
Speaking of my college concert, here's a look at the poster that I designed for that event (for those of you who have not seen it on Facebook).
Lastly, be sure to check our schedule on our website for our meetings that we have booked during December. We have a couple of Christmas meetings coming this Saturday, with another on December 12th.
-Stephen
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Ministry Goals for 2011
2010 has been a great year, and I'm eagerly looking foreword to the meetings that remain in Dec, but I'm already looking ahead to 2011. I've always kind of been a go-getter, and I have some big ideas that, if the Lord will allow them to come to pass, will bring great new things to our ministry, see more people saved and saints encouraged, and so much more! I've already begun to make these following items a matter of prayer.
In 2011, we want to:
1.Double our number of ministry dates.
We've booked about 63 concerts this year, but next year, I would like to push for over 120! This will be much easier for me in 2011, since I'll be done with college this fall and have no classes next year!
2.Host our first annual Homecoming concert.
Although we've been traveling since June 29, 2008, we have not yet hosted a big homecoming concert. I'm already planning it!
3.Release Josh's new comedy CD.
Josh has not released a new CD since his original in 2008. We had trouble finding a good way to record him live in front of an audience again. Now that I have found a way, we are currently recording him little by little in our concerts to piece together a great new CD!
4.Record my new solo CD.
I did not record a new solo album in 2010 because we had already released the DVD and instrumental CD so close together. I'm already pulling songs together and setting up studio time for this.
5.Get onto Christian radio.
Christian radio stations in various parts of the state are already playing our music, but I will be aggressively pursuing radio in a campaign to let more people know that we are on the planet!
6.Record a live CD in concert. One of our all-time favorite churches to sing for has already booked us back next year, and agreed to let us record our first live CD featuring singing, instrumentals, comedy, puppets, and more!
7.Help to build the MGMA. We recently joined the Michigan Gospel Music Association. This organization has been around since 1975. It promotes gospel music by bringing together gospel singers for fellowship, conferring for new ideas, and puts on a few concerts to promote gospel music in Michigan. We would like to help them recruit new members, book concerts, and lend our various talents and skills to them. This will help bring the MGMA to new heights, promote gospel music in Michigan, and help to build and encourage our ministry and the others represented by the MGMA.
8.Become promoters in gospel music.
I especially want to be more than a singer and musician. I want to do more to keep gospel music strong. It is a music that does much good in the lives of many people. One way that I wish to help it is through the MGMA, as mentioned above. The other way is that I want to put together concerts of my own next year, not just plead to pastors and booking people for concerts. I hope that next year I will be able to set up some concerts, promote them myself (with some help from others involved), and be responsible for how it comes together. This is perhaps the riskiest goal I have, but if it is done properly, it could be one of the most rewarding!
Finally, as a goal that I'm considering for either 2011 or 2012,
9.Begin building my recording studio. My older Mark Forester (Mark & Andrea Forester Ministries) has been running his own recording studio since around 1999, and has used it to do many great things for his ministry, ours, and in so many others. I wish to follow in his footsteps. It will cost a great deal of money, and I will be piecing it together over time. I don't know yet if I will start assembling it in 2011, or wait until 2012, but it is coming!
I hope that you who read this will join me in prayer for the Lord's direction in our lives and ministry in 2011.
-Stephen
In 2011, we want to:
1.Double our number of ministry dates.
We've booked about 63 concerts this year, but next year, I would like to push for over 120! This will be much easier for me in 2011, since I'll be done with college this fall and have no classes next year!
2.Host our first annual Homecoming concert.
Although we've been traveling since June 29, 2008, we have not yet hosted a big homecoming concert. I'm already planning it!
3.Release Josh's new comedy CD.
Josh has not released a new CD since his original in 2008. We had trouble finding a good way to record him live in front of an audience again. Now that I have found a way, we are currently recording him little by little in our concerts to piece together a great new CD!
4.Record my new solo CD.
I did not record a new solo album in 2010 because we had already released the DVD and instrumental CD so close together. I'm already pulling songs together and setting up studio time for this.
5.Get onto Christian radio.
Christian radio stations in various parts of the state are already playing our music, but I will be aggressively pursuing radio in a campaign to let more people know that we are on the planet!
6.Record a live CD in concert. One of our all-time favorite churches to sing for has already booked us back next year, and agreed to let us record our first live CD featuring singing, instrumentals, comedy, puppets, and more!
7.Help to build the MGMA. We recently joined the Michigan Gospel Music Association. This organization has been around since 1975. It promotes gospel music by bringing together gospel singers for fellowship, conferring for new ideas, and puts on a few concerts to promote gospel music in Michigan. We would like to help them recruit new members, book concerts, and lend our various talents and skills to them. This will help bring the MGMA to new heights, promote gospel music in Michigan, and help to build and encourage our ministry and the others represented by the MGMA.
8.Become promoters in gospel music.
I especially want to be more than a singer and musician. I want to do more to keep gospel music strong. It is a music that does much good in the lives of many people. One way that I wish to help it is through the MGMA, as mentioned above. The other way is that I want to put together concerts of my own next year, not just plead to pastors and booking people for concerts. I hope that next year I will be able to set up some concerts, promote them myself (with some help from others involved), and be responsible for how it comes together. This is perhaps the riskiest goal I have, but if it is done properly, it could be one of the most rewarding!
Finally, as a goal that I'm considering for either 2011 or 2012,
9.Begin building my recording studio. My older Mark Forester (Mark & Andrea Forester Ministries) has been running his own recording studio since around 1999, and has used it to do many great things for his ministry, ours, and in so many others. I wish to follow in his footsteps. It will cost a great deal of money, and I will be piecing it together over time. I don't know yet if I will start assembling it in 2011, or wait until 2012, but it is coming!
I hope that you who read this will join me in prayer for the Lord's direction in our lives and ministry in 2011.
-Stephen
Holidays around our house!
Well, Thanksgiving is here. This is the time of year when we all get together for food, games, movies, football, and so much more! Inevitably though, someone is going to stop in the middle of all of this and think: "What the heck are all of these people doing in my house, eating my food?"
I love Thanksgiving. I enjoy the time off from collgege to let my brain just run out of my ears and not do anything. I love the family time, and of course, the great food! Last, but not least, Thabksgiving is a gentle reminder that Christmas is in hot pursuit, not far behind!
-Stephen
I love Thanksgiving. I enjoy the time off from collgege to let my brain just run out of my ears and not do anything. I love the family time, and of course, the great food! Last, but not least, Thabksgiving is a gentle reminder that Christmas is in hot pursuit, not far behind!
-Stephen
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Our weekend + Thanksgiving
Josh and I had an awesome weekend. we sang in Kalamo (a little town north of Lansing) for a pretty nice crowd on Saturday night, hurried home, got to bed, then got up and did the same thing all over again twice on Sunday! We sang for a pastor in Brown City who has quickly become a good friend of ours, and had a great time. We then headed out for a service at a new church that we had not yet been to. The pastor moved his evening service to 4:00pm so that he could invite people from other churches in the area. This proved to be a good idea, because we had a number of folks show up that had seen us in other places. I guess it pays to sing in multiple churches in the same area and develop a little bit of a fan club!
Thanksgiving is this week (just in case you didn't know) and Josh and I are very excited! Of course we are looking forward to the family, food and thanking God for His blessings, but we are also excited about the fact that we don't have any classes on Thursday! We normally are in college on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so we basically are going to have a week off! It will probably be the best Thursday that we've had this year!
-Stephen
Thanksgiving is this week (just in case you didn't know) and Josh and I are very excited! Of course we are looking forward to the family, food and thanking God for His blessings, but we are also excited about the fact that we don't have any classes on Thursday! We normally are in college on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so we basically are going to have a week off! It will probably be the best Thursday that we've had this year!
-Stephen
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Fan Page!
If you haven't checked it out yet, go to Facebook.com and type into your search "The Forester Brothers" to see our new fan page. You can instantly become fans and read our posts, see our new pics, and follow what's happening in our lives and ministry!
-Stephen
-Stephen
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Facebook Fan Page
Yay! I just got our brand new Facebook fan page up and running! Hurry and go to Facebook.com and look up "The Forester Brothers" to keep up to date with us there. I'll soon have new posts, pics, info, and so much more. Log on today to become the first of our fans for this exciting new area of our ministry!
-Stephen
-Stephen
Last Sunday Night & Facebook
Our concert last Sunday was a little different experience from what we've had lately. The church was literally within walking distance from our house! The only reason that we did not actually walk was because we still had to get all of our equipment over there!
Only fourteen people showed up, but it was still a great night. The pastor loved us, and sat in the back row of the church, laughing his head off at just about everything that we did, and most of the people did the same thing!
There was one lady who found all of our stuff so funny that she laughed almost constantly, even if it wasn't funny......I must say that it was a little odd to have her laughing so hard during MY GUITAR SOLO! (LOL!)
All in all, it was a great night. It was also very nice to get home so soon afterward as well. Traveling very far away for our concerts is fun, and we both love the ride, fast-food, and general experience, but sometimes it's nice to do a date at a church where we only use about 2 cents worth of gasoline.
Also, be sure to watch for an announcement for our soon-coming Facebook fan page! Soon we'll have a new page there where you can become a fan and catch all of our latest updates from the world's most popular social site.
-Stephen
Only fourteen people showed up, but it was still a great night. The pastor loved us, and sat in the back row of the church, laughing his head off at just about everything that we did, and most of the people did the same thing!
There was one lady who found all of our stuff so funny that she laughed almost constantly, even if it wasn't funny......I must say that it was a little odd to have her laughing so hard during MY GUITAR SOLO! (LOL!)
All in all, it was a great night. It was also very nice to get home so soon afterward as well. Traveling very far away for our concerts is fun, and we both love the ride, fast-food, and general experience, but sometimes it's nice to do a date at a church where we only use about 2 cents worth of gasoline.
Also, be sure to watch for an announcement for our soon-coming Facebook fan page! Soon we'll have a new page there where you can become a fan and catch all of our latest updates from the world's most popular social site.
-Stephen
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