FSM Beginnings

It was a Sunday morning in early 1999. We were minding our own business, sitting in the church service, feeling quite comfortable with where we were in life. For the past 18 years, we had been involved in full time ministry via a music and missions organization known as Celebrant Singers, which had provided us the opportunity to travel and lead teams to over 43 countries of the world, sharing the Love of Christ, using the tool of music. We loved what we did and felt that we would be there forever. However, things were about to change.

The pastor began preaching a sermon that morning about faith. In the course of his message, he used an illustration that moved us deeply and caused us to feel a stirring in our hearts. A feeling that change was coming. Our pastor gave an illustration of an Impala, an African deer. This creature apparently can leap an amazing 10 feet high and cover a distance of 30 feet when fleeing a predator. However, amazingly, it only takes a 3-foot fence to keep that Impala in captivity. Why? Because it will not jump unless it can see where its feet will land. Even though it could easily clear the fence, it will never jump.

Then our pastor said, "Very often we are like Impalas. God is calling us to take a leap of faith, but we are afraid, because we can't see where our feet will land." Then he challenged the congregation - challenged us - to take a leap of faith - to be willing to respond to God's Voice even when we can't see where our feet will land.

When we got home that afternoon and began to compare notes, we both knew that God was stirring our hearts to take a leap of faith. To step out of our comfort zone and into the unknown. We said yes to Him that day, that we wanted to go wherever He would lead us.

Over the next few weeks and months, a vision for the future began to take shape in our hearts, a vision that would involve not just music and testimony and missions and film, but the idea of ministering out of our own brokenness and need for God.

God gave us picture of a ship with its sails unfurled. We sensed Him saying, "Just get your sails up. You do not have to figure out where you're going to go, or how you're going to get there. You don't have to empower yourself to move forward. I will fill you with the wind of my Spirit and take you to places you've never even imagined! Just get your sails up!"

Thus, in July of 1999, out of obedience to the call of God, we began Full Sail Ministries. We have been absolutely amazed at the doors He has opened and the vision and passion He continues to stir in our hearts for this lost and hurting world.

It is our desire to keep our sails unfurled. And whether He chooses to provide a gale-force Wind or just the whisper of a Breeze, we do not want to miss His movement in and through our lives!