Tennessee choir shares its faith on Germany's streets

Beneath the shadow of Cologne Cathedral, a choir of Tennessee Baptist men sang "Amazing Grace." Then the Tennessee Men's Chorale sang "Goodness of God" in German, the Tennessee Baptist and Reflector reports, and the crowd grew and several people sang along. The singers were among 45 Tennessee Baptists who traveled to Germany on a trip that opened the Tennessee Baptist Convention's partnership with the country.

The group had two hours on the crowded square in front of the cathedral and kept its microphones at 85 decibels to obey city rules, the paper reports. In that time the men handed out tracts from Bonn Bible Seminary while the singers' wives shared their testimonies with people who wanted to talk. Rebecca Kelly, who served on the trip with her husband Phil, a chorale member, said she prayed about who God would send her to and that she would be ready to listen or to tell them what they needed. "And it just happened over and over and over again," she said.

The trip ran from Sept. 27 to Oct. 6, according to the Baptist and Reflector. Its main goal was to encourage churches through music in Bonn, Bornheim, Gummersbach and anywhere the men could break into song, from restaurants and cafes to street corners. "Music serves as an icebreaker," said Roric Boese, worship and connections pastor at Leoma Baptist Church south of Lawrenceburg, who sings tenor. He said he has felt called to be a missionary to Germany since he was 8, and he sang a solo of "Goodness of God" in German at the Oct. 3 commencement of Bonn Bible Seminary, a convention partner since Jan. 1, 2026. John Greene of First Baptist Morristown guest preached at a church in Leverkusen, with seminary intern Philipp Sinn translating.

Four team members also taught a singing masterclass at the Evangelical Free Church Bornheim to 25 students, many of them from the seminary. Joe Fitzpatrick, worship and music pastor at First Baptist Nashville, led vocal exercises, and Rachel Greene of Morristown First Baptist used a broom to show students how to stand tall while singing. Director Wayne Causey said young people being poured into is the key to good church plants. "You've got to have preachers, but you've also got to have worship," he said.

Causey has conducted the chorale for three years and joined it at 26. This is his last year as director, though he will keep singing bass, and Austin Clark of First Baptist Church in Seymour has taken the role. The chorale was founded in 1963 and is made up of men who serve as music ministers and worship leaders in Tennessee Baptist churches. In a second report, the paper described Germany as a place where "faith is hard to find." Kelly called the trip the most evangelistic she has seen. Her favorite part was hearing the group praise God in four or five languages, which she said sounds as close to heaven as we will get on this earth.