Called to Worship: Students Gaining Ministry Experience Beyond the Classroom
One of the most significant highlights of Baylor’s Church Music program is that its undergraduate students are presented with hands-on ministry opportunities in local churches around Waco in addition to the class instruction built into their degree plans. Eva Parker and Bronwen Kirby, seniors studying Church Music, have the privilege of serving in church ministry positions while finishing their education.
Eva Parker (B.A. Church Music ‘26) is currently serving as a student intern at First Baptist Church Valley Mills. Through her current participation in the Instrumental Music in the Church class at Baylor, she has found a unique opportunity to learn practical skills of worship leading in the classroom and then transfer these skills to her Sunday mornings at church. Eva appreciates how leading rehearsals and learning how different instruments work together in a band setting while still keeping God as the focus are the priorities of the Instrumental Music class, which have helped her to feel well-equipped in her current ministry position.
The priority of keeping God the focus in worship is especially sometimes a difficult transition from class setting surrounded by like-minded peers to real-life church settings. However, Eva has felt a strong calling to ministry from the Lord ever since she began leading with her youth praise team in high school, and so her dedication to Christ’s plan for her life has helped her to keep her focus on what truly matters in worship. A large part of this is also due to the fulfilling friendships and professor relationships she has been able to form in the Dunn Center: people who have spiritually poured into her and supported her in her path to ministry.
Bronwen Kirby (B.M. Church Music ‘27) is currently serving in the music ministry at St. Jerome Catholic Church. Two people who she particularly looks up to and appreciates in her worship studies are Geraldine Latty-Luce and Carey Luce, who have poured immensely into Waco’s church music ever since arriving at Baylor in 2024. Bronwen has had the pleasure of working alongside the Luces with recording projects at St. Jerome and says that it is an amazing opportunity to be able to work with musicians with such a skill set and demeanor.
Bronwen says that sometimes she finds learning how to work with people of all different ages and skill sets in a way that best incorporates their individual strengths to be somewhat of a challenge in music ministry, but she and the Luces have demonstrated a phenomenal approach to utilizing each person’s talents in the greatest possible way that is glorifying to Christ. She is also grateful for the opportunity to have grown in her compositional skills through studying music theory at Baylor, as well as the chance to take Church Music specific classes, which have taught her valuable skills in interpersonal relationships.
As seen through both Eva and Bronwen, the Dunn Center for Christian Music Studies prioritizes gifting its students with the opportunity to put their classroom education to practical use outside of the university. Whether this be through band-led worship or composition and recording, the program is shaping the future generation of worship leaders and ministers of music to pursue their callings with excellence.