Musical upbringing provided foundation for ministry

Posted: 11/11/05

Musical upbringing provided
foundation for ministry

By Leann Callaway

Special to the Baptist Standard

ABILENE–When future worship leader and Christian recording artist David Frush was a small child, his parents realized God had given him a unique gift to minister through music.

As a second grader, Frush was deeply affected by the death of a classmate who died after a two-year battle with leukemia. Early the next morning, Frush's mother found him sitting at the piano and playing a song that he wrote–a composition performed two days later at his friend's funeral.

Sherry Frush, now president of the Texas Music Teachers Association, introduced her son to music at an early age, so she wasn't surprised when he expressed his deepest feelings musically.

“My mom took me under her guidance and taught me how to play and write compositions for the piano,” he said. “I took lessons with her for 14 years and participated in various recitals and competitions for performance and composition. During this time, my mother also worked with me on vocal instruction.

“I am blessed to have such a musical family and definitely give credit to them for inspiring me to live a life filled with music. My parents always encouraged me to develop my relationship with God and also inspired me to find ways to use my talents to glorify him.”

During Frush's junior year in high school, he began leading the worship band for the youth ministry at First Baptist Church in Abilene.

“First Baptist Abilene always challenged and encouraged me to reach my full potential in Christ and also gave me opportunities to develop my passion for worship,” he said.

Around that time, Frush also began planning a future career in medicine, inspired by his friend's illness. But after serving as a camp counselor for seventh- and-eighth grade boys, he felt God was calling him to reach people for Christ by using music.

“It was at this camp that I experienced a life-changing event. During the Wednesday night worship service, each member of my group came up and personally thanked me for being their leader and informed me that they had either accepted Christ as their Savior or re-dedicated their life to him. I will never forget that moment,” he said.

“The presence of the Lord has never been more real to me than at that time. I could not grasp the fact that God had used me to reach out to those students. I also felt God calling me to a decision that night. I wanted to be able to always encounter moments like that, and a desire to preach to the nations was ignited within me.”

That night, Frush called his parents and told them how God was stirring his heart.

“I knew that God was calling me to serve him through ministry, and I desired to walk in obedience,” he said.

“During my senior year, worship leader Jeff Berry began to disciple me and helped develop my calling for worship. He met with me on a weekly basis and not only held me accountable, but also gave me advice and leadership on what exactly it means to be a worship leader. He also invited me to sing and play with his band at various events throughout the year. This experience helped me understand what I was created to do. I knew that the Lord desired me to surrender to this calling for the music ministry, and I could not wait to see what he had in store.”

Frush attended Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, and he led worship at various church and youth events across the state. He also served on the worship team and executive staff for Grace Bible study, a weekly collegiate Bible study with nearly 1,000 students attending.

Three years ago, he released his first worship CD, Journey Home.

“I decided to name my first project Journey Home because I feel that I am on a journey that is preparing me for my true home in heaven,” he explained. “Each song reflects where I have been in a particular time of my own spiritual journey. I pray that this CD will help lead people to know Jesus Christ as their Savior and will also serve as an inspiration to fellow believers by encouraging them to give everything for the cause of Christ.”

While maintaining a busy touring schedule, Frush served as a youth intern and interim youth pastor at First Baptist Church of Abilene. This fall, he participated in the Embassy Music Tour, sponsored by World Vision.

He recently became associate minister for students and worship at First Baptist Church of Forney, and he also will be the worship leader for the church's new Saturday night contemporary worship services, scheduled to begin in January.

“I am called to serve on the road and desire to use our ministry to preach to the nations, but I believe that having a local church's support is a necessity,” he said.

“My aspirations of leading worship are to inspire, challenge and encourage people to encounter an intimate time of praise and adoration with their Father in heaven. I will always surrender to this mission and strive to encourage others to do the same.

“I believe that God uses the heart of a person to reach out to others. It is not always the people with the best musical skill that God uses. The heart is so much more important, because it allows the leader to be submissive to the Lord's leadership for any service and also contains the desire to truly use the music as a form of ministry.”