David Scherer, a 1999 graduate of Gustavus Adolphus College, created JUMP, Joint Urban Ministries in Praise.
By Megan Wille ’05
Concerned that traditional church music wasn’t reaching urban youth, David Scherer ’99 (also known as Agapé) created a worship service using dancing, rapping, storytelling, and his fluency in Spanish.
One of the themes of David’s message is bridging gaps that separate people, as reflected in his song “All Are Welcome.” David says, “It gives me hope to see all God’s children: black and white, male and female, straight and gay, liberal and conservative, Lutheran and non-denominational, all worshipping the same God in the same building.”
“At one of our worships, there were a few boys that came from a drug house next door,” David recalls. “They heard our DJ spinning hip-hop records during the worship and they wanted to be a part of it. During the offering, they ran up to the altar before we could stop them and began dancing and shaking. Soon a few other kids said, ‘I want to dance too,’ and so they got up there and did their thing. Before we knew it there was a dance party at the altar. We will never look at offering the same way.”
The service has been used as a tool to reach many “at risk” youth, one such person is a middle schooler named Tyrone. “He lacked a lot of confidence, but we knew he had gifts of rapping and performing,” David says. “We asked Tyrone to perform at a JUMP service and he blew the roof off. The congregation went wild as he rapped and sang his praises to God in a very authentic way. Afterward, his face lit up as he began to see how he could use his gifts for something so positive.”
In addition to the JUMP service, David tours with a hip hop group and has sold more than 11,000 CDs. His song “All Are Welcome,” was featured as the ELCA national gathering theme song for Atlanta 2003. The group did 100 shows last year, reaching more than 100,000 people. David’s other accomplishments include speaking at the National Youthworkers Convention, serving as youth director at Mount Olivet Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, and chairing the Building Bridges Conference for Diversity while he was a student at Gustavus.
The JUMP worship is held at Redeemer Lutheran Church in North Minneapolis the second Sunday of each month. For information about attending a service or sponsoring the service, contact Kelly Chatman at Redeemer Lutheran Church. If you’d like to host a JUMP service at your church, contact Rachel Bolte. For more information about Hip Hop Outreach, visit www.hiphopoutreach.com.