I was listening to Eddie Degarmo and Dana Key (a.k.a. DeGarmo & Key, one of the first rock bands in Christian music) doing a radio interview during Gospel Music Week. I love those guys. I remember doing PR for them back in the day when I was Senior Publicist at Benson Records --when dinosaurs roamed the earth. Anyway, they were sharing stories of their career, and Eddie remembered a concert they did in Arizona back in the 80s. D&K were wildly popular back then, and at the time of the story he was telling, had been featured at a gathering of hundreds of thousands of people who had come to see the Pope. But here they were in Arizona, coming out on stage, and seeing 8 -- count 'em -- 8 people in the audience. Eddie bemused about how difficult it is to play to such a non-crowd, and how it affects performers (especially POPULAR ones) to see NO ONE show up for a concert. But at the end of the evening, one of the 8 people accepted Jesus as Savior. Eddie looks back at that concert now with great fondness; not as a failure, but as a grand success. I mean, that's a whopping 12% of the crowd getting saved!
He was being funny, but he was also making a valid point that every artist in Christian music should hear. Sometimes, you'll have those moments when the crowd is large and loud and smiling and totally in awe of your talent and music. But sometimes, you'll walk into a situation where the audience looks like cows staring at a new gate. It can be discouraging; even causing you to wonder if God has truly given you a music ministry. But in all situations, do what you do with excellence and humility, and let God work out the percentages.
