I quote the website,
“GodStyle Productions exists as a change agent targeting youth culture by connecting influential youth and youth workers; equipping them with a message designed for the urbanized mindset and empowering them to communicate that message of hope to their world”
– www.godstyle.com.
Why is this important? Here are a couple of statistics for you –
• Over 50% of the world’s population lives in high-density, urban areas.
• Over 50% of the world’s population is under the age of 25.
How does one communicate The Truth to today’s urban youth?
Fred Lynch, founder of GodStyle, says it this way: “We take the message of truth and design it in a way that communicates to kids right where they are at.”
Hip Hop music communicates in The Script
Hip Hop music is a powerful communicator to kids these days so why not marry the scriptures to Hip Hop? That’s what Fred has done in his latest work, The Script (formerly titled The Epic.)
Fred Lynch, Campus Pastor
What do I know about Hip-Hop’s influence on youth culture? Not much. Recently I spent part of my weekend finding out. I made the drive to The Oaks Fellowship – Oak Cliff campus in South Dallas for the ReLoad Dallas Training Experience, produced by The Urban Youth Workers Institute. Larry Acosta, President of the Urban Youth Workers Institute, was in the city and invited me to check out ReLoad Dallas.
Clearly I was the Grandma of the Day trying to blend in with about 300 youth workers and a good representation of what looked to be high school youth. After a few minutes of wandering the campus, I ran into Larry. He said he wanted to introduce me to someone. We made our way to the office of Fred Lynch, Campus Pastor at the Oak Cliff campus. In the midst of the mid-conference craziness, Fred greeted me warmly and sat down with me for a few minutes to tell me about The Oaks ministry and his latest project – The Script.
The Script: a hip hop devotional through the book of John is an artistic translation of the gospel of John in rap. It portrays the gospel of John presented in a contemporary hip-hop format. The work includes the print version, a devotional to walk through the book of John (all 21 chapters) and an audio CD of The Script to accompany the printed version.
It will be available in August of 08’. Zondervan is the publisher.
Fred explained it this way -
“The goal of The Script is to engage people in processing the Scriptures in a fresh new way that helps them understand and apply God’s Word in their lives. Through the art of hip hop and spoken word (modern day poetry) we’ve combined the greatest story ever told with the strongest medium of communication today to produce The Script.
I was trying to bring this radical gospel message of God meeting humanity, realism, sin and salvation into the language of this generation. Language is where it starts. While sharing this vision with my colleagues, I began realizing something more than what I intended was going on. Imagine the opportunity to transmit truth to a generation and see teens falling in love with the scripture and through a medium that they already heartily embrace!”
The back-story on Fred
Fred began his ministry at age 15 going door to door sharing the gospel on the streets of Dallas. He graduated from Christ for the Nations at age 18 and formed P.I.D., a Christian rap group. Fred’s passion was, and still is, relevant evangelism and discipleship to inner city youth. He served for eight years as the urban ministry coordinator for the Josh McDowell Ministry. Fred currently serves as a campus pastor at The Oaks Fellowship in Dallas and continues his urban ministry work today.
Fred didn’t exactly plan this to be his life’s ministry. As we continued the conversation, he passionately expressed how he felt God has blessed his life and ministry.
“What started out as a passion to transfer truth in a unique way has become an incredible vehicle to share the gospel with millions. From my early teenage days of ‘rapping’ the gospel to the present (20 years later), I have truly been blessed to be a part of countless opportunities to serve the body of Christ. I want you to know that I appreciate your prayers and connection as our family looks forward to the next 20 years of ministry. GodStyle is ready to launch and transform youth culture.”
Experience The Script by clicking on this link and be sure to check out the FAQs.
Linda Stanley serves as Director of Life Stage Leadership Communities and provides leadership for the Next Generation Pastors Leadership Community groups. The Next Generation Pastors Leadership Community exists to create relational peer networks of senior pastors who share similar ministry challenges and desire connections to other leaders serving in similar ministry situations. Additional information is on our website - www.leadnet.org, linda.stanley@leadnet.org
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