I recently asked Mike to write me something that I could share with the visitors to this site. Everyone’s journey is unique and I love to hear how God has led them to the place they are now. As you browse around this site you’ll find other things they have shared with us. I hope they bless you as much as they have me.

Let me begin by saying what a privilege and honor it is to be a part of the Praise Team here at Higher Encounters. I am thankful that God has opened the door and placed my wife and I here to help in this ministry. We have known Pastor Lamon and Marcia for many years. We have worked together in the past and it is great to be able to work together for God once again.

I consider myself a very blessed man. God has been better to me than I deserve. I was raised in a Christian home, but I have always said that didn’t make me a Christian. Even before I committed my life to God and His work I was introduced to music. At a very young age I begin to sing in church with my parents and brother. When I was about 10 years old my Dad began to teach me to play the guitar. God blessed me and I learned very quickly. I guess you can say the rest is kind of history. God put a love of music in my heart and I still love to play and sing. I don’t feel that I do the music justice but I still love to do what I can to lift the Name of our Lord and give Praise to Him. God chose to bless me and give me the gift to write songs. I wrote my first song when I was 15 years old, and my most recent just a few weeks ago.

I would like to share with you why I am so thrilled to be in the work here at Higher Encounters. A few years ago I found myself drifting away from the place that God wanted me to be. It was not a case of losing my salvation but it was a case of losing my place with God. I was not walking in the center of God’s will.

One of the things that happened to me as a result of my short comings is that I lost my music. I could not write and I was losing my desire to sing and make music. I was losing my joy and I was losing my peace of mind. It was not until some tragic things, the accidental death of my daughter-in-law and then my son’s battle with cancer, not once but twice, took place that I picked up the pen and begin to write again. But even then the music was not coming back. I had words but no melody. I tried and tried to make the music come but I could not bring it out, it was like the music was not there. This was a time of great sorrow for me. It was like I had lost a part of myself. Without the music there was a hole in my soul and I felt empty. One of the reasons that I am so thrilled to be working here and to be a part of this ministry is that God has begun to fill that hole and He has started to bring the music to life in me once again. The music and melody that I could not find has begun to come forth like a well springing up within my soul. It is difficult for me to even explain how great this feels let alone put it into words. All I can say is that God is a Great God and I love Him with all my heart.

I hope and pray with all my heart that we, in some small way, are being a blessing to those of you that come here to the services, listen by way of the internet or interact here on the web site. Whatever you do, don’t let the joy and peace of God drain from your soul. Don’t let the devil rob you of your victory in Jesus. If you don’t have the joy and peace of God that you desire in your life you need to talk to God, you need to turn all your sorrows, your cares and troubles over to Him, and let Him replace them with His joy and peace. Believe me my friend, He will do it for you today if you only believe and trust Him.

May I close by encouraging you to come and worship with us and be a part of the great things that God is doing.

May God Bless You Always,

Mike Bennett

Higher Encounters Praise Team