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Stream
In 1995, Ken, Marca and Hallal Board member, Kyle McGraw were having lunch in Midland, Texas discussing ministry vision for Hallal. The conversation went something like this…
Ken: “We have witnessed great responses to worship experiences at lecturships, conventions, retreats, Day of Praise in different states, and church hosted events. But I believe the greatest spiritual renewal historically takes place in the desert. Isaiah 35:6 says, ‘Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert.’ We live here in Midland, at the edge of the Chihuahuan Desert, so why don’t we host a weekend event for spiritual renewal that will focus totally on God through music, teaching, prayer and fellowship?”
Kyle & Marca: “LOL! Anyone would want to go the Pepperdine Lectures on the coast in Malibu. Most retreats are in beautiful place with mountains, lakes or rivers. Who would want to come to Midland for a whole weekend? There are no scenic highlights or theme parks, just oil rigs, sand and mesquite trees.”
Ken: “My point exactly. There is not much else to do here. No distractions. Just the desert and God!”
Invitations were sent out to a few churches and people on the Hallal Music contacts list. After much prayer and planning, the first Stream In the Desert was hosted in 1996 by the Golf Course Road Church of Christ in Midland with around 600 in attendance. The second year, it was 1200. By 2000 it grew to almost 6,000. Bigger venues had to be secured in Midland to manage the crowds.
In years that followed, Streams were also hosted at Abilene Christian University, Westover Hills in Austin, MacArthur Park in Irving and Fourth Avenue in Franklin, TN.
World Convention
The World Convention was started in 1930 to help strengthen the bonds between Restoration Movement churches (Churches of Christ, Independent Christian Churches, Disciples of Christ) who had divided in previous years.
The first gathering of the World Convention was in Washington, D.C. with about 10,000 present. President Herbert Hoover and his wife, Lou, hosted a tea on the White House lawn for the Convention attendees.
World Convention - Goionia, Brazil (2012)
World Convention Nashville (2008)
Abilene Christian University Teacher's Workshop (1990)
One of Ken’s prayers when God lead him to start Hallal Music, was to allow his family to serve together. It started early for Cole (age 8) and Kelci (age 6). Here they helped their dad teach songs from the new Hallal children’s album, “I Want To Be Your Friend”.
Pepperdine Lectures (1992-2015)
In 1992, Jerry Rushford, Pepperdine Lectures Director, who had heard about the stirring of a worship movement in the Churches of Christ, called Ken and invited him to bring his team of singers to be part of a late night worship experience at the Lectures. Two things Hallal had been working on were the use of Praise Teams instead of a single leader, and the writing and arranging of contemporary praise and worship music for the church. These new experiences were outside many church of Christ traditions, so a late night event at Smother’s Theater seemed to be a safer choice in the Lectures schedule.
No one really knew what to expect. The first night there was a good crowd. By the second night the Fire Marshall had to shut the doors from overcrowding. It was a Spirit-filled experience that no one anticipated.
On the second night of worship, there was a mild earthquake during the singing of “Holy Ground”, which definitely got everyone’s attention as the building shook while singing “We are standing in His presence on holy ground”!
It wasn’t long before, in addition to late nights at the Lectures, Hallal was invited to lead at the main evening lecture in Firestone Fieldhouse with crowds most years exceeding 5,000. It was a thrilling experience to be part of such a dynamic crowd wholeheartedly worshipping together.
That first year at Pepperdine launched another Hallal event called “Day of Praise”. The first event was hosted at the Bren Events Center at the University of Southern California in Irvine in the fall of 1992, followed by similar event in other states and Honduras.
South Pacific Bible College Reunion & Lecturship - Tauranga, New Zealand (2010)
In 2010 Hallal was invited to the Graduate Reunion and Lectureship in Tauranga, New Zealand. It was a thrill to meet with many of the students, instructors and alumni who had an incredible zeal to take the gospel message to the world. Several of the alumni were preaching in the Fiji Islands.
Not only were there wonderful times of fellowship and worship, but the meals were an adventure. The group was blessed to experience a traditional New Zealand Maori feast called “Hangi” which is buried in the ground with coals and cooked overnight.
Brisbane, Australia Holland Park Church of Christ (2010)
While in the South Pacific in 2010, good friends Ryan and Shannon Odell hosted Hallal to lead a worship conference at the Holland Park Church of Christ in Brisbane, Australia.
The team enjoyed visiting some of the diverse topography of this part of God’s great creation.
Costa Rica Worship Conference (2008)
A few months after getting married in 2008, Cole and Allyson Young headed for Costa Rica to lead a worship conference for the Sabanilla Iglesia de Cristo in the city of La Fortuna. The challenge was to lead in spanish and english, with the help of an interpreter.
They loved connecting with the Christians there and worked together two days teaching new songs and how to sing in harmony.
The Bennett House Studios, Franklin, TN (2003-2006)
The Bennett House is a legendary studio in Franklin, TN. The house was built in 1875 by William James Bennett. In 1980 producer Norbert Putnam (Kris Kristofferson, Dan Folgelberg, Jimmy Buffett, Dusty Springfield) converted the main house into a production and music recording studio.
Through the years the studios changed ownership several times. In the 1990s, many Christian, gospel, pop, rock and country artists like Amy Grant, Vanessa Williams, Phil Keaggy, Mandy Moore, Charlotte Church, 98 Degrees, Wynonna, Trace Adkins, George Jones, Tammy Wynette, Willie Nelson, Vince Gill, Trace Adkins, and many others recorded at The Bennett House.
Additions at the back of the house in 1980 and 1992 added two recording studios with state-of-the-art recording equipment, and updated every room in the house with audio and video to be used as a full tracking studio.
In 2003, The Fourth Avenue Church of Christ purchased the studios. It was managed by Hallal Music for three years. During that short time there were some great connections made with the community as many Christian artists, like Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, Twila Paris, CeCe Winans, Kathy Troccoli, Billy Sprague and Joe Beck, returned to record and sometimes just reminisce about fond memories at The Bennett House.
Cole Young, headed up an Open House for the studios in 2004. Board members and other friends join together to host a fabulous reunion of many of the artists and producers who had worked at The Bennett House through the years. It was quite a reunion!
While at this historic venue, Hallal Music produced three A Cappella albums (More Than Thunder, Immeasurable and You Are Good) and partnered with Joe Beck to produce seven albums with the Gaither’s label, Spring Hill Worship.
