By Ryan Horst

I was very excited—and more than a bit intimidated—by the opportunity to be a part of the planning and execution of the worship time for the Fall Leadership Assembly 2025, held at my home church, Weaverland Anabaptist Faith Community.

The vision put forward to not only blend two worship teams (Weaverland and Ministerios Peniel Internacional), but also to sing songs in both English and Spanish, seemed a bit ambitious to say the least! I was so blessed by the time spent with the planning group—Felixa V. de Kunkle, Keith Blank, Joshua Bender, and Reggie, Celia, and Andrea Hill—to prepare for worship. We spent much of our time prayerfully seeking the Lord’s leading and will for our worship time.

The camaraderie and unity of our team—felt after only a few times of meeting together in person—can only be credited to the presence of the Holy Spirit. It was such a joy to worship alongside the team from Peniel. My fears of the challenge of incorporating two worship teams who didn’t know each other, as well as attempting to worship in two different languages, quickly fell away during our first practice session. The Peniel team is extremely gifted musically, and they easily bonded with our team at Weaverland on both a personal and musical level. I found myself able to worship freely with the team without being overly concerned with details and keeping everyone together. This freedom in worship was clearly felt by the whole team and led to what was a powerful and authentic time of worshipping God as brothers and sisters during Fall Leadership Assembly. 

To God be the glory, for he has truly done, and continues to do, great things!

Ryan Horst is the Director of Worship Arts at Weaverland Anabaptist Faith Community. He’s attended Weaverland his whole life and has been serving as a worship leader for over 15 years. Ryan is also a Plant Manager for a local manufacturing company. He and his wife Rachel have been married since 2008 and have three children. In his spare time, Ryan enjoys music, sports, all things outdoors, and spending time with his family.