Leaders’ Launch Week 2025: The Creative Potential Is Astounding!
M&MA Leaders’ Launch Week 2025
“What would you do if you woke up one morning and you had access to over 200 artists—musicians, videographers, audio technicians, actors, writers, painters, designers, etc.? What would you make? What could you create?”
Professor Brian Kammerzelt, Program Head of Communications at MBI, posed this question again last week and emphatically provided his own answer: “What wouldn’t you make?” The possibilities are endless. The creative potential is truly astounding!
From August 18–22, 2025, more than sixty such artists—the Music & Media Arts (M&MA) student leaders—returned to Moody’s Chicago campus for our third annual M&MA Leaders’ Launch Week!
In attendance this year were the exec teams from the following Music ensembles: *
Professor Kelli Worrall, Chair of Music & media Arts
· The Moody Worship Collectives
(Ecclesia and EverPraise)
Along with the Communications practicum teams:
· Common.Center Publishing Team
· XN Radio
· Thin Space/ARCH Yearbook Literary Team
Aaron Wong, Professor of Worship and Music Technology, opened the week with a fitting devotional from the book of Nehemiah and a challenge to be diligent stewards of the gifts God has given us—while we also rely on Him to do His good work. Then Professor Kelli Worrall (Chair of Music & Media Arts), Professor Brian Kammerzelt (Program Head of Communications), and Dr. Jori Jennings (Program Head of Music) led the group in a joy-filled time of introductions and reconnections. Many students were returning for a second or even third year in their leadership roles—bringing well-earned wisdom and experience to their respective teams. Other students were new to M&MA leadership, so they especially benefited from this focused time of training and team bonding.
Monday’s Welcome Back Lunch was followed by an afternoon session on team process and a special workshop on emotional intelligence, led by guest speaker Vince Barlow (Certified Emotional Intelligence Coach).
Tuesday’s highlights included individual team coffee and donut runs, followed by workshops on the practical logistics of running an M&MA team or ensemble.
The Wednesday of LLW is always one of the most exciting days of the year—as hundreds of freshmen and new transfer students move onto campus! The M&MA practicum teams and music ensembles were present in the plaza during the Student Group Fair to welcome and recruit the new students.
On Thursday and Friday, the music ensemble executive teams auditioned dozens of new musicians for the Chorale, Worship Collectives, MCO, and Gospel Choir. The DeiLux Video Team wrote, shot, and edited their first video of the year. The Veil Theatre organized the prop and costume closet. The Literary Team trained on the publishing process, started their yearbook ladder, and selected this year’s theme for Thin Space Art & Theology Journal. And so much more!
All in all, M&MA Leaders’ Launch Week 2025 was a very promising preamble to the new school year. We can’t wait to see what God has in store this year for our M&MA creative community!
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