conservative MUSIC for the LOCAL CHURCH
Southland Music Services is a ministry extension of Southland Christian Ministries located in Ringgold, Louisiana. For over 30 years, Southland has hosted hundreds of local churches at its youth camp facility and encouraged individuals to take the 'Next Step’ in their walk with God. In its philosophy and practice, Southland has long stood for conservative, classically-based, Christ-centered music. To learn more about Southland Christian Ministries, visit www.southlandcamp.org.
The Southland Music Services Story
In between 2018 and 2020, Southland Christian Ministries acquired a number of sacred, instrumental recordings from Sacred Music Services with the purpose of redistributing the albums on a variety of digital platforms. Sacred Music Services, known by many as SMS, was a ministry started by Tim Fisher (Taylors, SC) in 1998. SMS recorded a variety of music including orchestral, choral, guitar, brass, dramatized hymn-history, patriotic, scripture recitation, and Christmas. But SMS was best known for their men’s choral CDs. Recordings such as Get on Board, King of Glory, Amazing Love, and God Bless America exalted the Lord and edified the believer. It is impossible to overstate the impact that Tim Fisher and his SMS ministry have had on conservatism since its inception.
When Southland Christian Ministries was offered the opportunity to steward a portion of the SMS legacy, the camp leadership jumped at the opportunity. As Southland continues to operate in the southern region of the United States, it sees the promotion and publication of conservative music as one of its greatest ministries. Many of the original SMS recordings given to Southland have been published to popular streaming services and made available on this website as well.
Even in the name, Southland Music Services, Southland reflects on and rejoices in its rich, musical heritage and the servants of the Lord who have propagated conservative music for decades.
Not only was Southland Music Services born out of the acquisition of the SMS recordings, but also out of a deep burden in the heart of Southland’s camp director, Mike Herbster. Gifted in preaching and music himself, a large part of Mike’s impact has been the teaching of Bible principles on the subject of music. His passion is for Southland to be a leading voice in conserving Christ-honoring, classically-based music for the local church. He has displayed a consistency in his own music philosophy while welcoming the development of new, conservative music resources.
In 2022, Micah Gillespie joined the staff at Southland and took on the responsibility of writing and producing music for Southland Music Services. The first recording that Southland produced was Be Still, a CD comprised of Micah’s hymn arrangements for the piano. Micah is the primary writer/arranger for the site today.
The prayer of Mike Herbster, Micah Gillespie, and the other team members working behind the scenes on this resource site is that God would receive the glory from the music produced, that God’s people would be edified and that christians around the world would be challenged in their own music choices.