Graduating senior prepares for career as worship pastor

| Alumni

Graduating senior and worship arts major Chad McAdory was recently offered a full-time position as a worship pastor at Bentonville Community Church in Arkansas. McAdory will be working with lead pastor Mark Snodgrass, who graduated from Trevecca in 2000 with a bachelor’s in pastoral ministries. 

McAdory has been a veritable force on Trevecca’s campus and beyond ever since he arrived in the fall of 2016. McAdory has been a member of the Southern gospel PR band Redeemed since his freshman year, has performed in chapel, traveled with Trevecca’s summer ministry team and been an active member in his local church community. 

McAdory says his experiences at Trevecca, particularly with the University’s PR groups, have allowed him to hone his skills as a future worship pastor.  

“Being a member of PR really helped me prepare for this role,” McAdory said. “On a practical level, it helped me be able to talk on stage and transition smoothly. Overall, it really helped me with just being comfortable in front of people.”

McAdory also said that Trevecca’s worship arts curriculum greatly contributed to his preparedness for helping to lead others in worship. 

“On a spiritual level, my major is worship arts and my minor is preparing me for ordination, so for the past four years I have been deeply studying the Bible and the theology of the Nazarene church. It’s just a really beautiful thing to see that intersection of theology and worship.”

Mark Snodgrass, lead pastor at Bentonville, spoke extensively about McAdory’s heart, not just for music, but for worship. 

“Leading worship is different from musical performance,” Snodgrass said. “The musical competencies are important, but they must be complemented by a heart for worship and a desire to build a vibrant ministry in the local church. We felt like Chad was not just a performer, but a worshiper who had a passion for helping others connect with God in worship.”

Of course, an aptitude for music certainly helps, and McAdory has that in spades. McAdory is proficient in voice, guitar, drums, trumpet and piano. 

“I’ve always loved drums. That was the first instrument I learned to play. When I was a little kid my parents got me this beginning drum set. I used to break the drumheads all the time! But then, as I went through the children’s department at my church, my parents encouraged me to explore music more, so I began singing. I would consider guitar and voice to be my main instruments now.”

However, the journey from drummer to worship pastor was a little longer than the journey from drummer to singer. 

“Where it all started was the summer between the seventh and eighth-grade year in middle school,” McAdory said of his calling. “That was kind of when God firmly called me into ministry. I joined my youth group’s worship band and led worship there all the way till I graduated high school, so five years. My dad is a worship pastor, so I was kind of skeptical of whether or not it was my calling. But many times God showed me that worship ministry was my calling through various people who are firmly rooted in God.”

Now, at the end of his time at Trevecca, McAdory is preparing to leave Nashville and continue to pursue his calling with his fiancé and soon-to-be-wife Abby Jones. Snodgrass is excited for the couple’s arrival, as well as what they will bring to the church. 

“I believe the best is yet to come for our church and our ministry in Bentonville. I thank God that he has opened the door for Chad and Abby to come be a part of what God is doing at Bentonville Community Church.”


Media contact: Mandy Crow, 615-248-1695