RéCreate: Crafting Harps, Cultivating Hearts

At Evergreen Missions, we’ve always believed this: intimacy with God comes first before stepping into the mission field. Worship is our root. And along the way, the Lord gave us this unique gift—creating and building musical instruments. Not just to keep for ourselves, but to share with others who carry the same heartbeat for His presence. That’s why we started the RéCreate Workshop here at Evergreen Farm.

I remember when one of our students, Keith, first heard about Caleb’s RéCreate Workshop. He said, “Ever since I first heard about it, I longed to participate… RéCreate helped me take the next steps towards imagining the way forward.”

RéCreate is no ordinary workshop—it’s four days of hands-on training where you learn how to build a David’s harp from scratch. Imagine starting with a raw piece of wood, then step-by-step—under the guidance of Caleb Byerly of Evergreen Missions and Jon, a master craftsman—you slowly shape it into something beautiful and playable.

But here’s the thing: it wasn’t just about building harps. Over shared meals, coffee breaks, and evening talks, conversations naturally flowed—about serving God in missions, living as tentmakers, and balancing ministry and family life as artists. The heartbeat of RéCreate is more than teaching people how to make an instrument—it’s about building people up in the Lord. It’s encouragement, reflection, and learning how to hear His voice—because hearing Him is essential in missions.

We also spent time outdoors, hiking through the beauty of creation and letting the stillness help us hear what the Lord was saying. A big theme was redeeming the sounds of the nations for God’s glory—restoring music to its original purpose: a fragrant offering of praise.

Keith shared later, “Working with Caleb was a rich experience of craftsmanship (he knows his stuff!), reflection, and worship. His constant encouragement to create with the Lord, not just for the Lord, reminded me that I don’t have to have all the answers about life and my dreams before I can walk closely with Him in my creating.”

Another student named Rylan added, “Whether we were working, taking a break, or eating dinner, most of our conversations revolved around missions and ministry. What I loved most was that this workshop gave me a break from my busy life to focus on prayer and reading my Bible.”

By the end of the four days, each participant had their harp in hand. The final challenge? Write and play an original worship song to the Lord on their newly made instrument. On Sunday morning, we gathered as a community—worshipping with the songs they wrote and the harps they built with their own hands.

It was like a scene from the life of King David—himself an instrument maker—who said: “Twenty-four thousand of these shall have charge of the work in the house of the Lord, 6,000 shall be officers and judges, 4,000 gatekeepers, and 4,000 shall offer praises to the Lord with the instruments that I have made for praise.” (1 Chronicles 23:4-5 ESV)

Keith also shared, “My harp sounds beautiful and is a joy to play. After finishing our instruments, we spent a sweet time worshipping together.”

Rylan summed it up well: “The RéCreate workshop is a wonderful opportunity for anyone who wants to explore woodworking or music, while keeping Christ at the center.”

At the end of the day, God is the Creator—and He’s placed creativity in His children. With our hands, we can make something beautiful that points back to Him. Or as Keith put it, “Spiritually, I left encouraged on my journey and deeply grateful for those few days of making something with my hands—and with the Lord.”