Niels Prip – Blog

Well, it is now 2025, most of us have survived the last few years. Mary Jean and I will celebrate 53 years of marriage in August. Along with that, our family continues to grow, 6 children, 15 grandchildren and 1 great grandson. The Lord merciful and faithful. It’s been a wonderful ride! Bumpy for sure, but “the Lord has dealt bountifully with us”. I have continued to play guitar, write some songs and write this blog. I am not leading worship as much as I make way for a younger generation . As far as the blog, it is more written for me to take the time to write down some thoughts. If you find it, I hope you find it helpful. The world and the church are ever changing, and we are still trying to find a place to fit. We have been enjoying some quiet and solitude, turning off the news and even staying home on Sunday mornings. We have been enjoying the writings of the Puritans and some of the reformed preachers and also learning about the Desert Fathers who tried to avoid the noise of the world and the church. The noise of the news is overwhelming and the christian commentaries on it is endless. It is hard to find “the still, small voice of the Lord” in the midst it all. May we find a place to get quiet before the Lord and ask Him for more of His Spirit. Matt 6:6 “But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.”

Past-  I started playing the guitar in 1964, when I got a used acoustic guitar for Christmas. It was not a very good guitar, hurt my fingers real bad, but I was thrilled. I quickly went to an electric guitar, that was not a very good guitar either, but again I was thrilled. I then started playing in a band with some friends from high school, and we all learned as we went, playing songs by the Beatles, The Who, The Rolling Stones, Eric Burden and The Animals, etc, etc, etc. After all, it was the 1960’s.

As we progressed, I was able to get a Gibson ES330 electric guitar and a Vox AC30 amp, what a difference! I wish I still had those two items. Not to mention my gold top 1960’s Les Paul.

I got saved in the Jesus movement in 1971 and since then, I have never been the same. After I got saved, I played in a Christian band called Crossroad for about 8 years, traveling around the Chicago and Milwaukee area playing coffee houses, churches and doing outreach. We also did a 5 week tour in Sweden and Denmark in 1977. Those were wonderful days. Mary Jean and I always look back to those days with great fondness, the move of the Spirit was very unique in those days, and very sweet. I will probably write an article about that in the near future.

We helped start a church in our home town that was mostly young people getting saved through the Jesus Revolution. After being one of the elders for several years, I was ordained in that church in 1977 at the ripe old age of 27. There were four co-pastors, as we found that as a more Biblical structure, even though we were all quite young. In 1997 we moved to Pensacola where Jamie our oldest son and I went to Brownsville Revival School of Ministry for two years. I was ordained again in 1999 as I worked in a local church for a few years. In 2000 I became the Administrator for Fire School Ministry and served on their leadership team for two years before they moved to Charlotte, NC. I then returned to secular work in 2003 and lead worship in a local church until I retired.

Currently, we are still in Pensacola, Florida, where we are now starting to go to church with our kids and grand-kids. We are feeling it is important for us to be seen by the grand-kids, in church with them. God has truly blessed our family. I still continue to play and teach on worship as the Lord opens the doors.

Mary Jean and I have been married for 53 years and we have six children, four of whom are married. We have 15 grand children, eleven boys and four girls. Plus we added a great grand-son this year. That is a lot of fun. All the kids are in Pensacola with us except for Jamie and his family, they are in Minnesota. It is really something to get to my age and look back and see the hand of the Lord in our lives. In all the blessings and trials of the past, we see His hand. He is faithful and kind!