When a 17-year-old John Lam decided to attend National Music Camp in 1982, he had no idea his life was about to change forever.

“I was sitting last chair in the trombone section, and we played this wonderful piece called I Know a Fount,” he remembers, “and it really spoke to me, the music and lyrics: ‘I know a fount where sins are washed away.’

“I had attended The Salvation Army for a few years and felt that loving community of faith around me. But this was where the lights came on, spiritually, and I made a real decision for Christ at that camp.”

That decision led Lam to a lifetime of faith, a career as a music teacher, and 30 years of ministry in the Canadian Staff Band (CSB). Now retiring after 17 years as bandmaster, he’s grateful for the time he’s had with the band—and emphasizes the importance of its ministry. “It is an immense evangelical tool that we have, one that we should not take for granted.”

UNFORGETTABLE

Lam grew up in Owen Sound, Ont., where his family attended the local Anglican church. At the time, the church did not have a children’s ministry, so when a Salvationist co-worker invited his father to check out the Salvation Army corps, which was right down the street from their house, they took him up on the invitation.

Immediately, Lam and his sisters received a warm welcome, especially among the older members of the congregation who became their “uncles” and “aunts.

“There were so many kids in the building, and we felt part of things,” Lam shares. “They put an instrument in your hand and now you’re in junior band.”

Not long after his transformative experience at National Music Camp, Lam had the opportunity to perform with his corps’ songster brigade at the Army’s Festival of Gospel Song at Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto—and that was where he encountered the CSB.

“Out comes this group in red tunics and they start playing, and I’m thinking, What is this?” he recalls. “Something changed there. I was enthralled by what I heard, but also just overwhelmed by the Holy Spirit. That was an unforgettable experience.”

MODELS AND MENTORS

That concert not only introduced Lam to the CSB but also led him to study music after he finished high school. He moved to London, Ont., to attend university and became a member of London Citadel and its band.

Lam spent his 20s playing with various musical groups—even touring with a production of Les Miserables for a time—and the CSB was not top of mind. But after 10 years in London, as Lam was poised to take the reins of the citadel’s band, providence intervened.

“The bass trombone spot in the CSB came open exactly at that time,” he says. “And Brian Burditt, the bandmaster, said, ‘This would be a great thing for you, John, because you’re about to take over a demanding leadership role in London. Why don’t you join the staff band? You’ll be among other bandmaster colleagues that you can share with, and they can mentor you.’ ”

That mentorship helped Lam grow as both a musician and a leader, preparing him to take on the role of CSB bandmaster in 2008.

“By that point in my life, my corps band had taught me that Salvation Army leadership is less than 10 percent about the music, and it’s more than 90 percent about the people,” he reflects. “I knew the power of this ministry and the Christian witness that we can have through it.”

That conviction has been reflected in Lam’s leadership over the past 17 years, as the CSB has performed around the world and mentored bands at the corps level. 

“Through Salvation Army banding, participants—wherever they are on their faith journey, new or old or needing renewal—are continuously exposed to the gospel and lifted up by the people around them,” Lam says. “And so, with the staff band, I wanted to model that wherever we went, how that could look in their church. 

“You don’t have to be the staff band,” he continues. “Whether you have a five-piece band or a 40-piece band, you can have a community of faith.”

COMMUNITY IN TRAGEDY

The importance of community was on full display when Lam experienced a profound tragedy in his own life in 2016.

“My wife, Jane, and I were at a music camp in Texas, and she got what she thought was a chest cold, but it wasn’t—it was angiosarcoma, and she was gone 10 weeks later,” Lam shares. “In the weeks leading up to her death, I still did rehearsals, both at the corps and with the staff band. And so they walked through that tragedy with me and my son, Jonathan, and they were present.

“It was a reversal of roles, because it’s my view that the role of bandmaster is a pastoral one. So I’m used to reaching out to the members of my corps band and staff band behind the scenes when needed,” he continues. “This was a case where they were there for the bandmaster. They demonstrated to me—God’s got you through this.”

Though he notes the experience has never really left him, Lam is grateful for how his Salvation Army community, near and far, held him up in that difficult time, and for the blessing of a healing chapter with his new wife, Sarah. “She is the personification of God’s faithfulness,” Lam says.

JOY IN THE SALVATION ARMY

In addition to his ministry as bandmaster for the London Citadel Band and the CSB, Lam is passionate about his work as a music teacher and is currently the head of performing arts at Glendale High School in Tillsonburg, Ont.

For Lam, teaching is another form of ministry as he lives his faith authentically among his students.

“We invest in our students, and so they invest in us,” he says. “So, if they find out that you’re doing a concert, they’ll show up at London Citadel and see your concert—when you didn’t even invite them.

“It’s not going to be too long before they realize you’re in a faith-based group,” he continues. “And then the next conversation is, ‘What’s that all about?’ I hope and pray, for all of us who are teachers, that there is a joy that you have when you are a Salvation Army musician. And if you’re carrying that into the classroom, your students are probably going to sense that, and they’ll want to be part of that.”

Lam notes that, over the years, a number of his students have ended up coming to his church and some have even joined the band. “That’s been an added blessing.”

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED

Looking back over 30 years, Lam says it’s nearly impossible to name a favourite experience with the CSB. But he shares a recent encounter, following the annual Christmas With The Salvation Army concert, that exemplifies what the ministry of the CSB is all about.

“I was about to walk off stage and this gentleman got my attention,” Lam recalls. “This man looked right through my soul and said, ‘I came in here quite by accident tonight and I need to tell you—I really struggle with Christmas.’ He started to well up, but he fought through it and continued, ‘But after experiencing this concert, hearing this music and considering all of the words and the message, I know I need to come back to Christ.’

“For me, you can’t get a better moment than that, when you know you’ve made an impression on someone like that. Mission accomplished.”

In recognition of his years of ministry, Lam was presented with an Award of Exceptional Service at the recent Festival 56 concert (see article)—an honour Lam says he was not expecting but is grateful for.

As he retires as CSB bandmaster, Lam encourages all Salvationists to embrace the uniqueness of the Army’s musical culture.

“It is so crucial to realize that our music ministry—the staff sections and any musical group in your own community—is one of the best evangelical tools that you could ever have,” he says. “We’re reaching hundreds of people, even in just one Christmas season, and those seeds are planted. As our territorial commander says, it’s mission critical.”

As for his own legacy?

“I hope I will be remembered as somebody who took care of the CSB the best I could while I had my time,” he says, “and that I opened the doors for the talented people in the group to become the person that God intended them to be.”

Listen to the full interview with John Lam, including musical highlights from the staff band, on the Salvationist podcast:

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