By By JAMES COLLINS / Niles Daily Star
NILES -- Growing up as the son of missionary parents in Liberia may be one of the reasons John Schindler sees the importance of touching people's lives through Christianity.
While he now does regular missionary work on his own, the interim pastor for First Baptist Church in Niles is focusing on spreading God's grace through music.
Schindler is a solo vocalist, who performs contemporary gospel music at concerts and outreach events for a variety of audiences.
On Sunday, he will be performing a concert at the First Baptist Church, 1146 E. Main St., at 6 p.m. There is no charge to attend and the church will be taking a free will offering. The concert will be followed by an ice cream social.
Spending much of his childhood in one of the poorest countries in the world allowed Schindler to witness the effect that God can have on others. He lived in Liberia from the age of two to 15 and would come home to Berrien Springs one out of every four years.
He last went back to Liberia in March 2003 to sing and preach at churches, schools and villages around the country.
His father Dr. Robert Schindler, who worked for Berrien General Hospital and Southwestern Medical Clinic, was a regular singer at churches around Berrien County and was a big inspiration for him musically.
After graduating from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and Taylor University, he taught a year at a Bible College in Nigeria while in seminary.
From 1989 to 1994, Schindler was the pastor at the Franklin Community Church in Franklin, Wis.
Soon after, he created John Schindler Ministries, which has taken him all across the country for performing and speaking engagements. He has also created four CDs and is now working on fifth, which will be a Christmas album.
His most recent performing engagement was at the graduation ceremony at the Southern Bible Institute in Dallas, where he had been a minister in the past.
Next week, he will be the featured speaker at the United Liberian Inland Church Conference in Philadelphia.
For now, Schindler is not looking to become a pastor on a permanent basis. He will continue to interim at churches that need his services, but his focus will remain with his musical ministry.