My hope for this Christmas is for you to be full of joy and wonder during this wonderful season! There are a number of ways to enjoy this Christmas season by listening to my music. I performed a Home Christmas Concert last year you can view on my YouTube Channel. On a previous video, you can sing-a-long to Christmas carols a while the lyrics appear on the screen. My album I Wish You a Mary Christmas includes familiar and worshipful Christmas carols. CLICK HERE to hear the songs on the album and where it’s available. You can purchase this album digitally through Gumroad – CLICK HERE. You can purchase physical CDs though our website – CLICK HERE. You can add Mary Christmas to your YouTube Playlist with this link from my Home Concert last month (CLICK HERE).

Recent Events

There’s been significant ministry throughout November: Training worship musicians through a private workshop with Cornerstone Evangelical Baptist Church; Leading worship music with the Shalom Gathering at Mount Hermon; Weekly private lessons in person and online; Being interviewed on Alden Olmsted’s Podcast regarding my songs written for Mexico Outreach; and teaching guitar at Valley Christian Schools.

Your Donations Make a Difference

It would be an honor if you would consider contributing to Heartfelt Music® Ministry, under-girding and supporting the meaningful and transformative work we are doing. CLICK HERE to make a donation. No fees will be taken out and your gift is tax-deductible since we are a nonprofit 501(c)3, no matter how much. We are so grateful for your continued prayers for our Ministry.

Home Concert November 2025

If you missed the concert I performed at my home last month online, it is available now through my YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFj3zACCORA. I’m excited how this turned out with stories behind each song and sharing my music in a cozy setting. The concert is 45 minutes long with 10 original songs.

New Book Release by Lynn Fox

I wrote the Preface to this book by one of my favorite Bible School instructors Lynn Fox, Psy.D. This book is about the Presence of Intimacy, Passion, and Pleasure from a Biblical perspective. “In a world increasingly captivated by both the complexities of human connection and the search for spiritual fulfillment, it is rare to find a work that so boldly addresses the intersections of two profoundly significant aspects of our lives: sex and worship. Sex and Worship is probably one of the most provocative book titles to grace the pages of contemporary literature, yet Lynne Fox does not shy away from the challenge. Through her insightful prose, she masterfully interweaves these critical topics, creating a tapestry that speaks to both the heart and the spirit.” (from the preface) CLICK HERE to order a copy.

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Home Online Concert & Live Stream

I will be showing a new Home Online Concert this Sunday, November 9, at 5:00pm, but in addition to that, I’ll be Live Streaming a half hour before that at 4:30pm. I can chat with you, catch-up and answer questions. Click this link to join the Live Stream with me: https://youtube.com/live/-OIdJ-WnJn0. Then, at 5:00pm, click this link to watch the new Home Concert – November 2025: https://youtu.be/rFj3zACCORA

The songs I’ll be including in this Home Online Concert will be a variety of my songs from a number of different albums throughout the years. I’ll share stories behind each song and you’ll see me play and sing fresh versions of each song.

• No Greater Love
• Here to Worship
• Windows
• Cast Away
• Reap What You Sow
• Stand Firm and Be Strong
• Touch My Heart
• Hold Me
• Mary Christmas
• Time with You

Podcast: Reggie’s Mexicali Songs

Alden Olmstead has a podcast called 5 Great Questions. After I posted on my YouTube Channel a Playlist of 3 theme songs I wrote for Azusa Pacific University’s Mexico Outreach, he wanted to interview me on his podcast. I led worship music for 10 years during the week before Easter. Alden also went to Mexicali at the same time with his church group. Radically Committed, Go the Distance, and Take it to Heart were the 3 songs. We even included Ain’t Nobody. Find it on YouTube or Apple Podcasts.

Thanksgiving Observance

Mt. Hermon 2026 Summer Concerts

We have already selected who will be in concert for the Mount Hermon Summer Concert Series and the summer of 2026 should prove to be a summer of rich music and faith celebration. Artist/Band line-up:

• 6/20 Katinas
• 6/27 Heritage Singers
• 7/11 Nicole Nordeman
• 7/18 Phillips, Craig and Dean
• 7/25 Fernando Ortega
• 8/1 Sandi Patty

You can reserve seats by going to the Mount Hermon Summer Concert Page

Passion & Tenacity 

Autumn is here and the color of the leaves are beautiful! I hope you experience fulfillment and joy during this season. Thank you for your continued engagement with me and Heartfelt Music® Ministry. You help this ministry stay vibrant and productive.

There’s been a lot of things happening with me over the last month. I’m still developing The Complete Guitar Course with 49 lessons; I just added 30 videos of me playing and singing individual songs on YouTube so you can find specific ones for encouragement; I’m performing another Home Concert November 9th with a personal Live Stream just before it; We just had our annual Board of Directors & Officers dinner (What a joy to serve with these folks!); I’m also teaching guitar and bass classes at Valley Christian School and private lessons both online and in person. It’s a full schedule, but I still have plenty of time to be with Sherri and balance family life. I’m thankful to be doing what I’m passionate about.

On our website, there’s a section called Think About It with helpful ideas to spur us on to excellence and motivation. The recent post is a focus on Passion and Tenacity.

Genuine passion is a deep, authentic commitment to something that matters to you, characterized by focused effort, enduring commitment through challenges, and integration into your identity, rather than just a fleeting interest or a pursuit of pleasure. It involves investing significant time and energy, a willingness to make sacrifices for it, and a deep, often unspoken, internal drive.

A tenacious person is someone who is determined, persistent, and does not give up easily when pursuing a goal. They are resilient in the face of obstacles, with a strong work ethic and the resolve to see things through, even when they are difficult or progress is slow.

How about you? What are you passionate and tenacious about? Our website post goes into more detail.

Partner with Us in Ministry

I hope you’ve been enjoying the summer? Sherri and I celebrated our 41st Wedding Anniversary last week with an afternoon on the beach in Capitola enjoying the warm sunshine and cool ocean breeze.

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Thanks again for your continued prayers and support. We would not be able to do what we do without you. We are continuing our crowd-funding opportunities to help enhance our message of hope. Your support helps us continue this mission:

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– To train and equip the next generation of worship leaders and musicians.
– To bring music ministry to churches, prisons, shelters, hospitals, and others.
– To produce Spirit-led music that inspires faith and uplifts weary souls.
– To lead worship where it’s needed most—without worrying about finances.

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One family who has been supporting Heartfelt Music Ministry every month for years wrote me last week:

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“Reggie, for many years, you and Sherri have been continuously family friends. You sang at our wedding, which made our day very special. We have lost both our parents and a brother within the last few years and Heartfelt Music has uplifted us and helped us through our sadness. Two of our favorite songs that you wrote are Stand Firm and Be Strong and Slow Me Down. We pray that Heartfelt Music Ministry, through you, will continue to grow and bring people closer to the Lord.”
~ John and Karen Mobley

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Will you partner with us in ministry and make a donation today? You can contribute with confidence knowing your funds are being used for ministry purposes. Every dollar will be going to Heartfelt Music Ministry.

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Anticipating Hope

Thank you for taking time to read this Newsletter, celebrate our successes, and consider how you can help us spur on hope through music. Heartfelt Music Ministry has been inspiring bright hopefulness for over 25 years. Lives have been transformed eternally because of the message and music we share in so many ways. This Sunday, we will be kicking off a remarkable fund-raising campaign to enhance Heartfelt Music’s effectiveness in reaching a world swimming in hopelessness. We live in a very discouraging time. So, we are rising up to turn despair to hope and broken faith to confident assurance in Jesus. I make it a habit to regularly memorize Scripture to keep me focused on following Christ and Psalm 71:5 is the verse for this week, “Oh Lord, You alone are my hope.”

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This summer, we’ve already seen hundreds of people encouraged through Heartfelt Music producing the Mount Hermon Summer Concert Series (come see the Katinas this Saturday night for free!). I’ve been leading worship for a small fellowship, here in Mount Hermon, which has been a meaningful and renewing gathering of believers. I’ve started several projects that will have a global impact on our Mission Statement: Leading others toward intimacy with God and excellence in artistry. I took a break from teaching private lessons since December, but I’ll be starting back up in August. Let me know if you are interested. I’ve had a dream for many years to create a dynamic guitar method that will take guitar players from beginning to advanced. I’ve been spending most of my time this summer creating this curriculum. I’ll be continuing at Valley Christian School as head of their Guitar Studies. This new curriculum and the new material in it will also help these guitar classes.

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By the way, Doyle Dykes is coming to Mount Hermon next Saturday, July 19. He is a master guitarist with a shepherds heart. Don’t miss it.

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Hope you have a fantastic summer! Thanks again for your continued prayers and support. We would not be able to do what we do without you.

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Support through Prayer & Giving

On Sunday, the Officers and Board of Heartfelt Music Ministry will be launching our fund-raising project, which has opportunities for you to help enhance our message of hope. You can contribute with confidence knowing your funds are being used for ministry purposes. PayPal Giving Fund will give you tax exemption and not take out any fees. Thank you for your support in prayer and gifts! Learn more at our Donation Page.

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Guitar Playing Method Course

I’m creating a world class guitar training curriculum, equipping people young and old with the tools to master guitar playing and dramatically impact contemporary culture for good. Through 7 Levels and 49 Lessons, guitarists will systematically go from beginning to advances learning songs, fun guitar techniques, colorful chords, music theory, different music styles, highlighted guitarists throughout history, and much more.

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The Katinas in Concert Saturday

The Katinas are a contemporary Christian music group. They are a family of five brothers. The group’s members sang in church as children, and began playing fairs, soon moving up to nationwide slots opening for artists like DC Talk, Amy Grant. These vibrant singers are both positively inspirational and delightfully entertaining. Come this Saturday at Mount Hermon, July 12, at 6:30pm. Here them sing How Great Thou Art.

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Upcoming Events

Easter

The Easter season is here when we reflect on and celebrate Palm Sunday, Good Friday, and Resurrection Sunday. I hope this year proves to be very meaningful for you! I’ve recorded what I think is one of the most powerful Easter songs. It’s by Don Francisco called He Is Alive and you can view it on my YouTube channel by clicking HERE. “He’s alive and you’re forgiven! Heaven’s gates are open wide!”

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Worship Leading Insights & Training

Training is a part of what Heartfelt Music Ministry is all about. We have just made public a Worship Training video for your worship team. I cover the Four P’s to help everyone make worshiping together more meaningful: Pray, Prepare, Participate, and Practice. With the worship team from Gilroy Presbyterian Church, they share why they play on a worship team and what they are thinking about while they are leading. We introduce four popular songs and play a full arrangement of them. Another series of videos are called Worship Leading Insights by various experienced worship leaders (see below). May these videos inspire and motivate you to find more meaning as we worship.

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Worship Team Workshop Video

This is a training video for your worship team. I have used this video in my training sessions with various churches and now I’m making it available to you at no charge. It is an inspiration for a worship band to see. I include explanations of how to introduce four popular songs. We at Heartfelt Music Ministry hope this video inspires and motivates you to lead worship effectively and confidently.

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Worship Leading Insight Series

This series on Worship Leading Insights highlights worship leaders from all over the San Francisco Bay Area and nationally sharing their experiences and tips. Check out my YouTube Channel Playlist for more details. Some speakers are Rory Noland, author of The Heart of the Artist; Bob Kauflin, author of Worship Matters; and Tom Kraeuter, author of The Worship Leader’s Handbook.

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Reggie’s March Home Concert

I shared a Home Concert at Mount Hermon last month and it’s now available on my YouTube Channel. The songs included are:

– I’ll Worship with My Life
– Radically Committed
– Go the Distance
– Take a Stand
– Here & Now (Give Me Wings)
– Touch My Heart
– Partly Cloudy [new song]
– Abundant Sunshine
– Jesus Lives in Me

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Upcoming Events

This video is a Home Concert of Reggie Coates sharing nine of his songs created in March of 2025. He shares songs he wrote for Mexicali Outreach with Azusa Pacific University (Radically Committed, Go the Distance, and Take a Stand), one new instrumental called Partly Cloudy, and six songs to uplift you and strengthen your faith in Christ (I’ll Worship with My Life, Give Me Wings, Touch My Heart, Abundant Sunshine, and Jesus Lives in Me). Each song has an introduction from the beautiful Redwood forest of Mount Hermon, California, for your inspiration and enjoyment. It was first viewed on March 16, 2025, but now is available to view any time. This concert is just under 40 minutes long. Visit Reggie’s YouTube channel for more concerts and training resources.

Spiritual Grounding

Spiritual maturity and strength is of utmost importance at a time when there is so much confusion and uncertainty. Many of God’s biblical truths are being twisted and ignored. Growing in biblical understanding and spiritual wisdom is a practical way to get grounded in truth. Valley Christian School (VCS) gives each faculty member an incentive to learn more about biblical and relational truths by requiring us to earn Bible and Educational unit credits. Last month, I watched three video series on The Book of Job by Francis Chan, The Book of Romans by J.D. Greear, and Winning With People by John Maxwell. Each of these were so encouraging and motivational for me. Other avenues I have for personal spiritual growth is daily reading the Bible and creating devotionals for the Conservatory of the Arts department at VCS (see below). Are you taking time to nurture your faith and ground yourself in God’s Word?
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A noteworthy event is happening this Sunday through my YouTube Channel. I’ve been working on an inspirational video which includes a performance at my home of nine significant songs with meaningful introductions to each song filmed at the Mount Hermon creek close to my house. Join me at 5:00pm to watch this new Home Concert Video and share comments with real-time interaction. If you can’t make it Sunday, once it opens at 5:00pm, you can watch it anytime after that. My goal is to enrich your relationship with Jesus and inspire you to live confidently in Him.

Home Concert Sunday, March 16

I am sharing significant songs of mine through a Home Concert Video at Mount Hermon, Sunday, March 16, beginning at 5:00pm through my YouTube channel. One new song is called Partly Cloudy reflecting on how life doesn’t always bring us sunshine.

VCS Encouraging Devotionals

One of the online devotions used to inspire the faculty at Valley Christian School is a short message by Francis Chan on having Jesus as the center of our life. I encourage you to watch it! He explains how a Christian is not just someone who goes to church.

Help Support Heartfelt Music

You can contribute to Heartfelt Music Ministry through Pay Pal Giving Fund with no fees taken out. We are a Non-Profit 501(c)3, which gives you a tax write off. You can give a one-time gift or a monthly reoccurring gift helping us with ongoing ministry. Thank you for your support!

Empowering Youth for Ministry

Heartfelt Music Ministry has been investing in people for over 25 years. We’ve been touching lives through conferences, workshops, concerts, worship leading, private lessons, songbooks, recordings, and more. A recent emphasis has been on mentoring young people through guitar training and outreach classes. I teach Introduction to Guitar and Electric Bass, Guitar 2, and Guitar 3 classes at Valley Christian Schools in their Conservatory of the Arts program. I get to guide these amazing students toward intimacy with God and excellence in their music artistry. I also teach a junior high class called Community Outreach Fellowship, which is a wonderful opportunity for 26 students to go off campus to minister and help other organization. I’ve really enjoyed teaching this year and being able to encourage and influence students on a weekly basis.

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We would love to have you join hands with us in ministry through your prayers and contributions. You can donate to Heartfelt Music Ministry through Pay Pal Giving Fund with no fees taken out. We are a Non-Profit 501(c)3, which gives you a tax write off. Thank you for your support!

Guitar Training Classes

Music and Guitar have been powerful tools to inspire young people to express their passions and faith! They are having so much fun learning worship songs, new chords, creative techniques, how to write songs, and play in front of their peers.

Community Outreach Classes

In the Community Outreach Fellowship class, the students become “the hands and feet of Jesus” by helping package food at Silicon Valley Second Harvest and Martha’s Kitchen in San Jose. They also work with elementary students to teach them computer coding.

Home Concert Sunday, March 16

I am sharing new songs and significant songs of mine through a Home Concert Sunday, March 16, at 5:00pm through my YouTube channel. One new song is called Partly Cloudy and is a reflection on how life doesn’t always bring us sunshine. I’ll add the link in the next newsletter.

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Christmas is a beautiful time to reflect on Jesus and be encouraged through music, family, friends, with hopefully some time to relax a little. Last Sunday, I did a short concert to share some personal songs and familiar carols. The year before, I put together a Christmas sing-a-long for families to enjoy together with words on a screen. In 2020, I recorded a Christmas Album which is available on Spotify, Pandora, iTunes, YouTube, etc. Visit https://reggiecoates.hearnow.com/i-wish-you-a-mary-christmas to find out more about this album (as well as my other 7 albums).

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Home Concert – Christmas 2024 (22 Minutes)

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Christmas Carol Sing with Reggie Coates (30 Minutes)

Have a meaningful and merry Christmas!