Jeff Snyder has sung with several famous touring Southern Gospel groups but now serves as the worship leader at Valley Forge Freewill Baptist Church in Elizabethton.
To be faithful until the end...
Early musical calling leads Snyder through many different doors
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* Story by Ivan Sanders & Photos Contributed *
or anyone that has taken time to visit Valley Forge Freewill Baptist Church, one of the first things that jump out as the service opens is an almost angelic voice that comes from a gentleman who stands near the piano and presents an invitation to those that have gathered to rise and lift their voice in song. To those familiar with Southern Gospel music, it doesn’t take long to identify the voice that has been heard over the airwaves and on television singing with some familiar groups within the genre and that voice belongs to Jeff Snyder. And although not native to
Carter County, Snyder has quickly fit in as the music director at the largest churches in the county after taking over for another well-known Southern Gospel singer in Loren Harris who now sings with The Kingdom Heirs — the long-tenured Dollywood gospel singing group. Snyder was born and raised in Owensboro, Ky., which, according to Snyder, is about the size of Kingsport and is located in the western part of the state, just below Evansville, Ind. He was brought up in a good Christian home and by today’s standards, Snyder admits that his family didn’t have much but his home was loving and happy.
His parents didn’t argue in front of the children and always made sure that the children felt secure in their little home. Snyder’s father was the song leader of the church they attended and the family was always there. “It was almost like being a pastor’s kid,” Snyder admitted. “Whether it was Sunday school, Sunday morning services, Sunday evening services, Wednesday night Bible studies, Saturday night prayer meetings, revivals, or camp meetings, we were there and involved. “There was no negotiation. Since Dad was the song leader, my brothers and I were recruited to sing for services often. We had some great services in
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that little Wesleyan church.” The church that the Snyder family attended was a city church so there was a lot of outreach to the local housing projects where buses or passenger vans would bring in children and some adults as well. For the young Snyder, it was a great time in his life and when he was 12 years of age, the church was in the midst of a youth revival at the church with the evangelist being a Korean gentleman who was attending Bible college in Cincinnati at the time. The evangelist presented his powerful testimony of being raised in an orphanage and being adopted by a
