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Jack Pucho with his wife Annie and their three sons.[/caption]
‘Brother Jack’- there is only one by that name who brings wonderful smiles and fills hearts with warmth and happiness. A mentor to youngsters, he has inspired, influenced and shaped numerous lives through his faith and his gift of music.
Most people might remember him as a young worship leader at the Spirit of Faith Church in Dimapur during its early beginnings, when it used to be situated at IMC Hall, Dimapur. Jack Pucho laughed at this reference and recollects how he began serving in the ministry. He shared that initially, everyone had to help out with the small tasks and even perform menial jobs. “I wasn’t offered the role of a Worship Leader just like that. We had to work and earn it. Working alongside Pastor John Roughton has been a blessing for me and he is my biggest mentor,” he said.
18 years working for the ministry of God, Brother Jack is a remarkable preacher and teacher of the word. He is also the co-partner of a worship resource school called “The Warehouse” which envisions training and igniting young souls in the discipline of worship ministry as a worship leader, pastor, songwriter, artist, technician, or a musician. Talking about this, he adds, “This has been a calling in my heart from God for so long and I could not ignore it anymore. Music is a tool and has the power to give colour to our imagination and to our emotions. But music alone definitely cannot save a person or the world. I believe that it should help strengthen our journey towards understanding the Lord.”
His unselfish dedication, both to God and the craft of music has earned him the love and respect from fellow believers and the music fraternity. An accomplished musician, songwriter, composer, and music teacher, he is a pioneer with more than two decades of experience performing and teaching music. He has also been instrumental in the management of numerous worship teams and concerts in Nagaland.
“My father always told me that I was born singing,” Jack said fondly. He recounts a central moment in his life, when still a small child, he met with an unfortunate accident which left his right leg disabled. Right after this incident, for several years, he had to visit numerous hospitals for treatment, but even that couldn’t get him to stop singing. He is said to have enthralled everyone with his gift of music, and capturing the hearts of people with his infectious positive personality.
This prompted his father to buy Jack an acoustic guitar, which filled his early days of school and high school with a lot of singing performances. Like any young man, he also had dreams of becoming a rock star. “But God certainly does have a sense of humour,” he laughed. “I had long hair and enjoyed the music of Bon Jovi, Bryan Adams, Poison, Europe etc. But when I joined Patkai Christian College, I started hanging out with the college choir, which gave me a sense of purpose. I also had a friend who encouraged me to use my gift of music for the glory of the Lord. At this point of my life, I decided to dedicate my art, my gift of music to give my life to the Lord,” he shared.
As an accomplished and dedicated musician, Jack had this to say: “We have to keep growing as musicians. We are very hesitant with coming up with original compositions and style of music. When you’re young and starting out, it’s fine to be inspired by other artists and imitate them but if you’ve been in the industry for 5, 10 or more years and still doing the same thing, then something is wrong. Because I genuinely feel that you should be able to come up with music that identifies you.”
He has recorded two albums “Now and Always” and “Where I Belong”, with the third album to be released soon.
Two decades and counting, what gives? To Jack, it’s very simple. The desire to love his family, his Lord and people motivates him to keep singing, praying and work hard. “Life has difficulties, but it is love that keeps me going. There are lots of hurting people out there and I want to help them through music and ministry.” And helping him in this mission is his loving wife Annie, who also joins him in singing and serving the ministry.
Brother Jack remains humble, preferring to keep a low profile and simply enjoy doing what he does best- love people, music and life! Looking back, he had this to say: “The best is yet to come. I haven’t finished the race yet… I really believe that I’m still yet to experience the best life has to offer me.”
Artists like Jack Pucho, who has given so much to his people and the community should be receiving a bit more accolade, don’t you think?