When two Lancaster Bible College students with very different personalities and backgrounds bonded over a love of music, a new venture was born.
Children & Family Ministry major Luke Davis (’26) and Landon Flory, who took classes at LBC in 2022 and 2023, began playing and writing songs together as roommates, then started a band called “The Elect,” which today has welcomed several other LBC students and is making impact for the glory of God.
“I am a backwards country guy, and Luke is as city boy as you can get,” Flory said. “But as roommates we spent many late nights jamming out together and eventually writing songs. We are very different people, but we share the same love and passion for music and God. When Luke and I sit down at a piano or with a guitar, we just start coming up with stuff.”
As somewhat of a joke, one day after classes ended, they decided to play their music on the streets of Lancaster with a fiddle and guitar to see if they could make enough money to pay for dinner. And although they only made enough that night to pay for their parking ticket, they began playing in Lancaster City more frequently and eventually earned enough to start recording with a commercial studio in Baltimore, Md.
“People liked our music, they would be out there in the street dancing, and so we decided to start writing a lot more,” Flory said. “Luke and I prayed about it together and then decided we wanted to become a Christian band and bless others in a spiritual way. We started trying to get a studio deal and buy a label, and it kind of took off from there.”
As they duo pursued securing a label, they invited some talented friends to join the band and began to perform at local retreats and conferences.
Today, besides Davis and Flory, The Elect band members include vocalist, social media manager and LBC Musical Theatre major Natalie Millsap (’27); Worship Arts major Nick Coutsouridis (’25) on electric guitar; Music Performance major Immanuel Raoul Johnson (’26) on drums; Biblical Studies major Dan Rumsey (’27) on bass; and Media Arts Production major Zachary Cabrera (’24) running sound and tech.
The Elect band members include, from left, Immanuel Johnson, Dan Rumsey, Luke Davis, Natalie Millsap, Landon Flory, Nick Coutsouridis and Zachary Cabrera. / Photo by Amanda Davis (’24)
The Elect began its musical adventure by playing at area retreats, and while lining up locations to perform proved to require persistence and resilience, band members didn’t let that deter them.
“I learned that you have to be willing to hear the word ‘no’ a lot and let that fuel you to try again,” Flory said.
Davis agreed, adding, “The entire band experience so far has been the biggest learning experience of my life. From managing musicians and arranging songs, to understanding the music industry and figuring out how to make it a job, I have constantly been learning.”
Flory and Davis put in many hours of effort as they invested in getting the band up and running. What began as laying tracks in an overly warm dorm room soon turned into something more. The Elect has recorded at the on-campus LBC Studio, at Millersville University and with their studio deal, Studio E. Besides Christian retreats, other performances have included LBC Homecoming, summer festivals, conferences, church services and events.
One of Rumsey’s favorite memories was performing with The Elect at Black Rock Retreat Center in nearby Quarryville, Pa., for a junior high weekend. The band will return to Black Rock later this summer.
“We were performing at Black Rock Retreat Center, and the kids were jumping all over the place and we were jumping too,” said Rumsey. “We were just having fun.”
Fun, yes—but also rewarding.
“It is one of the most rewarding things when you see people reacting to music that you stayed up until 2 a.m. in the studio to record,” Flory said. “All the hard work, all the dedication, everything feels worth it.”
Davis explained that the mission of The Elect is to bring good to others through Christian music that meets people where they are.
“We wish to give people a way to worship God through music in innovative and deeply meaningful ways,” he said. “We want to help everyone, from the people who are signed with our label and the kids we worship with at camps, to the people in our band and the crowds we play for at concerts. We want to be a blessing to those around us and have the love of God permeate every area of the band.”
Flory points to the variety in The Elect’s music that helps the band reach listeners who are along many different stages in their walk with Christ.
“We are a Christian band with a wide variety in how we write and perform,” he said. “With Christ as our center focus, we explore all types of different genres in the art of music, such as pop, folk, R&B, soft rock, Christian contemporary and more.”
Throughout the process, Davis has seen God at work over and over again.
“It is clear that God wants us to be running this band because every time a problem arises, He provides a way for it to be remedied in a much better way,” Davis said. “This has been teaching me incredible trust, and I cannot express how incredibly humbling it is to understand that this band is bigger than me and Landon. Because we are following what God wants us to; He is paving the way for us.”
The next stop along that journey is the release of a full-length album titled “Love Firsthand” this spring. To mark the May 17 album release date, The Elect will perform a concert at 7 p.m. Friday, May 10, at The Junction Center in Manheim, Pa. Tickets are available now at thejunctioncenter.com/the-elect-love-firsthand-in-concert.
“We cannot wait to share these songs with the world and continue to bless others with the stories from which these songs derive and the messages that are given through these songs,” Davis said.
Learn more about The Elect at the band’s website, theelectband.com, on Instagram, @theelect_band, or search for the band’s music on Spotify, including the 2024 single, “Lead Us Home.”