Jars of Clay has always been committed to perform wherever God has called them. Whether it be a Christian Music Festival, such as Cornerstone or Atlantafest, or in a club setting such as The Bottom of the Hill in San Francisco. This convergent style of ministry has sometimes generated questions regarding Jars' career decisions. "Are Jars selling out? "Why would Jars of Clay perform in a club setting?" Jars take these questions very seriously and have personally and prayerfully struggled with the answers.

When Jars' single "Flood" hit Top 40 radio in 1996, Jars were presented with a new set of decisions. Prior to this time, Jars were blessed to have shared tours with Christian artists, PFR and Michael W. Smith. They had no plans to "break out" of the Christian music circle. "Flood", however, opened doors ranging from mainstream radio interviews to club invitations and Modern Rock festivals. Through much prayer and pastoral guidance, Jars accepted these opportunities to step out of their comfort zone to take their ministry outside the Church and into the hurting world... where Christ's message is needed the most.

Throughout the past five years, Jars have seen God abundantly work in both types of settings. And thankfully, God has continued to open doors for Jars to share their art and message in diverse places. Few things are more gratifying to Jars than to celebrate Christ with their music, among fellow Christians who openly share their faith. But feeling God's presence come into a "dark" place where people do not understand Christ, is also humbling and praiseworthy. When asked how Jars prepare their hearts for different avenues of ministry, Steve Mason once shared, "I think many times people limit God on what He can do and pray almost mediocratively in that way. We just trust God to do exactly what we're pretty comfortable with, rather than pray for the unbelievable... trusting that He'll take every little thing and use it."

"We need to believe it's in His power to use every little thing to that end, that people be redeemed and that it wouldn't line up with a formula. Some nights we don't say anything and He'll take Dan's words, and magically implant them into someone's heart or... just the spirit of the music will transform the club. And that's not to say anyone was saved, maybe they were, but there was transformation. And I've read in the Bible, it's just the seeds being planted or even the ground being softened to receive the seeds."

Dan Haseltine remembers one club experience. "We had experienced a bit of the club culture... but to be in an atmosphere like that was a little scary. But we did watch the audience change over the course of the concert! And you could just watch the countenance of every person in there just change! We watched God move into this place, and by the end of the show, there was just a very obvious difference. What had come with us into that club was something we could not have expected. But to see the Holy Spirit move in a place like that!"

"And so, that's when, I think, we all looked at each other and said, "Ok, This is where we're supposed to be right now." And over the course of the next year, we wrestled with that and we had battles with ourselves of what we really felt we needed to do."