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About Us

The VISION of Instruments of Joy is to see more than 10,000 individuals and communities provided with hope, inspiration, and joy through the gifts of musical instruments in Jesus’ name.

Interview with our founder Joshua MacLeod and Scott Shepherd with the TN Mission Board
There are thousands of aspiring musicians in the developing world who lack the necessary resources to purchase quality musical instruments. People living in impoverished communities need the joy and inspiration that music provides. At Instruments of Joy we collect instruments in Nashville and get them to needy communities in the developing world. Instruments of Joy is an initiative of Watermelon Ministries, a Christian-based 501c3 nonprofit organization.

Joshua Macleod

founded Instruments of Joy in 2013. He is a serial entrepreneur, nonprofit & business leader, and organizational development champion. Joshua is an award-winning photographer and has worked on relief and development projects in more than 18 countries worldwide.  Joshua lives in Nashville, TN with his wife Sarah and their eight children: Hannah, Rebecca, Caleb, John, Luke, Joshua, Elizabeth and Samuel!

It all started in Malawi.

On a short-term missions trip to Malawi, Instruments of Joy founder Joshua MacLeod met an orphan with immense musical talent who had fashioned a guitar from a gas can and a block of wood. As Joshua listened to him play and watched the joy that he brought into the room, he thought about the three guitars in his bonus room collecting dust. What would this young musician be capable of if he had a quality musical instrument? Joshua decided to start a ministry that would put instruments in the hands of wonderfully talented musicians in the developing world who are unable to acquire them. Now orphans and aspiring musicians all over the world are being equipped with quality musical instruments!

Andria Perez

is the Program Coordinator for Instruments of Joy. She is the glue that keeps our ministry logistics running smoothly! A University of Northwestern St. Paul graduate and Nashville transplant from Wisconsin, Andria recognizes the power of music to impact communities. She lives with her husband Keith and her dog Angel and enjoys good coffee, photography, and swing dancing.

Ministry Advocates


Kristen McCann
Dave White