At the age of 12 - a time when most young girls are just beginning idyllic dreams of ‘what I want to be’ - a young Australian girl prayed a simple prayer. “God, I give you my gifts. Use my life to make a difference and change the world.”

Rebecca St. James has since taken an unparalleled course in Christian music. As a teen in the mid-90’s, she blazed a trail in the contemporary Christian genre for many other talented female artists to come. She has received countless industry awards, including the prestigious GRAMMY®, garnered number one singles and has consistently topped both radio and sales charts, with career album sales in the millions of album units. She has also authored eight books – her ninth due out this Fall – and received acclaim for her touring worldwide. As an artist spokesperson for child advocacy organization, Compassion International, she has, through her concerts, globally helped find sponsorship for more than 30,000 of the world’s neediest children.

On the wings of a prayer at age 12, Rebecca St. James has become one of the most influential young women of her generation.

Set to release on April 5, 2011, Rebecca charts yet another new course with I Will Praise You, a new collection of worship songs she terms “her most personal worship recording to date.”

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By Antoinette McDonald

Multi-platinum rock band Third Day has racked up over 25 No. 1 radio singles and sold more than seven million albums, receiving two RIAA Platinum and eight Gold certifications. The band has won four GRAMMY awards, an American Music Award, 24 GMA Dove Awards and multiple ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) honors. The band has appeared on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson," "60 Minutes" and "Nightline" and been featured in The New York Times, USA Today and on the cover of Billboard, which called Third Day "one of the best rock bands."

We recently caught up with the band’s bassist and backing vocalist Tai Anderson and posed these questions…

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Ambient pop-rock
Sparrow Records
Distributed in South Africa by Maranatha Record Company
Review by Treebeard

Hailing from Tyler, Texas, Luminate was formed in the fall of 2005 by two students attending Visible School of Music in Memphis, TN. They officially launched their full-time musical career with their self-titled EP and an extensive Midwest tour including festivals, high schools, camps, all-age venues and churches.

"Bright and Beautiful" followed in 2007, bringing a new and fresh outlook on their ministry and drive. Their third independent release "Miracle" released in June 2008, and was re-released in 2010 as their self-titled debut EP by Sparrow Records. It speaks of the urgency of rising up against the mediocrity of today's view of the Christian walk and lifestyle, stressing that our time to act is now: It's Our Time to embrace hope, destiny and a revolutionary relationship with our Creator.

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Bernice Crowder released her self-titled debut album in October 2010, but behind the big voice lies a story of pain and tears - yet also a story of hope, a testimony to the greatness of the God she serves. We'll let her tell it in her own words:

"I was born in picturesque East London, the youngest and most “eccentric” of four. Despite the relentless teasing, which often happens in large families, I had an extremely happy childhood; though we weren’t wealthy at all, we got by. Music was always my Passion and it was during my childhood that God placed a dream within me that “The music He placed within me I will share with world.

"Over the years, especially in my teen-age years, I developed a low self-image. Amongst friends I was always the tallest and biggest with the “biggest feet” and though I was accustomed to teasing, it always managed to stick. We're all familiar with the saying “sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me” - I learnt early on that this was a lie. One incident I can recall: I was singing at a school assembly and that same day someone walked passed me and mocked me with his friends saying in Afrikaans “Hier's die meisie met die man stem!” I was embarrassed and hurt and I believed him. Being young I didn’t identify it for what it was, that it was only the devil’s tactic to get me silent; believe me, it worked for a while.

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SEATTLE, WA--March 24, 2011

Aaron Gillespie is launching his debut single’s music video, “We Were Made For You,” produced by Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Samaritan’s Purse, today exclusively at GodTube.com. Click here to view the video.

Last month musician Aaron Gillespie traveled to Haiti with Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Samaritan’s Purse to see first-hand the work of the organizations, as well as to tape a documentary that will debut this summer. Gillespie hopes that this music video and the upcoming documentary will bring back an awareness to Haiti since the 2010 earthquake as well as the work of BGEA and Samaritan’s Purse.

“God's heart is humanity, and you really find it in Haiti. We are so convinced that we have it all figured out here, with our prosperity and all of our stuff, but we don't. Gods heart is waiting, go find it,” shares Aaron Gillespie upon returning from his trip.

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We live in a world that moves much too fast. Demands rush towards us and expectations hover over us, making it difficult to simply stop and take time to hear from God. Meredith Andrews knows those challenges all too well, yet as the songs on her sophomore album demonstrate, something remarkable happens when we seek God’s voice and are willing to wait As Long As It Takes.

Following her 2008 Word Records debut, The Invitation, Andrews’ ministry expanded dramatically beyond her duties as worship leader at Chicago’s Harvest Bible Chapel. Her insightful songs and engaging voice made her one of the Christian music community’s most acclaimed new artists. Songs like “You’re Not Alone” saturated Christian radio and Andrews found herself touring with Michael W. Smith on his “A New Hallelujah” Tour.

Needless to say, when she met with producer Jason Ingram to begin work on her new album, the young artist felt the weight of expectation and the pressures that accompany success.

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"I'm just a smalltown girl," says Tricia Brock of Superchick. "Livin in a lonely world..." She planned to go to nursing school after high school, and then do missions for a while, and carry on being a smalltown girl - she definitely didn't plan to be lead singer of a Grammy-nominated band!

"God changed my plans and threw Superchick my way, so I jumped and tried. I never would have put myself here, or guessed that God would make me a lead singer of a punk/rock band. I was shy, quiet mostly, a combination of introvert and extrovert...teachers pet. I thought I'd go to college, meet a perfect guy, fall in love and live happily ever after...Of course God took those ideas and threw them out!

"Being in Superchick has shaped me, grown me up, stretched me into who I am now: Much more flexible, go with the flow, enjoy travelling and take changes as they come girl - totally opposite of me as a kid!"

Would she change things if she could go back? Definitely not! "I wouldn't take back one thing about my life. I have seen God directing me; giving me choices, but always leading. I'm working on my first book right now, working towards being a professional makeup artist, and most recently, I got married to an amazing, sweet man named Nick Baumhardt. He's a guitar player, songwriter, producer; we have our dog, Sophie, and are experiencing some happily ever after of our own."

Nope, she's not going back to Smalltown! On 7 June she will be releasing The Road, her first solo album, a distinctive-sounding worship album that blends together original, traditional, and contemporary songs to inspire, challenge and move you closer to God.

“These are songs that have lead me into worship through times when I have felt abandoned, broken, angry and confused, and taught me that the best place to worship God is when life doesn't make sense and it isn't easy to believe. I pray The Road is a new, fresh approach to worship and that it brings the growth and healing to you that it's brought me making it.”

The album has already spawned three singles: "You Hear," "Breath Of God," and "You Are My Shepherd", and don't be surprised if a few more follow!

 
Small Secrets:

Favorite song to perform live: "Beauty from pain" or "Stand in the rain"
Favorite places: Parks, lakes, the ocean, mellow restaurants, starbucks, with my favorite girls, my sis or my hubby anywhere...
Favorite things: My puppy Sophie, dogs in general, babies(that aren't crying on airplanes next to me), makeup and making people feel beautiful, fashion, my parents, my wedding day, my nick.
Favorite bands: Thousand Foot Krutch, Switchfoot, No Doubt, Meiko, Mat Kearney, Superchick(heehee)