Artist Testimonies
The Supertones
“Jason Carson, drummer and leader of The Orange County Supertones, possesses the twin blessings of a rock-steady beat and a rock–solid faith. This may explain why, at the tender age of 24, Carson is so intense. When it comes to watering down his band’s high-energy approach or bold musical ministry, don’t ask. He views the word ‘compromise’ as something lukewarm to be spewed from his mouth… ‘I’ll never apologize for the gospel. I realize that some kids would be more into us if we didn’t preach. But I’m not worried about looking cool to them. I don’t want to decrease the gospel just to look cool to them.’” CCM, February, 1999, pp. 18-22
Audio Adrenaline
“Our number one goal is to spread the gospel. I think people see our joy and happiness as we’re up there having a good time. “We want them to know where we get that from, and that is Jesus Christ… Our hearts’ passion is for people to know that we’re Christian guys, and that our message is sincerely about God. We feel it’s our goal to let kids know that rock ‘n’ roll is not sinful and ‘of the devil.’” CCM, February, 1998, p. 22
Rebecca St. James
“’I really feel I am called—and hey, I may be wrong,’ she says, ‘—to encourage believers to be radical about their faith, to be bold… I can’t convince some 16-year-old, non-Christian guy to come and listen to my music,’ says St. James, ‘but if I can encourage believers to reach out to the world about the love of Christ… who knows? Revival could break out.’” CCM, November, 1998, p.28
dc Talk
“The members of dc talk can’t help but have aspects of their faith seep into and throughout their music. It’s who they are, what they believe, what they wrestle with, what gives them purpose and peace. But that doesn’t mean that any member of this trio sees himself as a pastor or even an evangelist… ‘We are not ministers,’ says McKeehan. ‘dc Talk is a business, but in the midst of our business, we pray that God ministers to people through our lives.’ Max adds, ‘dc talk is an entertainment group. But when you dig deep into what we do or you dig into what we say, therein lies where the Holy Spirit interacts with the people. That becomes His ministry.’” CCM, November, 1998, p. 38
Jennifer Knapp
"This music is just a reflection of all the music I've grown up listening to. It's what has really spoken to my heart, musically… It's important to me in my ministry to the church to encourage the Body of Christ not to forget our dependence on God. I've seen people around me lose their passion for God, even though they're in church. So that's an important thing for me to communicate, having that honesty with God, because that's what He wants. Becoming vulnerable to the church kind of gives them permission to be vulnerable to each other and to God, and that's what I want to happen." Jennifer Knapp’s biography at her official WebsiteSkillet
The concept of "radically saved" is mightily important to the members of Skillet. "There's no such thing as a non-radical Christian," says lead singer and bassist John Cooper. "Being radical means understanding what your salvation is all about. It means you're no longer a slave to sin and death. You're a partaker of the divine nature." There is indeed a healthy measure of the divine in the music of Skillet. Comparable to general market bands like Candlebox, Bush, and Pearl Jam, Skillet possesses the same kind of musical muscle, but chucks the darkly negative imagery for something considerably more uplifting. Skillet’s biography at their official websiteMiss Angie "My background," she explains, "makes me want to do more than just make good music. I want to draw people to God. Keith Green and 2nd Chapter of Acts did that. They wanted to glorify God and they wanted the crowd to do the same. I don't want people just to come to see Miss Angie in concert. I want them to come because they expect an experience of worship and a time of meeting God. If the music ever gets in the way of the missions, then the music will have to go." Miss Angie’s biography online at Myrrh Records
Seven Day Jesus “When people ask the members of Seven Day Jesus how the band got its name, the response is, if nothing else, to the point. ‘You starve if you eat only once a week,’ says Brian McSweeney. ‘So don't make going to church on Sunday your only source for a relationship with God… As a band, we're really anxious to reach out to those who want to know about and serve Christ,’ says Brian. ‘We try to explain our experiences in life and in our walks with God through our music. Our hope is that people will be able to relate to the message of these songs no matter where they are at in their own lives.’" Seven Day Jesus biography online at Forefront
Avalon “’[Our lyrics] will always be bold and to the point… People love to know that to the best of your ability you are living out what you sing about. Even though I don't have all the answers, I'm going to let God have control of it and see what He does.’ For Avalon, it's all about admitting their humanity...their struggles...and the overwhelming experience of God's grace in the midst of it all. With the goal being that of helping people see through them and their humanity, and directing people toward God and His divinity. ‘We can't cause people to look beyond our voices, or the clothes we wear...that's the Holy Spirit's job,’ Michael explained. ‘He'll only do that if we allow him to. It's our job to ask God to take what we do and let it be an offering for Him to use for his glory.’" Avalon biography online at their official Website
Christafari “
Our mission statement is to evangelize the world, preaching the Gospel clearly without compromise, and to edify the body of Christ encouraging them through the genre of reggae music and the spoken word. As ministers, we understand the important role that the church plays in impacting the lives of this next generation.” “Our Hearts” at Christafari’s official Website
The World Wide Message Tribe
In 1987, Andy and Simon Hawthorne were convinced that God spoke to them very clearly about a job which He had for them to do in Manchester. He used some verses from the book of Isaiah to do this: "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland." Isaiah 43: 18-19 They believed that God wanted to make these verses true for Manchester and to change the city with the good news of Jesus. World Wide Message Tribe’s biography at their official website