August 5, 2024

In This Issue 

MATTHEW WEST Reveals Emotional Encounter Behind Song, "Don't Stop Praying"

A Matthew West hit single that soared up the Billboard charts was inspired by a conversation with a fan about the power of prayer, he says. West’s song "Don’t Stop Praying" is No. 5 on Billboard’s Christian Airplay Chart and is on track to be West’s most-streamed song ever. It marks the 13th time West has topped the Christian Airplay Chart. 

Matthew's "Wonderfully Made" Tour with Ellie Holcomb and Caleb & Kelsey comes to Dacula on September 7 for a benefit concert at The Haven at Hebron. The Haven at Hebron is a home for young, single, pregnant women who need residential care throughout pregnancy, birth and beyond!

“A lady came up to me [at] one of my concerts in Greenville, S.C.,” West told Crosswalk Headlines. “And she and her husband said that ‘we’re excited to be at your show tonight, but tomorrow morning, we’re gonna be going in for surgery’ -- because she was battling breast cancer.”

Matthew had assumed the couple wanted a selfie. Instead, they requested something far more substantial. 

“She said, ‘Would you mind praying for us?’ And I remember that moment -- sometimes I can be guilty of saying, ‘Hey, I’ll be praying for you’ -- and then you get busy with life, you move on and forget.”

With roughly 100 people in line waiting to greet West, he bowed with the husband and wife in prayer. 

“We stopped in that moment, and we said a prayer for that lady,” West said. 

“And it just dawned on me that here I was on stage that night singing for all these people … [and] they’re all fighting a different kind of a battle. And they’re all lifting their hands and praying and worshiping and believing that we have a God who hears us when we pray. And so that’s really what helped fuel this song.”

Click Here For The Full Conversation

Billboard Magazine's Current Top Contemporary Christian Music Chart

#1 (LW1) - Elevation Worship

“Praise“

(from Can You Imagine)

(#1 for 21 straight weeks)

#2 (LW2) - Forrest Frank

“Good Day”

(from Child of God)

#3 (LW3) - Tauren Wells

Feat. We The Kingdom & Davies

“Take It All Back”

(from Joy In The Morning:

Horizon Edition)

#4 (LW4) - Seph Schlueter

“Counting My Blessings"

(from Counting My Blessings)

#5 (LW5) - Matthew West

“Don't Stop Praying"

(Single)

Click Here For This Week's Top 25

Contemporary Christian Music Songs

20 Christ-following U.S. Olympians to watch at the 2024 Paris Games

The 2024 Summer Olympics are upon us, with more than 10,700 athletes descending on Paris to compete in 329 events through Aug. 11.

Of the 592 U.S. athletes vying for Olympic medals, many are also followers of Christ. We couldn’t possibly list every one of them, but here are 20 to watch over the next couple weeks in France. Keep an eye on these...

Hunter Armstrong - swimming, Kennedy Blades - wrestling, Aaron Brooks - wrestling, Kelly Cheng - beach volleyball, Micah Christenson - volleyball, Vashti Cunningham - track and field, Stephen Curry - basketball, Coco Gauff - tennis, Alison Gibson - diving, Anna Hall - track and field, Vincent Hancock - shooting, Brody Malone gymnastics, Maggie Malone Hardin - track and field, Simone Manuel - swimming, Helen Maroulis - wrestling, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone - track and field, Scottie Scheffler - golf, 

Kyle Snyder - wrestling, Mallory Swanson, soccer, Walker Zimmerman - soccer.

Click Here For The Full Story

Olympic Swimming 4 Gold Medalist Katie Ledecky Anchored by Faith

Click Here For The Full Story

Simone Biles: Faith and Triumph

in Gymnastics

Click Here For The Full Story

The Top Christian Highlights of the Paris Olympics

Click Here For The Full Story

How Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone Overcame Her Fear with Faith

Click Here For The Full Story

US Olympic gymnast Brody Malone leaned on God during recovery from severe knee injury

Click Here For The Full Story

Candace Cameron Bure warns against 'lukewarm' Christians amid outrage over Olympics opening ceremony

Click Here For The Full Story

Billboard Magazine's Current Top Gospel Music Chart

#1 (LW2) - Brent Jones

"Live Your Best Life"

(from Live Your Best Life)

#2 (LW1) - Tim Bowman, Jr.

"Nobody But God"

(from Welcome To Faith City)

#3 (LW3) - Smokie Norful

"In Your Name"

(from I Still Have You)

#4 (LW5) - Charles Jenkins

Feat. Elder Eric Thomas

"God B Praised" 

(from Gospel Music Changed My Life)

#5 (LW7) - Anthony Brown

Feat. Zach Savage

"Up, Up, Up"

(from Affirmations)

Click Here For This Week's Top 25

Gospel Music Songs

Metro Atlanta Christian Concerts & Family Events

Friday, August 16

Gene Watson & Bellamy Brothers

Georgia Mountain Fair

1311 Music Hall Road,

Hiwassee, GA 30546

7:00 p.m. 706-896-4191

www.georgiamountainfairgrounds.com

Sunday, August 18

The Inspirations, The Martins,

& The Perrys

Georgia Mountain Fair

1311 Music Hall Road,

Hiawassee, GA 30546

7:00 p.m. 706-896-4191

www.georgiamountainfairgrounds.com

Saturday, August 24

Crowder

Georgia Mountain Fair

1311 Music Hall Road,

Hiawassee, GA 30546

7:00 p.m. 706-896-4191

www.georgiamountainfairgrounds.com

Saturday, September 7

Matthew West, Ellie Holcomb, Caleb & Kelsey

Wonderfully Made

2nd Annual Benefit Concert

For The Haven at Hebron

At The Haven at Hebron,

202 Hebron Church Road, 

Dacula, GA 30019

6:00 p.m. (678) 277-0506

www.eventbrite.com

Sunday, October 13

Gold City, Anthem Edition, LeFevre Quartet

Gospel Day at the Georgia Mountain Fall Festival

1311 Music Hall Road,

Hiawassee, GA 30546

2:00 p.m. 706-896-4191

www.georgiamountainfairgrounds.com

Click Here For All Upcoming Concerts and Links For More Information

1 - The Bible in a Year

(with Fr. Mike Schmitz)

2 - The Bible Recap

(with Tara Leigh-Cobble

3 - Girls Gone Bible

(with Angela Halili

and Arielle Reitsma)

4 - WHOA That's Good Podcast

(with Sadie Robertson)

5 - Unashamed

With The Robertson Family

(with Phil Robertson)

6 - The Bible Project Podcast

(In-depth conversations

about the Bible and theology)

7 - Timothy Keller Sermons

Podcast by Gospel in Life

(with Tim Keller)

8 - With The Perrys

(Preston Perry and Jackie Hill Perry)

9 - Christ With Coffee On Ice

(with Ally Yost)

10 - The Briefing

(Cultural Commentary from a Biblical Perspective with R. Albert Mohler, Jr.

Click Here For The Current Top 100

Christian Podcasts

CROWDER'S

"The Exile" Reminds

There's Hope Amid Chaos

Atlanta's David Crowder says his latest album “The Exile” is a reminder that there is “hope in the middle of our chaos.”

“I didn’t intend to do this at all,” he said of his music career. “I kind of snuck in. I was just trying to help at church, and all of it has come from trying to just be useful and help at the church. I didn’t have dreams that involved any of this stuff. I remember the first time I got to play the Opry…there is not a molecule in my body that even had a dream of such a thing.”

You can see Crowder in concert on August 24th at the Georgia Mountain Fairgrounds in Hiawassee.

He has made dozens of albums over the years, as a solo artist and with the David Crowder Band. Crowder’s latest? “The Exile.” 

“I always work in album arcs of three albums,” he explained. “This album cycle we’re in was ‘Promise,’ ‘Exile’ and ‘Return.’ It’s all just a narrative arc of the Israelites’ journey.”

He continued, “It’s metaphorical because…our whole story starts in the garden, walking and talking with our Maker, and what happens? We mess things up and get booted, so immediately, exile. So, we all are in this moment where we have this internal ache, longing for communion with the One that made us and this sense of home. We are not home yet. We’re strangers in a strange land, wandering.”

Crowder said that “The Exile‘s message is that “there’s hope in the middle of our chaos…there’s still hope in the middle of what you’re looking at. Like, things that just seem wild out there — there’s still a God that’s sovereign, there’s still a God that delivers in the Israelites’ exile story.”

Click Here To Read The Full Interview

Author

DR. DAVID JEREMIAH 

Keep the Faith: How to Stand Strong in a World Turned Upside Down 

("Keep The Faith" by Dr. David Jeremiah entered this month's Christian Booksellers Top 50 list at #11).

Sheila Walsh: You've heard the saying, "Keep the faith," but what does that mean for us as Christians? Dr. Jeremiah is here to share with us what it means to keep the faith, even in the most difficult circumstances and seasons. Maybe you're dealing with unexpected or unwanted circumstances. Could be problems with your health, your career, your marriage, perhaps your heart...you're discouraged, depressed, worried, and wondering if you even have the strength to keep going. Dr. Jeremiah would like you to know that your heavenly Father isn't watching impassively from heaven, He has come down, He is close, and His arm is around you. He's here to lift you up and ready to move you forward. 

 You've written this wonderful book, but I want you to take us to that day, September the 3rd, 2023. It's Labor Day, what was going on?

Dr. David Jeremiah: Donna and I had just returned from Europe, we had gone there to celebrate our 60th wedding anniversary, and we took a little cruise around Italy, it was so much fun. We'd come home, obviously we were a little tired. I had preached a couple of times. And Labor Day morning, I went to get out of bed and couldn't move anything on my right side...my leg was just dead. I was scared, I didn't know what to think. I told Donna, "I can't get out of bed, I don't know what to do". So, we called my son David helped me get up and took me to Scripps Hospital in La Jolla. I ended up there for over a month and was diagnosed with a disease...the inflammation of the sheath that goes around your spinal cord.



 It makes it impossible for your spinal cord to transmit signals to certain parts of your body. The second day after this happened, I had four MRIs in one day, through my whole body. Then they punctured my spine and took some fluid. They gave me a scan, and said, I had this rare disease. The longer I've had it, the more I realized not very many people know much about it. What I'm learning is it had a short on-ramp and it's got a long off-ramp.

Click Here To Watch Full Conversation

Christian Booksellers'

Top Christian Books 

#1 - Joshua Giles

“Prophetic Reset”

40 Days to Aligning with God’s Plan for Your Life

#2 - John Mark Comer

"“Practicing

The Way"

Be with Jesus. Become like him. Do as He did

#3 - Sarah Young

“Jesus Calling”

Enjoying Peace In His Presence

#4 - Gary Chapman

“The 5 Love Languages”

The Secret To Love That Lasts

(New Edition)

#5 - Lysa TerKeurst

“Forgiving What You Can’t Forget”

How to Move On, Make Peace with Painful Memories, and Create a Life

That’s Beautiful Again

Click Here For The Full List of This Month's Best Selling Christian Books

Family of Atlanta gospel group, The Nelons, launches fundraiser for surviving daughter after deadly plane crash

A tragic plane crash that killed three members of a Grammy-nominated gospel group last week has left family members reeling.

The incident occurred on July 26, when singers Kelly Nelon Clark, her husband Jason Clark, and their daughter, Amber Nelon Kistler, died in a private plane crash in Wyoming, according to the group’s management company, Gaither Music.

“One of the best-loved Gospel music families in America, The Nelons were involved in a tragic, fatal plane crash on Friday afternoon on their way to join the Gaither Homecoming Cruise to Alaska,” the company shared in a Facebook statement.

Others who lost their lives in the crash were the Nelons’ assistant and family friend, Melodi Hodges, Amber’s husband, Nathan Kistler, the pilot, Larry Haynie, and his wife, Melissa Haynie.

Unfortunately, there were no survivors.

Autumn Nelon Streetman – the younger daughter of Kelly and Jason – and her husband, Jamie Streetman, were not on the plane but were notified of the horrific crash when they arrived in Seattle, which was where the group’s cruise was set to depart.

“They were brought to the hotel where artists were gathered with Bill and Gloria Gaither to pray, sing and embrace them in their grief, pledging to support them in whatever needs arise,” Gaither Music’s statement continued. 

Click Here For The Full Story

SGN Scoops Magazine Top 100 Southern Gospel Music Charts

#1 (LM3) - Ernie Haase & Signature Sound -

“We Are The Church"

(Single)

#2 (LM9) - Triumphant Quartet -

“God Is Listening”

(from God Is Listening)

#3 (LM4) -

The Steeles -

“Be The Reason”

(from Be The Reason)

#4 (LM18) -

Southbound -

“Middle of Nowhere”

(from Lost & Found)

#5 (LM11) -

The Tribute Quartet -

"He Pilots My Ship”

(from Quartet Tribute Volume Three)

Click Here For This Week's Top

 Southern Gospel Songs

Ernie Haase & Signature Sound Remind Believers,

‘We Are The Church’

Click Here  

Joseph Habedank Shares Deeply Personal Music

with "I'm Free: Songs

That Wrote My Story"

Click Here 

Denzel Washington’s Ministry Debut Inspires Harlem with Hope and Generosity - Click Here

Marvel’s ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ Facing Fallout After Blasphemy Accusations

- Click Here

Actress Jen Lilley Challenges Christians to Take Back Ground in the Entertainment Industry

- Click Here

Atlanta church saved from auction block after Channel 2 investigation

- Click Here

New Hope Baptist Church provides backpacks and supplies for every student at local elementary school

- Click Here

2 men wanted for car break-ins at Atlanta church, police say - Click Here

DeKalb County Government will partner once again with local faith leaders around the county to distribute 3,000 bookbags filled with

school supplies - Click Here

‘Disciples in the Moonlight’ imagines Christian persecution, Bible bans in America - Click Here

Duck Dynasty's Willie Robertson doubles down on sharing his faith and standing up for truth - Click Here

Plugged-In Blog: Parental Controls: Instagram - Click Here

"The Chosen" is Making its Way ‘From the Palace to the Prison’ - Click Here

"Twisters" Star, Anthony Ramos, Is A Big Fan Of "The Chosen" - Click Here

3 Reasons Parents Will Love ‘Harold and the Purple Crayon’ Just as Much as Their Kids - Click Here

Jackie Hill Perry Aims to ‘Glorify the Lord’ in Her Return to Christian

Hip-Hop - Click Here

"The Promised Land" YouTube Series from "The Chosen" Crew Promises to Lighten Up Faith Entertainment

- Click Here

Author Joshua Giles On His #1 Book, "Prophetic Reset" - Click Here

Max Lucado on the Epidemic of Loneliness - Click Here

Chonda Pierce says comedy helped her find God's faithfulness after loss, abuse: 'He delivered me' - Click Here

Cuba Gooding, Jr.'s Role in 'The Firing Squad' Strengthens His Faith in God

- Click Here

Oak Ridge Boys Tenor Joe Bonsall, a Self-Proclaimed 'Light for Christ,' Passes Away - Click Here

Erin Krakow Shares Silly Clip (and Major Update) About "When Calls The Heart" - Click Here

Candace Cameron Bure on How to Add Bible Reading and Faith Into a Marriage

- Click Here

Grieving Mom Breaks Her Silence As Details of Shannen Doherty’s Final Moments Are Revealed - Click Here

Elevation Worship Earns Its 8th No. 1 Album Debut with "When Wind Meets Fire"

- Click Here

Gospel Music Association Announces Nominees for 55th Annual

GMA Dove Awards - Click Here

39th Annual Stellar Awards Winners. Tye Tribbett Leads With 8 - Click Here

Jeremy Camp Celebrates Successful Heart Surgery With Some Fun

- Click Here

Forrest Frank Album Review,

"Child of God" - Click Here



Aaron Shust urges support for children of Israeli couple killed by Hezbollah

- Click Here

Cory Asbury Debuts Re-Imagined Version of “Only Jesus For My Pain” Featuring Franni Rae - Click Here

Brandon Lake Releases Latest Single & Video ‘That’s Who I Praise’

- Click Here

Lauren Daigle Announces "Sessions," Upcoming Album of Reimagined Songs

- Click Here

Third Day Announces the 25th Anniversary of their album "TIME"

- Click Here

Chandler Moore Drops His Much Anticipated Solo Album - Click Here

Brandon Lake Drops ‘Tear Off The Roof (Live From The Holy City)’ - Click Here

Steven Curtis Chapman Invited to Become A Member of the Grand Ole Opry - Click Here

CAIN the Band Shares Exciting Pregnancy Announcements

- Click Here

We The Kingdom Celebrates One Billion Global Streams - Click Here

Natalie Grant and daughter, Gracie, Featured On People Health Cover

- Click Here

Anne Wilson on How Staying True to Her Roots Lets Her Spread the Gospel to Even More People - Click Here

Tribute To The Nelons - Click Here

Gospel Singer Karen Clark Sheard to Release New Album, “Still Karen”

on August 23rd - Click Here

Jekalyn Carr Receives Honorary Doctorates from Two American Institutions - Click Here

Contemporary Christian musicians face increased challenges

- Click Here

Kari Jobe releases a special collection of seven live-recorded songs on

"Live From Europe" - Click Here

Blessing Offor Encapsulates Feelings of Summertime Love with "Autobahn"

- Click Here

DOE Releases New Album

“Heart Of A Human” - Click Here

Christian/Gospel Music -

This Month's New Releases

- Click Here