Christian music thriving in Cape

Casting Crowns, nominated for Artist of the Year and Group of the Year in the latest Dove Awards sold out 20 venues on a recent 36-city tour. They are Christian music's most popular act at the moment. Casting Crowns is one of the well-known musical groups and solo musicians who are contributing to "ReignDown USA," a compilation CD being released next month in conjunction with a national event planned by the ReignDown USA organization.

The album also will include a song written by Cape First worship pastor Brent Anderson, sung by his brother Aaron Anderson and performed by members of the Cape Girardeau church's worship team.

The song and a CD and DVD the church's worship team are working on are examples of how local musicians are devoting their talents to expressing their Christian beliefs. Other examples are a Christian music festival this weekend at Rhema Word Breakthrough International ministries and a new all-girl band at Centenary Methodist Church in Cape Girardeau.

The Rev. Gary Brothers, pastor at Cape First, suggested making the recording, the church's first. When Nashville producer Billy Smiley, who founded the well-known Christian pop group the Newsboys, heard the rough tracks he wanted Brent Anderson's song "Come and Reign" for the compilation CD. Cape First is the only worship team in the U.S. chosen for the recording.

The song also will be on the new DVD/CD the church is producing titled "To Know Your Heart." Eight of the 12 songs on the CD were written or co-written by Brent Anderson. Both are being recorded this weekend.

Jennifer Johnson Smith, who works in the church's media department, said it has been exciting to recognize the originality emanating from church's worship team. "It's one thing to cover other people's songs, another to do your own," she said.

The other members of the band are Scarlet Arnold, Lisa Borders, Ben Crass, Jennifer Crass, Angie Francis, Derek King, Joey King, Kristi King, Micah McDowell, Justin Schwartz and Jimmy Storck. Some are pastors in the church. Other occupations include a public works employee, interior designer, landscape contractor, operations manager, maintenance support and school teacher in addition to a college student and a high school student.

Brent Anderson and his wife, Sharon, have been involved in the International Worship Institute in Dallas for years. She has been the program director for the past four years. They met Smiley through the IWI.

Anderson has been playing the piano since age 3 and won his first talent show two years later. He began writing songs at 12. He wrote "Come and Reign" seven or eight years ago and performed it at the Southern California church where he was the worship leader.

He thinks this project is succeeding because the Cape First worship team gets along so well. "That's kind of abnormal for musicians," he said. "We've got the same focus and got the same goal. That's to see God lifted up and glorified. It's not about us. It's about him."

A music conference called "Recovering the Glory" will be held in Cape Girardeau this weekend. The featured performers and workshop leaders will be Atlanta recording artist B. Chase Williams, Memphis singer Shea Norman, Rhonda Pettigrew, an assistant minister from the Full Gospel Baptist Fellowship in Jackson, Tenn., and LaVeil Rucker & LeJu from Blytheville, Ark. The host will be R. Vashon Perkins of Cape Girardeau, who also will perform.

Other musical guests include Corey Barret, Olivia, OnePraise, Vocal, JT & Rebirth, True Praise, Javon Records and Mitchel Ford Jr. & the Worship Experience.

Perkins said the conference is aimed at people in music ministries. "It's a weekend for refreshing their purpose," he said.

The fifth annual conference will be held at Rhema Word Breakthrough International Ministries, 750 North Mount Auburn Road. It is co-sponsored by the city of Cape Girardeau. Ten churches from the region are involved in the conference.

An early service will be held at 7 p.m. Friday followed by a late night musical service at 10 p.m.

Workshops begin at 9 a.m. Saturday and continue until 1:30 p.m. The conference will conclude with another concert at 7 p.m. Saturday.

To register or for preferred concert seating, call 573-931-1020.

Alethia, a band at Centenary Methodist Church in Cape Girardeau, is composed entirely of girls in the sixth grade who decided to form a band before learning how to play their instruments. "I said 'That's not a problem. We can teach them to play whatever they want,'" said music director Denny Reeves.

Rachael Long, daughter of Centenary Methodist Church pastor Jeff Long, is the musical veteran in the group. She has played acoustic guitar for 2 1/2 years.

"Everybody picked an instrument that suits her personality," Rachael said. For example, her friend Bailey Kralemann. "She's crazy. She plays drums," Rachael said. Of course, electric guitarist Abby Boyer also "likes to go crazy."

Ally Hebert plays keyboards, sings and writes the group's songs. The rest of the members are Gabriella Knox on vocals, Ashley Westbrook on bass, and Emily Aden on keyboards. Only three of the girls attend the church.

Reeves confessed that the first few rehearsals weren't pretty. "Oh my gosh," he said.

Alethia is songwriter Allie Hebert's given name and means "the truth" in Greek.

But almost six months after they started playing together, the group performed before the church for the first time on Palm Sunday. "It was fantastic," Reeves said.

He isn't fond of the way boy bands wear coordinated costumes, so he instructed the girls just to dress in their normal Sunday clothes. They did, but decided one would wear one red, one yellow, one pink, etc. "I don't think Mr. Denny knew about it," Rachael said.

One of their two songs is going on a Christmas CD the church plans to produce. "It's so cool how it ignites this passion for music," Reeves said.

Come and Reign

Song Writer: Brian Anderson, Cape First Worship Pastor

Lead singer: Aaron Anderson

Singers and musicians: Cape First Worship

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