It’s certainly an exciting time for GRAMMY Award-winning CCM artist Francesca Battistelli. This week, she took to social media to announce a new baby AND new music are on the way.

Francesca and husband Matthew Goodwin are expecting their sixth child, due in February 2022. “We are so honored and thrilled that God would bless us with another precious baby,” Battistelli posted. “Psalm 127:3 says children are blessing from the Lord, and we are incredibly thankful for this little baby!” The couple publicly shared the baby news on their 12 year wedding anniversary!

Fans can also expect a new single from the Grammy winner in less than two weeks. “God Is Good” will be available everywhere on September 10th. “I wrote this song several years ago for a friend who went through a devastating loss. It’s a song of hope,” Battistelli explained. “Through all the ups and downs of life, one thing remains constant…that our God is GOOD!”

“God Is Good” will be featured in her upcoming Pinnacle Peak Pictures feature film, God’s Not Dead: We the People, premiering in theaters nationwide in Fall 2021. God’s Not Dead: We the People is the next chapter in the popular franchise that started with God’s Not Dead in 2014. The inspirational drama centers around a riveting fight for freedom that starts in the heart of the country, and runs to the corridors of our nation’s Capital Washington, DC. It prompts audiences to ask the compelling question: if your individual liberties are threatened . What Would You Do? The plot parallels current news headlines regarding the challenge against the freedom of speech and religious liberties as the fundamental right to educate children.

Earlier this summer, the Care It Forward program by Cracker Barrel was launched to help amplify care and connection. As part of this initiative, Cracker Barrel also partnered with musical artists to help lead by example with small and large acts of care. We were able to talk with CeCe Winans, and her mentee, Tauren Wells, about their participation in the program.

Singer and Care It Forward partner Tauren Wells helped one special fan create the ultimate proposal moment. Josh Rivera and his girlfriend, Rebekah Facciuto, met at Cracker Barrel on Sept. 21, 2020, in a chance encounter. After meeting on the restaurant’s front porch, the pair decided to have lunch together and the rest, as they say, is history. The video of the proposal can be found HERE, on Josh’s Facebook page along with the cover photo of Tauren and the happy couple.

Since music is a major shared interest for the couple, Josh’s dream proposal was to have the couple’s favorite singer, Tauren Wells, perform their favorite song at Cracker Barrel where they met, and he reached out to the restaurant on a whim. Cracker Barrel jumped at the chance to care it forward and worked with Tauren to make this couple’s dream come true.

US Based Ghanaian Captivating Vocal Gospel Entrant Maureen Biniyam over the weekend was crowned US Based Discovery Of The Year at the just ended Ghana Music Awards USA.

Maureen Biniyam who’s known for her vocal dexterity and great song writing abilities added to her laurels a well deserved plaque of honor.

“Hello Friends,Family and Fans We Made It Together And I’m Here To Say Thank You Soo Much For Your Emerse support since inception of my ministry.” Maureen Said.

The Love Is Kind Crooner Found Herself in the same category with Sarah Sings ayeley jane dj wise und xray whitney dee jay U reyner kwame fredrickpicgh efua to which she emerged the winner.

Maureen who is blessed with the Gift of songwriting has lots of records to her credit.

Her recent single Your Name (Remix) is out and blessing lives.

Click Link Below to Be Blessed By Maureen’s Songs;

Apostle H. Daniel Wilson, Pastor of Valley Kingdom Ministries International (VKMI) in Chicago, and founder of the platinum-selling  group, Shekinah Glory Ministry, has launched a year-long transition that will welcome Ray Bady as the 5,000-member church’s new leader in 2022.  “I am not retiring,” says Apostle Wilson who has been the church’s pastor for 37 years. “So many only see two paths for pastors, either dying or retiring. Neither of these are on my radar just now. I will not take these gifts of God to the grave. This is not my end.  I’m just getting started.  Through Kingdom Entertainment Group, I’ll be creating film and  entertainment projects. There are more books to write,  more nations to minister in, and more revelations to release to the world.”

“Over the next year, I will talk, teach and impart everything that God has blessed me with over the  years,” Wilson says of  Pastor Bady, who began his career as a recording artist, and as a drummer for gospel stars such as Yolanda Adams and Marvin Sapp. “The first four months will be observational as Ray watches what we do,” Wilson says of what he calls #TheBluePrint which  can serve as a succession template for other ministries. “Then, the following four months will be participatory as he joins in, and the final months will be implementation as he takes the reins.” 

“Most of my life, I’ve been on assignment to help build the Kingdom on earth as it is in Heaven,” says Bady, a Windy City native who’s currently a Youth Pastor at Windsor Village Church in Houston, Texas. ” I left Chicago, 16 years ago,” he recalls. “Apostle Wilson laid hands on me, to give me the apostolic go ahead to do the work I’ve been blessed to do for these past years in Texas. It is now time for my `next’ assignment, and that assignment is to come back to the city that raised me and live out what Jesus told Peter in the book of Luke, `Help strengthen my brothers.’” 

VKMI is known throughout Chicagoland not only for its teaching and music ministry, but also for its community work. Its Hattie B. Williams Food Pantry has served over a million people over the last three decades. The church also has programs that raise money for educational scholarships and to help ex-offenders reacclimate to life after incarceration. The Cook County Department of Public Health has been hosting vaccination drives at the church on the weekends. “At the beginning of this pandemic, our team bought 50,000 masks and gave them out at police stations, fire stations, hospitals, and nursing homes,” Apostle Wilson says. “We donated other essentials such as gloves, sanitizer, and food too, to help people get through this rough time.” 

VKMI is also known  throughout the world as the birthplace of the worship music ensemble, Shekinah Glory Ministry. For the last 20 years, they have been  hailed as pioneers of urban worship music with five R.I.A.A.  gold and platinum certifications for projects featuring signature songs such as “Praise is What I Do,” “Jesus,” and “Yes.

Gospel crooner, Jason Nelson‘s first album in three years, Close (Jaelyn Song Music /Tyscot / FairTrade), has debuted at No. 5 on the Music Connect Current Gospel Albums sales chart for the week ending August 20^th.  The twelve-track set features a mix of soulful, up-tempo tracks, as well as the solid worship ballads for which he’s known. The album’s first radio single, “Residue,” is currently No. 8 with a bullet on the Billboard Gospel Airplay chart. 

Close is Nelson’s most adventurous music collection yet. It boasts up-tempo R&B-styled tracks such as “Close” and “Show Me the Meaning.” Then, there are also poignant worship ballads like “Holy,” “What A Name,” and “Breathe.” Osby Berry, known for his collaborations with Cross Worship, shows up for the anthem-styled praise and worship track, “You Are.”

Grammy® winning R&B star, Chrisette Michelle’s velvet-like vocals blend seamlessly with Nelson’s golden tone on the wispy track, “Absent Minded.” It could easily fit into a playlist of R&B ballads such as “Best Part” by Daniel Caesar and H.E.R. or “Say So” by PJ Morton and Jojo. As a bonus, the album closes with a stripped-down acoustic rendition of the song.    

Another gem on the album is a cameo by one of Nelson’s musical heroes, Grammy® winning bassist , John Patitucci. He and Nelson trade bass notes on the ethereal, “Absent Minded Outro.”

Over the years, Nelson (who is the  pastor at  The Tab in Windsor Mills, MD) has enjoyed a string of gospel radio hits such as “Shifting the Atmosphere,” “Nothing Without You,” “I Am” and “Forever” that have earned him over 100 million digital streams.

Get the “Close” album here: https://smarturl.it/JNClose

Award-winning artist and songwriter Ryan Stevenson has announced a new fall tour. His ‘Weathering The Storm Tour’ will feature special guests Tasha Layton and RICHLIN. The tour is set to kick off on September 23rd in Ivanhoe, TX and run through October 30th with a stop in Hagerstown, MD. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit ryanstevensonmusic.com.

Last month, Stevenson released his new Weathering The Storm – The Music EP via Gotee Records. The six-song project is available now and includes new songs (“Mosaic,” “Take Me Back”), along with reimagined acoustic takes from a few of his well-known hits, such as “Eye of the Storm” and “When We Fall Apart,” which now features Vince Gill and Amy Grant.

Stevenson was inspired to release Weathering The Storm – The Music while on the road this past year with his “Home Concert Experience.” As a way to provide a unique concert experience during the many unknowns from the pandemic season, Stevenson ended up performing more than 75 concerts around the country, bringing an acoustic live show to fans’ living rooms or backyards. The “Home Concert Experience” allowed him to connect more personally with fans while also sharing moments from his recent book release, Eye of the Storm: Experiencing God When You Can’t See Him (Harvest House).

Singer-songwriter and author Ellie Holcomb announces the upcoming release of her first devotional book: Fighting Words – 100 Days of Speaking Truth into the Darkness (B&H Publishing), on October 15, 2021. Named after one of her hit songs, “Fighting Words,” Holcomb has penned a journaling devotional book filled with encouraging, honest reflections and questions to help you process scripture. Fighting Words is a place where you can wrestle, respond to, and take hold of precious truths in God’s Word to help you push back the lies that so often consume, distract, and destroy us.

“Fighting Words is more like an invitation than a book,” explains Ellie Holcomb. “It’s an invitation to come as you are and lie down in the green pastures of God’s Word. It’s an invitation to bury some treasure in your heart as we memorize God’s Word together, and my hope is that this book will feel like a companion who will meet you where you are, come alongside you, and help you know that you’re not alone. I think the main content of this book is God’s Word and your heart!”

Nearly a decade ago, Holcomb began memorizing Scripture with a friend of hers that was battling depression. They started committing God’s Word to memory and called these verses their “Fighting Words.” She has continued to do this with her music that is scripture-based and on her socials, she has shared regularly #FightingWords of encouragement for her community.

“As we memorized Scripture together, it started changing us,” Holcomb shares. “It didn’t change our circumstances, but it gave us some solid ground to stand on when the shame storms started rolling in, and it ultimately gave us a shelter and a hope that no matter what we were facing, we were never alone. It’s been one of the most transformative practices of my life, and it felt too powerful to not invite others to join me! I started sharing different scriptures that have grounded me and guided me and whispered hope in the darkest nights of my soul on Instagram over three years ago almost every Friday, and the comments and community that has gathered around the warmth and light of these promises from God’s Word has been so beautiful. This is what inspired this book!”

This devotional marks her first book for adults as she has previously released two best-selling children’s books through B&H Publishing Group (Don’t Forget to Remember, 2020 and Who Sang the First Song, 2018). With these books, she spent several months on the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) juvenile bestseller list and was a finalist for Christian Book of the Year in the children’s category (for Who Sang the First Song). She also released accompanying EPs with each picture book and was nominated for both for the GMA Dove Award for Children’s Project of the Year, which she won in 2020 for Sing: Remembering Songs.

Multi-award-winning artist and songwriter Zach Williams is getting into the holiday spirit this week, announcing his upcoming Christmas tour!

The ‘I Don’t Want Christmas To End’ tour will feature special guest Anne Wilson and speaker Blake Neesmith of Food for the Hungry. The tour is set to kick off on December 2nd in Troy, OH and run through December 18th with a stop in Springfield, MO.

Tickets go on sale Friday, August 20th. For more information, click here.

After alerting his fans that he’s finished recording his new album, Andy Mineo, dropped “MPJ Freestyle,” a sneak preview to warm fans up for the release of his fourth studio album, Never Land II, a follow-up to his Never Land EP which was released in 2014.

If you are wondering what’s been on Andy’s mind, this song is the answer. Mineo doesn’t keep a diary, instead he put it all into the music. The “MPJ Freestyle,” continues that tradition. “I recently developed a friendship with Denver Nuggets/NBA player, Michael Porter Jr. (MPJ) and we have a lot of private conversations about the sports and entertainment industry and how it tests our faith,” shares Andy. “So I dropped a line in the song ‘Lord keep your hand on MPJ that he goin’ keep his pants on and behave. There’s a lot of married men in the NBA who got shorties in cities on NDAs,’ alluding to one of our conversations.” The two buddies went live yesterday and talked about the verse! During the conversation, Mineo asked MPJ how he maintains his faith amidst all the temptation. You can watch for MPJ’s answer in the live, click here. The songs are actually about more than MPJ, it’s a peek into Andy’s mind and all the things he’s been thinking about lately.

In the conversation, MPJ, who now hosts The Curious Mike Podcast, also asked Andy Mineo how he feels being a white rapper in the overwhelmingly Black hip-hop industry. Mineo took the time to candidly answer, stating, “I think when you appreciate and don’t appropriate, it’s a very different response. I know that I’m a guest in this whole [hip-hop] thing. Hip-hop is formed from Black Culture and I get a chance obviously to honor the culture that I’m a part of, show respect, and also be able to get in and do my thing. Because of my respect for hip-hop and because I’ve been about it, it’s a very different response.”  The two also talked about contracting Covid-19 despite being vaccinated. Andy who is scheduled to head out on tour expressed his hope that his quarantine would soon be over so he can hit the stage! The tour ironically kicks off in Denver on September 21st and the two will continue the conversation on MPJ’s Podcast, “Curious Mike.”

Stream the “MPJ Freestyle” now: https://andymineo.lnk.to/MPJYT!

Iconic multi-platinum, singer and songwriter Michael W. Smith has re-recorded and is re-releasing his #1 highest-selling album of all time, Worship, in honor of the 20^th anniversary of the album’s release on September 11, 2001. Worship Forever will re-imagine the album from start to finish, this time, with a full symphony orchestra.  

Worship Forever was recorded in front of a live audience at Allen Arena on July 12, 2021 in Nashville, TN and will be released on September 10, 2021.

Smith was joined on-stage for this special recording by friends: Amy Grant, Matt Redman and Tauren Wells.

Originally released on September 11, 2001, Worship offered hope during a time of despair and mourning.

Smith says, “The Worship record was a special one for me.  From the recording live in Lakeland, Florida – to the release on 9/11– the day our nation was attacked.  I’ve seen God use those songs and that music in ways I could have never dreamed.  I’m so excited, now, to be reimagining this record – start to finish – with a full Symphony Orchestra.  This is a very special recording from an incredible night.”Worship Track List:

1.    Forever

2.    The Heart of Worship feat. Matt Redman

3.    Draw Me Close

4.    Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

5.    Open the Eyes of My Heart

6.    Above All

7.    Breathe

8.    Let It Rain

9.    Agnus Dei feat. Amy Grant

10.  More Love, More Power feat. Tauren Wells

11.  Surrounded, Waymaker

12.  Forever (reprise)

13.  Bonus Track: Sing Again