Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Jeremy Camp launches "Speaking Louder" Ministries

Staying true to his heart and passion with the recent release, "Speaking Louder Than Before," BEC Recordings Artist Jeremy Camp launches new ministry aptly titled "Speaking Louder Ministries." The debut of this ministry is a direct correlation to the November 2008 release, which has already sold more than 120,000 units. In addition, digital downloads exceeding 100,000 singles of the emotional radio hit song "There Will Be a Day," which resonated strongly with listeners. This week the song remained at No. 1 for the 13th week at AC Indicator. It also stayed at No. 1 for 9 weeks at CHR.

The purpose behind "Speaking Louder Ministries" is two-fold: Bringing a raised awareness to the local outreaches in the cities that Jeremy Camp performs. Secondly, helping equip the church body and local community to get involved in ministry together impacting the needs of their community.

Last weekend marked the first outreach in the local markets for Speaking Louder Ministries. Jeremy performed concerts in Sioux Falls, SD, Minneapolis, MN, and Fargo, ND. At each local level, the partners with Speaking Louder promoted the concert and a local organization to meet the needs of the community. Through the site, volunteers were recruited and greeted concertgoers collecting the goods that were requested for the organization.

In Sioux Falls, SD, the Speaking Louder Ministries raised awareness for the McCrossan Boys Ranch. This boys' ranch houses more than 60 young men ranging from ages 10-17 years old, who have been displaced by family or lost a parent. After visiting the ranch, Camp and the volunteers gathered winter clothes for the boys at the concert that evening.

The following night in Minneapolis, MN, the ministry joined with the Minneapolis Children's Hospital. Camp visited with the children and families as well as performed songs at the hospital. The community was asked to bring Valentines of some form (stuffed animal, card, candy, etc). The overwhelming response generated in more than 30,000 Valentine's items being donated. Such a huge amount collected that the local radio station KTIS was able to take items to needy schools and daycares. Finally in Fargo, ND, Churches-United Homeless Shelter received more than 1,000 pounds of food donated through the concert.

This ministry will be an ongoing outreach to the communities Jeremy Camp visits throughout the year and specifically as he tours in the fall. Beginning March 17th in Billings, MT, Jeremy will be touring on The Rock & Roll Worship Roadshow featuring MercyMe, Hawk Nelson and Tenth Avenue North and Addison Road. Tour dates found on Jeremy's site.

Speaking Louder Than Before: The pinnacle of 2008 for this male vocalist was releasing his fifth studio album co-produced by himself and Brown Bannister. The album debuted on Billboard 200 at No. 38 along with the No. 1 new release on the Billboard Christian chart after street week. Digital purchases shot "Speaking Louder Than Before" to No. 11 on the overall iTunes chart and No. 1 on the Christian albums chart. Billboard also labeled this album as his "best work to date," which clearly fans agree as it has moved his career sales to over three million units.

About Jeremy Camp: Since his debut BEC Recordings' project in 2002 (Stay), Jeremy Camp has made a definitive mark in the industry with his ability to compose hit songs and capture audiences of all ages selling more than three million records. Following his Gold-selling debut, Camp has released four additional studio projects (Carried Me: The Worship Project, Restored, Beyond Measure and Speaking Louder Than Before), which have garnered a total of three RIAA Gold-Selling albums. With 17 career No. 1 radio hits under his belt, Jeremy Camp is clearly a powerhouse on the radio waves nationwide across all formats (CHR, AC, INSPO, and Rock). Jeremy is now the artist with the most consecutive No. 1 singles at AC Monitored since 2003 when R&R began their Christian chart. He also received the No. 2 Song of the Year in 2008 with "Let it Fade," which remained in that No. 1 position for more than 10 weeks. His most recent single "There Will Be A Day" hit the top on three formats on AC Indicator, CHR and AC Monitored. Jeremy Camp has also been honored with multiple Dove-nominations and five awards, a 2007 American Music Award nomination, and three-time ASCAP Christian Music Awards "Songwriter of the Year" (2008, 2006, 2005) winner including "Song of the Year" (2006). In 2008, Jeremy Camp was voted for the fifth consecutive year in a row by readers on Christianity Today's music site as the "Best Male Artist."

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