Five Christian Bands Scheduled to Play in Amarillo

By: Rachel Nelson
For Edge Monthly

Several bands from the Christian music scene will be making a joyful noise in the Church at Quail Creek San Jacinto Baptist in upcoming months.

The Casting Crowns’ Lifesong Tour will make its way through Amarillo on Thursday, October 13. One thing’s for certain: lead singer Mark Hall and other band members will not miss youth night the previous Wednesday at their home church near Atlanta, Ga.

Christian Music Planet Magazine reported in the October issue that the Casting Crowns have a calling for youth ministry. The band’s popularity does not interfere with their ability to be there for the kids. They offer spiritual leadership to young people by “shattering the cooler-than-thou barrier between teens and grown-ups,” the article reported.

Opening for the Casting Crowns will be Building 429, who take their name from Ephesians 4:29.
“Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers” (KJV).

“It’s quite simple… the words we choose to use do have an impact. Every single word that you choose is a word that will either lead a person to a closer relationship with the Lord or direct them away from any knowledge that you might have of Jesus Christ,” the band’s web site, http://www.building429.com/, explains.

Guest speaker Tony Nolan will offer words of encouragement at the show.
Tickets to the concert may be obtained in advance at Family Christian Bookstore, LifeWay Bookstore, The Church at Quail Creek and http://www.tcqc.org/. Prices range from $18 to $40. Groups of 15 or more may obtain balcony seats for $15 each.

The fun’s not over yet. The Restored Tour 2005 will make its stop in Amarillo Thursday, November 3. Featured artists will include Christian music legend Jeremy Camp, 16-year-old singer/songwriter Bethany Dillon and the Afters, who are returning to the Panhandle for the second time this year. The Afters have been popularized on MTV for their song “Beautiful Love,” which is being played on mainstream radio across the country.

Bethany Dillon, a small-town girl with a mighty mission, is a fairly new voice to Christian music. She popped up in 2004 with her hit single “All I Need”, and credits God for all she has accomplished.

“Even in the moments when I want to give up, when I want to just be careless and act my age and not feel the responsibility that God has given me, I can’t help but feel the desire for Him. I can’t help but try to follow Him. And even that desire is from Him. I couldn’t do that by myself,” Dillon said.

Like other Christian artists, Dillon said she does not let her fame get in the way of her everyday walk with Christ.

“I’m trying to learn how to listen to people and how not to think that this is all I am,” Dillon said of her life in the spotlight.

“It’s not going to change the fact that at home I’m going to put away the clean dishes, and I’m going to have to be nice to my siblings. It encourages me, but it doesn’t define me,” she said.

The Church at Quail Creek seats 2,500 people, so there is plenty of room for fans across the area to enjoy the upcoming evenings of praise and worship. For more information about either show, visit www.tcqc.org.