Jonathan McReynolds, Jonathan Slocumb, & More LIVE

New Life Fellowship celebrates 25 years

New Life Fellowship has been serving Andrews University and the Berrien Springs community for 25 years by creating a worship culture that centers around providing “a new Love, a new Integrity, a new Faith, and a new Experience.” Now, to celebrate its 25^th anniversary, New Life Fellowship will be holding a concert on October 8 at 7 p.m. (doors open at 6:20 p.m.). The concert, which will be held in the Howard Performing Arts Center, will feature performances by Jonathan McReynolds, Jonathan Slocumb, Sharona Drake, and Trey “Andale” Williams. Tickets are $20 and must be purchased ahead of time at whoozin.com/newlifeau. Tickets will not be available at the door.

Jonathan McReynolds has become a major Christian contemporary music and gospel artist. His debut album was released in 2012, and he has since produced a second album as well. Having grown up playing music, his career took off in 2009 when his recordings were discovered by a local radio station. He had created a CD as a gift to his family for Christmas, and then posted the tracks on Facebook as well.

“One morning I woke up to 10 missed calls on my cell phone because one of my songs had just been played on the radio," recalls McReynolds. "I called into the radio station and the deejay invited me to his church. I went to the church and sold a thousand CDs in one day and things took off from there. I literally woke up and was an artist.”

He then signed to Light Records and the Entertainment One Music label and has been performing ever since.

Known for his clean comedy, Jonathan Slocumb has achieved world fame and has received The Stellar Honors Award. Slocumb’s career as a comedian had its roots at Oakwood University, where he was student class president as well as a campus radio personality. After deciding to follow his passion for comedy, he progressed from local venues to more famous ones like Def Comedy Jam and Comedy Central, leading him to a deal with Warner Brothers. He has appeared in “The Steve Harvey Show,” “Meet the Browns,” “Groundbreaking Comedies,” and more. He has also been sought out for advertising Aretha Franklin’s tour and Michael Jordan’s “The Jordan Brand” launch.

Sharona Drake has found many ways to serve in the urban missionary field in Chicago. She has been manager and artist developer to numerous artists and record labels in the music industry such as Viktory, The Legacy Conference, Thi’sl, Terence Clark and Committed, and she has led out in church music ministry at Fellowship Chicago. In her own music, which combines the best traits of country, folk, pop, rap, gospel and soul, she shares biblically inspired messages that raise awareness of the plight of the culturally marginalized. Sharona is also founder and director of PEARL, a female mentorship organization situated in North Lawndale in Chicago.

Trey “ANDALÉ” Williams is a unique artist in the Christian hip-hop genre. Originally from Nashville, Tennessee, ANDALÉ excels at heartfelt delivery and passion in his music. He has four independently published albums and two critically acclaimed mixtapes, and has worked with famous producers in the music industry, many of whom are Grammy Award winners and nominees. Soon he will have his first major release, Elizabeth Road.

For more information about this event email Michael Polite, associate chaplain for Andrews University, at politem@andrews.edu. 

Related Links:

• Learn more about New Life Fellowship
• Campus Ministries at Andrews University 
• Upcoming events at the Howard Performing Arts Center
• Who is Jonathan McReynolds?
• Read more about Sharona Drake
• Meet Andalé