Show Me Center expects at least 4,000 for Make a Difference Tour event

With an all-star lineup of contemporary Christian artists and one of the nation's most popular authors speaking, Sunday evening's performance of the Make a Difference Tour would figure to be a hot ticket.

Show Me Center marketing director Shannon Buford said word-of-mouth advertising will also be at work in boosting attendance.

"The folks that enjoy the music and what they do, they go out and tell every single one of their friends," said Buford, who is projecting attendance to top 4,000.

Christian music stars Michael W. Smith, Third Day and TobyMac headline the event, which will also have inspirational messages from author Max Lucado.

"You've got three Grammy Award-winning artists," Buford said about the trio of headliners. "Each of those individual artists could easily headline their own show. Whenever you get three artists of this caliber, it's a show that once people are aware of it, they want to come and see it."

Proceeds from the event benefit World Vision, a Christian relief, development and advocacy organization dedicated to helping children, families and communities in more than 100 countries overcome poverty and injustice.

The name of the tour comes from Lucado's newest book, "Outlive Your Life: You Were Made to Make a Difference." The book, released in September, challenges readers to use their lives to change the world for the better.

"Outlive Your Life" is the most recent of more than 60 titles penned by Lucado over the past 25 years. His books have sold more than 65 million copies.

The artists performing on the Make a Difference Tour represent the spectrum of genres within contemporary Christian music.

Smith, with career sales of more than 15 million albums, represents mainstream Christian music. Of his 21 albums released over a career spanning 27 years, 16 have gone gold and five platinum. Smith has won three Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2009.

Third Day's Christian rock music has produced album sales of more than 6 million to go along with 27 No. 1 singles. A longtime partner of World Vision, their efforts have resulted in the sponsorship of more than 22,000 children.

TobyMac won the Gospel Music Association Dove Awards Artist of the Year for 2008. He has won five Grammy Awards -- one four his solo work and four as a part of the group dcTalk. His music has strong elements of rap and rhythm and blues.

In addition to the established stars of the show, the Make a Difference Tour has also added a relative newcomer, Jason Gray, to the lineup. His album "Everything Sad is Coming Untrue" made CCM Magazine's list of top 10 faith-based albums for 2009.

The Cape Girardeau concert will be the fourth stop on the Make a Difference Tour, which began Thursday night in Youngstown, Ohio. Twenty dates have been scheduled through October.

Pertinent address:

1333 N. Sprigg St., Cape Girardeau, MO