The Go Show to present national Christian bands

The concert will be sponsored by Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

By Sam Blackwell ~ Southeast Missourian

The first Fellowship of Christian Athletes office in Southeast Missouri opened in Sikeston, Mo., last August. Since then, director Travis Smith has been visiting schools that already have "huddles" and others where students may want to join the organization.

Currently there are 20 huddles among the 150 schools in Smith's 18-county region. "We're just breaking ground," he says.

He hopes The Go Show, a March 25 concert at the Show Me Center by nationally known Christian bands Audio Adrenaline and MercyMe, will draw attention to the organization.

"We wanted to give them a taste of what Southeast Missouri FCA can do for them," Smith said.

The show is co-sponsored by FCA, the Show Me Center and Poplar Bluff, Mo.-based Cheerful Heart Ministries. Tickets go on sale Friday.

Smith played basketball at Southeast Missouri State University from 1994 to 1998. He was the captain of the Southeast huddle his junior and senior years. Before moving back to Cape Girardeau, he taught in private schools in his home state of Indiana. He is a year away from earning a master's degree in counseling at Southeast.

Despite its name, not all members of FCA are athletes. "It's not just for the athletes. It's for the student body," Smith says. "... We use the platform of athletics to spread the gospel to anybody that will receive it."

Local huddles

Locally, Central High School has an FCA huddle Smith is meeting with this morning. Jackson High School has a huddle that is not yet registered, Smith said. A huddle is being formed at Notre Dame Regional High School.

Students from fifth grade through college can belong to FCA. Typically, the members hold a morning meeting before school once a week and sponsor one event per month. A huddle coach, preferably a coach who teaches at the school, supervises the group.

The presentations are nondenominational. "We just present the pure, simple gospel," Smith says.

The Show Me Center doors will open at 5:30 p.m. on March 25, an hour before the show starts. Before the concert begins, two collegiate members of FCA will talk about their own experiences as Christians.

Award winners

Audio Adrenaline has sold more than 2 million albums and has been nominated for three Grammy Awards. Audio Adrenaline's sixth CD, "Lift," produced three No. 1 radio singles: "Beautiful," "Lonely Man" and "Ocean Floor." The band's newest album is titled "Worldwide."

The band has 15 Dove Award nominations, winning for Music Video of the Year ("Big House") in 1996 and Rock Song of the Year ("Get Down") in 2000. Dove Awards are the Christian music equivalent of the Grammys.

MercyMe has recorded two albums, "Almost There" and "Spoken For," but the group has been together as a band for eight years. The band's "I Can Only Imagine," a tune frontman Bart Millard wrote for his deceased father, was nominated for a Dove Award in 2002.

Also on the bill are newer and heavier bands Kutless and The Swift. Kutless has been nominated for a Dove Award this year for Best Rock Album.

The tour is named for the Go Foundation formed by Audio Adrenaline and MercyMe to help publicize worthwhile mission organizations. Their hope is that members of the audience will volunteer to help these groups.

sblackwell@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182