Tommee Profitt at a concert earlier this yearTommee Profitt made sure that a questioning reporter understood: this will not be his "final ever" concert.

"I would die if I ever had to completely give this up 100 percent," said the singer-songwriter-producer-worship leader.

"It's just our final publicly promoted concert as the Tommee Profitt Band," he said of his Fri. Oct. 16 performance (details below).

Eventually the time will come. The time when a parent and an adult child will need to have the talk. No, not that talk. That discussion should have happened around middle school age. This is the talk about a parent's financial situation as it relates to retirement and any future medical care.

Credo Communications President Tim Beals is a sought-after conference speaker as well.Tim Beals launched his company, Credo Communications LLC, 10 years ago because he believed there was need to bring Christian authors' words to life. It's a mission that continues to burn bright this very day.

A decade later, the Christian book publishing world continues to undergo changes, but this much remains clear to Beals: readers possess an ongoing hunger to move them from where they are to where they can belong in their walk with Christ.

A sculpture bearing a Bible verse is one of the top 20 vote-getters in Art Prize 2015. "Rolling Down," a 24 foot tall wooden waterfall quoting Amos 5:24 is one of five finalists in the competition's three-dimensional category.

It was created by the "Kroeze Krew" which consists of Kuyper College president Nick Kroeze, his sons Nicholas and Nathan, and son-in-law Chet Glass.

Art Prize officials Sunday (10/4) announced the leaders after the first round of public voting in four art categories in which 377, 302 votes were cast. Round two voting continues until Thursday night Oct. 8. Winners will be revealed in ceremonies on Friday evening, with the winning entry's artist(s) receiving $200,000 (details on how to vote online.

Newly consecrated Bishop Marvin Sapp (r.) is flanked by his daughters Mikalia and Madisson as he receives the right hand of fellowship at ceremonies last July.Lighthouse Full Life Center Church in Grand Rapids is inviting West Michigan to celebrate the consecration of its pastor Marvin Sapp to the role of Bishop in Global United Fellowship (GUF).

The October 9 gala at the Amway Grand Plaza in downtown Grand Rapids includes a reception and dinner, music from gospel star Karen Clark Sheard and guest speaker Bishop J. Delano Ellis of GUF, a group of Christian ministries which includes the Lighthouse church.

Formal ceremonies marking Sapp's new role were held in July at the organization's annual meeting in Jacksonville, Fla. "That was a grand affair with all of the litanies that go along with consecrating a bishop," said Sapp, 47.

Potter’s House Roosevelt Church cutline No. 1: Potter’s House Superintendent John Booy stands in front of Roosevelt CRC with some of the school’s students.The Potter’s House has recently purchased the building where the interdenominational, multi-ethic Christian school got its start more than three decades ago.

Potter’s House Superintendent John Booy said the school closed the sale on the former Roosevelt Park Community Christian Reformed Church, located at 811 Chicago Dr. SW, in Wyoming, on Aug. 31 for $375,000. He does not expect the school to be in debt long-term. At press time, donors have all but paid $7,200 on the purchase price, Booy said.

The building was constructed in 1950 when it was then known as Grandville Avenue Christian Reformed Church and was renamed Roosevelt Park Community CRC in 1994.

West Michigan singer-songwriter and worship leader Rick Hopkins has a new six-song, vocal & acoustic solo project titled “Where the Road Will Lead Us.”

With his latest effort the artist has determinedly built upon the foundation of his earlier albums.
The overall theme of the new release is faith-inspired community and service.

The opening “Hold My Hand” sets the stage with its combination of Hopkins’ warm vocals and pleasing guitar. The message urges holding on to faith for the long haul as we follow amazing grace to the place “where the road will lead us.”

Quentin Schultze has spent his career teaching, studying and writing about communication in all its forms. He knows what works and what doesn't, and now shares that knowledge in his new book.

"An Essential Guide to Interpersonal Communication: Building Great Relationships with Faith, Skill, and Virtue in the Age of Social Media" was released earlier this month by Grand Rapids-based Baker Academic, a division of Baker Publishing Group. Schultze will speak about and sign copies of the book at 7 pm Thursday, Oct. 1, at Baker Book House.

"This book is going to help you be a wise, good and effective communicator amidst all of the messaging noise from texts, Facebook, email, Pinterest, Instagram and all the others," said Schultze. "It will help you navigate through all of if it."

West Michigan Christian News writer Terry DeBoer surveys the landscape for the area's faith-based arts and entertainment events over the coming month. Here are three highlights for October:

Paradise LostArtPrize 2015 has more than 1,500 works of art on display at 160-plus venues across three square miles of Grand Rapids.

Since Rick DeVos founded it in 2009 in what he bills as a radically open, independently organized international art competition, ArtPrize has inspired a number of artists to create drawings, painting and sculptures with subtle and overt Christian themes.

This year is no exception.

One of three panels of Joel Schoon-Tanis work “Life: New Life: Full Life”Andrew Norden is in on the ground floor of his church’s first foray into the world of Art Prize. Crossroads Bible Church, 800 Scribner Ave NW just north of downtown Grand Rapids, is an official venue for the seventh annual community art competition which awards hundreds of thousands of dollars to winning artists.

“It’s a lot of work – we anticipated that,” said Norden, who is part of a church team led by community life pastor Brad Klaver. “Being our first time (as part of Art Prize) new things have popped up but we’re finding our way through it quite well, I think,” he added. Art Prize officially opens Wed. Sept. 23 and runs through Oct. 11.

Sarah StacilauskasWhen God called Sarah Stacilauskas to Africa, he told her he would show her something she was looking for.

"He took me down this long road (in Uganda) to a school for orphans that was supported by widows," she recalled of her trip last May.

And now the determined Byron Center native - age 35 and a widow herself – has launched Project 616: an effort to help connect with and support the rural African school with nearly 200 needy, orphaned students.

Part of that campaign is a Sept. 19 concert/benefit auction titled "WHOA! – Widows Helping Orphans in Africa" featuring several area Christian music artists (see details below).

The Board of Master Arts Theater is pleased to announce that we have appointed Tim Van Bruggen as the new Executive Director, effective November 9, 2015. Priscilla McDonald will continue in her role as Artistic Director, but Tim will assume many of the responsibilities formerly handled by her, including organizational leadership and implementation of the Strategic Plan.

After careful consideration and numerous interviews of a dozen candidates, each with unique qualifications, and after much prayer and reflection, we selected Tim Van Bruggen as the one best suited to take up the particular administrative and leadership responsibilities as Executive Director.

Sharon Garlough Brown, author of the bestselling "Sensible Shoes," will be at Baker Book House on September 24 to talk about her newest novel, "Two Steps Forward: A Story of Persevering in Hope."

This sequel continues the stories of Hannah, Meg, Mara and Charissa, the characters who embarked on spiritual journeys in "Sensible Shoes." Each one faced her own struggles in life, and each one grew and changed, with their stories continuing into the new novel.

"The desire to write was a way to process what was going on in my world," said Brown, who is co-pastor with her husband Jack at Redeemer Covenant Church in Dutton. "The dream went dormant for a long time, until I finally that the sense that it was the right time."

Andi Rozier of Vertical Church Band is a presenter at The Worship CollectiveFrom his perspective as a musician and worship leader, Jordan Koller knows the importance of volunteers in assisting a body of believers in worship.

And in an effort to better equip volunteers with teaching and training, the worship arts pastor at Ridge Point Church in Holland has helped create an event titled "The Worship Collective."

The sessions of workshops and music labs is set for Sat. Oct. 3 at Ridge Point, 340 140th Ave. Holland (see details below).

The 6,000-square foot former medical center is across the street from where City on a Hill is located.City on a Hill executive director Gary Ellens said the Zeeland-based ministry has purchased a former medical building for a "significantly less" cost that will enable it to offer additional space to the community nonprofits it refers to as its ministry partners.

"Realistically we're maxed out," Ellens said of the 100,000-square foot building that formerly was Zeeland Community Hospital located at 100 Pine Street. COH purchased the building in 2006.

West Michigan Christian News writer Terry DeBoer surveys the landscape for the area's faith-based arts and entertainment events over the coming month. Here are three highlights for September:

(l to r) Kristie Newkirk, Calvin College intern Meghan Bogema and Karen Petchaucr work together selling cookies at the Rockford Farmers Market. On Saturday mornings, Kristie Newkirk and Karen Petchaucr stand underneath a canopy along with Calvin College intern Meghan Bogema at the Rockford Farmers Market selling what is arguably some of the tastiest homemade cookies in West Michigan.

If you're calorie-counting, these hefty cookies are not for you. But if you don't mind indulging your taste buds, you will not regret munching on cookies with hard-to-resist flavors that include peanut butter chocolate ganache, salted caramel chocolate chunk, lemon dream (in the summer) and oatmeal berry (in the fall), molasses ginger and mint meltaways. The cookies are sold four to a package for $6. For June and July alone that translates into selling $5,000 worth of cookies.

I once heard someone say that if you always compare yourself to others then there are more opportunities to make excuses. When I heard that, I thought how true that statement is when it comes to evaluating your marriage, family and your life in general. It's so easy to either boost yourself up or tear yourself down depending on your perspective.

Dove Award nominee Francesca Battistelli comes to West Michigan Nov. 21Looking over the nominations for the 2015 Gospel Music Association Dove Awards, it appears that West Michigan will get more than its share of concerts from award-winning artists.

Nominees in the major Dove categories were announced earlier in August at a Nashville press conference. Award ceremonies are set for Oct. 13.

Artist of the Year is considered the most prestigious award, but there are also categories of top artists in the genres of contemporary Christian, gospel, Southern gospel, and best new artist.

Local teen talent Jasmine Hurtado has issued a new inspirational-pop CD titled "Sparkle." She hosted a special release concert in July at Resurrection Life Church in Grandville.
The bouncy title song expresses the desire that her faith would "sparkle for all the world to see."

The mixture of uptempo and ballad selections includes a side trip with "One Word" and its shades of a country-folk beat! Also differing in approach is the closing "Bought By Blood," with its ethereal background vocals.

Rahi Solanti works full-time spreading the gospel in Farsi on two websites he oversees.Rahi Solanti is a seeker of truth. Correction, make that he was a seeker of truth.

Following an intense, personal search for truth, Solanti embraced six years ago the eternal salvation Jesus Christ's sacrifice on the cross makes possible. His life has not been the same since.

Now, he's works full-time at Seventh Reformed Church, 950 Leonard St. NW in Grand Rapids where Dr. Tim J. R. Trumper is the senior minister, to do his part in helping to shepherd Muslims living in Iran and elsewhere to accept the good news of the Gospel.