Editor
On Aug. 20 Southern Gospel band Canton Junction and GRAMMY winner Jason Crabb will hold a free concert in Batavia.
The concert, part of Canton Junction’s “Get Your Praise On” tour , will be held at Batavia’s Life Change Church at 6 p.m. Prior to the concert, the band will participate in a “Meet and Eat” event, where fans can purchase food from food trucks and eat with the artists before the concert.
The event is being held to benefit Sanctuary of Hope, an organization in Texas that is working to build an unwed mothers facility, an orphanage and a boarding school. Sanctuary of Hope was created by Pastor John Hagee and is an outreach of Cornerstone Church. John Hagee’s son, Matthew, is part of Canton Junction.
“That’s just something we want to bring awareness to,” said Casey Rivers, lead singer.
The mission of Sanctuary of Hope is something that is important to Rivers.
“I’m a dad of four beautiful kids and it’s my job as a dad to raise them up in Christ,” Rivers said.
He added, “I personally can’t imagine a child whose life has begun without the kind of leadership, that kind of support.”
The band members of Canton Junction really enjoy performing, but they especially enjoy the message they get to bring to concertgoers. Rivers likes performing at churches because there are smaller crowds.
“I enjoy going to these concerts and having a one-on-one with the people that decide to come,” Rivers said.
The tour also highlights a new project called Every Hallelujah, which was released almost a year ago.
“We’re still having a lot of fun with this,” Rivers said.
The title track says a lot about the entire project, he said, explaining that it is about how God deserves every bit of praise. The songs in the project showcase everyone in the group. The band members, Rivers, tenor Matthew Hagee, bass singer Tim Duncan and baritone Ryan Seaton all come from different backgrounds and have different talents, but they work well together.
Rivers has never been to Batavia before. The concert in Batavia will end a three day tour.
“We saved the best for last—Batavia, Ohio,” Rivers said.
Life Change Church is located at 4359 E. Bauman Lane.