New Breed Singer Comes to Forefront

Stacey Joseph's voice is becoming more familar to fans nationwide.Some of the recognition is due to Israel (Houghton) and New Breed's Alive in South Africa CD. Midway into song number 5. "You've Been A Friend," he calls the Baton Rouge native by name to lead the song--and to nobody's surprise she blows the song off the chart! With her first CD project completed (Prayer Time), a budding ministry, and a personal memior Finding my way, Joseph returns to Baton Rouge and Hammond Nov. 30 and Dec 1 for the 2007 Word and Worship Experience Concert. The concert is free and will be held at Fellowship Tabernacle in Baton Rouge and Higher Heights Fellowship in Hammond.

Like many singers, Joseph's start was at local churches--Greater True Love, Greater King David, and White Stone baptist churches in Scotlandville-- and with Greg Jones and God's Children.Her memior, Finding My Way, shares her lifestory growing up in Baton Rouge being raised by two sisters and the scars of fatherlessness, innocence, and bankruptcy. Moreso, the book intertwines her life with steps, questions, and devotions for the reader to join her in praying through their own situations. The book sets the path for a fullcircle return home, to the Father and to her true calling of ministry over music.

However, Joseph said it is now--and has been--her music that gives vehicle to her ministry. Since age four, she has used her strong alto voice to open hearts to the message of God which has taken her across the ntion and to Africa, Bermuda, and Europe. In middle school she lead youth choirs and praise and worship. In high school, she and friends Jennifer Walker, LaGretta Ellerson, Jenell Dillon formed the female group Chosen and sung locally at as many Christian venues that they could muster between school and church activities.

At 32, her solo performance brings a unique sound to gospel for the thirty-something-too-young-for-traditional-too-old-for-hip-hop-gospel lovers. She is is steadily becoming a stand-out performer in her own right. She has sung for renoun performers Shirley Ceasar, Marth Munnunzzi, Yolanda Adams, Prophetess Juanita Bynum, Kelly Price, Rizen, and Sheila E. She also sings on various artists' projects including Mary Alessi, Lakewood Church, Karen Clark-Sheard, Micah Stampley, and Bishop Jakes' "He-Motions".This month's Word and Worship Experience concert series is her brain child, designed to " unite worship and justice in order to impact change in our communities and the world." Although the concert is free, Baton Rouge attendees are asked to bring school supplies to be donated to children tutored at the historic Cape Coast Castle in Ghana, Africa. Hammond attendees are asked to bring baby care items for local crisis pregnancy care centers. She has rallied together a host of ministers, gospel performers, and visionaries for this night of intimate worship, relevant word exhortation, prayer, fellowship and generosity. Special guests ministers Marvin Anderson will join her in Baton Rouge and Jarvis Crockerham in Hammond.

But Joseph's talents do not start and stop with music, she is an astute business woman and president of Kingdom Girls International (www.kingdomgirls.org) a female mentoring program whose mission is to help young women ages 14-24 build better lives through abstinence training, career planning, outreach initiatives and mentoring.She has founded Stacey Joseph Ministries and J. Stacey Music. Joseph the Songbird is led to churches and prisons to sing and where Joseph the Messenger, can deliver specific insight and teachings from her own Bible studying. Then, there are the weekly telephone prayer meetings. Every Wednesday night at 9:30, prayer seekers and prayer warriors call into a designated line to join her in prayer. With the amazing support of Kingdom Girl mentees Tana Hamler and Monique Bivens, Joseph can smoothly manage the prayer requests of those on the call and those left electronically. Some callers bring requests and "ironically" some are there quietly to stand in the gap and help the prayer through, she said.

The prayer line has received live calls in from as far as London. The prayer time is personal and intimate, Stacey herself prays directly to the request which has included spouses needing recommitment, college students seeking wisdom, mothers with sick children needing healing, church members standing in the gap for capricious pastors, men seeking comfort through AIDS diagnosis, and fearful mothers-to-be. To know Stacey is to know that if she feels lead to add insight to the prayer, she will talk directly to the seeker immediately after the prayer. Then it's on to the next request until she had brought the request to God. One frequent caller from Baton Rouge said the prayer time is a phenomenal experience. Stacey can take modern technology to bring old-fashioned prayer time. The conference call praying began late this fall following the summer release of her first cd, Prayer Time.

"Stacey is a true worshiper. The rare kind. The one the Father seeks. Her songs of praise are for Him and her actions of praise minister to His people. From our days together in Baton Rouge till now, her song of love has not changed. One can always expect worship in spirit and in truth when hearing Stacey for she knows no other way to worship. As she lifts up her heart to Him in worship, He stretches out His hand of compassion through her to heal all who are oppressed. For God is with her," said musician and pianist Kelbert McFarland.

Since Prayer Time, Stacey has received rave reviews and GXL magazine has named her a 2007 Influential Men & Women in Ministry, Business & Entertainment. The CD is sold independantly on her myspace page, through Kingdom Girl venues, and at live performances with Israel and New Breed.

Joseph said she plans to travel the world carrying the anointing that will minister and proclaim the "simple truth that salvation is free to all who call upon the name of the Lord." Joseph wants people to know that Jesus loves them and He is concerned about what concerns them. She said she is now called to pray and sing while this vision comes to pass but "the gift of music ministry is more than runs, chords, bass lines, CDs, tapes, and concerts. It is breaking through the walls of discouragement, confusion, distraction, hurt, weakness, discontentment, and distress, piercing the heart of man with the word of God through song."

She has plans to build the Kingdom Girl House for pregnant teens and develop chapters across the country. The Word and Worship Experience events are rapidly becoming a strong force of Stacey Joseph Minstries (www.staceyjoseph.com) with major focus on more charities. The J.Stacey Music Group label will release her sophomore praise and worship album in 2009.