WHERE
THERE IS
FAITH
WRITTEN BY BILLY SIMON
RECORDED BY 4HIM ON 4HIM (BENSON, 1990)
PRODUCED BY JONATHAN DAVID BROWN
1993, 1994 AND 1995 DOVE AWARDS—GROUP OF THE YEAR
Consider this: a new group hits No. 1 on radio with the first single it ever releases, garners successful sales on a debut album and is voted “Best New Artist” by the Gospel Music Association the following year. Talk about making a good first impression! It sounds improbable, but that’s exactly what happened when four friends—Kirk Sullivan, Marty Magehee, Andy Chrisman and Mark Harris—formed 4Him and released their self-titled debut album. And, as if the story couldn’t get any better, the group wasn’t even a “real,” touring group at the time the song hit No. 1. As Chrisman explains it, they were still touring members of Truth when the song released.
While just having the opportunity to perform and record as 4Him was a miraculous blessing to the four, the discovery and recording process of “Where There Is Faith” was equally special. Chrisman says 4Him’s A&R contact, Andy Ivey, had the song— after it had been passed around to several “A”-level artists—and begged the group to record it. While they agreed to record it, no one was anxious to sing it because it was completely different from anything they’d heard. But Chrisman stepped up to the plate; and, only hours before having to get back on the road with Truth, he went into the studio.
As he describes it, “I literally went in and ran through that song maybe four times, and I had to leave to go to Atlanta. And the guys were behind me about 12 hours. They went in and threw some background vocals down on it. You know, crazier things have happened, and it turns out to be this great song that starts our career. We still sing it every night.”
“When we got married, Jack was my manager. We traveled together; we did everything together. But Jack started to have more and more problems with his health. I was in one of the darkest, deepest times when he was feeling so bad that he had to start staying home. Suddenly I was out on the bus by myself. And I remember sometimes everyone else would have gone to bed, and it was just me and the bus driver. And I’d be sitting up front just weeping and listening to ‘Where There Is Faith’. That song was just pouring into me encouragement and hope and strength.”
TWILA PARIS