The three who do it for Him

Marcia Rowe,  Gleaner Writer

Simply Chrysolite, Kirk Franklin and Junior Tucker talk about their ministries

On Saturday, a number of musicians gathered. The purpose was to use their discipline to minister for the Lord. And the Best Dressed Fun In The Son closing concert provided the ideal platform. At various points of the event, The Gleaner spoke to three of the performers, Simply Chrysolite, Kirk Franklin and Junior Tucker. All three differ in background, but have one commonality, and that is their love for and belief in spreading the gospel.

A week after burying his mother, Junior Tucker had to do what no caring parent ever wished for, to bury a child. She was diagnosed with a brain tumour two and half years earlier.

Naturally, as a Christian he prayed for divine healing. The result must have rocked his faith, but did it?

"It shook it. And still shakes it," was his honest reply. But he relies on a particular aspect of Peter's story from The Bible to keep his focus.

As a result he has found he is at "that place in God that you come to; that you say 'God if you don't heal me. I still love you God' (weeping) that is Christianity. That is where I am. Yes, it makes me stronger."

And his advice to Christians who are going through similar problems is not to turn away from God and to surround yourself with true friends.

Tucker, who is finishing seminary studies and doing a degree in psychology, with a minor in pastoral, is travelling and ministering. He has recently released his fifth album titled Man of God. "It is doing well."

Kirk Franklin, who was visiting Jamaica for the sixth time, has lost a mother too, his adopted mother. He has also released a new album, Hello Fear. The title was as a result of his childhood where, according to him, he "was living under a cloud of fear".

He explained what the cloud of fear is. "Just being adopted and not having a history of family, it kinda have me living in a lot of uncertainty, because my mother and father have left me. And that can scar a child so I kinda live with a lot of scars. And by God's grace, I made it through."

And so he has. He is an author, a musician and a producer. The Gleaner wanted to know which of the three he considers to be the most powerful form of ministry.

"I hope all three. I hope that the three media will give the opportunity to communicate to people in different ways. That's what I am trying to do. I am trying to use all of them to communicate what I believe is true anyway I can. I just try to get it out there."

On the other side of the spectrum of the musical ministry are six university students - Dolce, Dhav-vetoh, Prewty, Phunzile, Mavongi and Thaviso from South Africa.

In 2007, they auditioned to be part of a ministry choir, and from then the six became the group Simply Chrysolite.

Perhaps the reason for their selection was because of their pure voices and their beautiful harmony.

This was evident in their performance at Fun In The Son Concert at the National Heroes Park.

Wearing traditional Zulu costumes, they gave an impressive performance of three songs, a medley done a cappella, the title song of their album and Lord, I Love You.

"I was just impressed, what a great harmony. I do not know how famous they are to be quite frank with you," said Christopher Levy, president and CEO of Jamaica Broilers.

But their main mission is not to only produce great harmony, but "to target the young and bring them to God. So we are hoping that God will use us, to take us to the four corners of the world to preach the gospel."

The group was visiting Jamaica for the first time and thought Jamaicans colourful. They also believed that "by the grace of God" they will return to Jamaica one day.