Jesusfreakhideout.com Music News, May 2014: Bethel Music's "You Make Me Brave" Becomes International Hit

BETHEL MUSIC'S YOU MAKE ME BRAVE BECOMES INTERNATIONAL HIT,
WORSHIP MINISTRY'S HIGHEST CHARTING ALBUM EVER

Recording Becomes First Billboard Top 10 For Bethel Music,
Tops Multiple Retail Charts With 13,800 Copies Sold

"Experience One Of The Most Powerful And Prophetic Worship Albums Of The Decade,"
Says Charisma As You Make Me Brave Receives Wide Critical Acclaim

Bethel Music "Midwest Worship Nights" With Steffany Gretzinger, Amanda Cook,
Matt Stinton, Hunter Thompson Begin May 22 in Pittsburgh

NEWS SOURCE: Hoganson Media
May 1, 2014

Bethel Music, the worship ministry of Redding, CA-based Bethel Church, released the highly anticipated You Make Me Brave CD/DVD internationally April 22 through Fuel Distribution. The album launched in its debut week at retail to No. 10 on the Billboard Top 200 chart, becoming the highest charting retail debut ever for Bethel Music (TIDES Hit No. 30 Sept. 2013) and selling nearly 14,000 copies. You Make Me Brave also hit No. 1 on the overall Top Christian/Gospel Albums Billboard retail chart, while breaking into the Top 5 during the week on iTunes® in the US, Canada and Australia, and hitting the Top 25 in the UK and Top 100 in Germany.

Chronicling the worship experience during a three-day women's conference held at The Civic in Redding, CA, the album features songs that were written independently and later led at the conference by a gifted team of worship leaders, including Jenn Johnson, Kari Jobe, Steffany Gretzinger, Amanda Cook, Kristene DiMarco and Leah Valenzuela. Remarkably, although written at different times, the songs all bring a common message that God is present, forever and is eternally for you, to give you strength and to make you brave.

In addition to the sales success, more than 170 iTunes five-star average fan reviews have posted so far as the critics similarly rave:

"Experience one of the most powerful and prophetic worship albums of the decade…I am convinced that Bethel Music's You Make Me Brave (available now on iTunes) is a landmark worship album. The songs powerfully and prophetically speak of the season that God is ushering the church into… Every track on You Make Me Brave is truly exceptional. Nothing feels arbitrary or randomly placed on the recording 'just to take up space.' Pick up the CD or order the digital download, expecting nothing less than a refreshing and empowering encounter with Jesus, the Champion of Heaven!" - Charisma News

"These stellar songs are excellent reminders to cling to our Anchor, Jesus… all reflect the yearning for Jesus to make us brave…Every song completely focuses me as a listener on joining in praise, worship and adoration of our beautiful King Jesus…" - NewReleaseTuesday.com

"This album was born at a women's conference but carries a message for the whole church…that God is present, forever standing for you, and eternally loving you in order to give you strength and to make you brave. The accompanying DVD further defines these messages and provides vibrant visuals to inspire the worship experience…songs are deeply personal and powerful…a must have for your worship collection." - AllAboutWorship.com

"These are songs of powerful praise and encouragement for the Church and the exhortation to us all to embrace the bravery of God…even though this was recorded at a 'women's conference,' this album and its powerful worship easily transcend any perceived gender boundaries. This is strong and powerful stuff and it's led by a virtual who's who of worship leaders and songwriters who deliver this set of twelve vertical tracks with desperate passion." - Soul-Audio.com

"When I first heard of this project, I was hesitant as I wasn't sure if the absence of male vocalists…would hinder this project, however the girls of Bethel Music have proved me wrong, with stellar songwriting and equally poignant worship leading, drawing people into communion with God…A brilliant album…A must buy on iTunes!" - ChristianMusicZine.com

The DVD that accompanies the You Make Me Brave CD provides vibrant visuals to inspire the worship experience. The full CD/DVD combination can only be found at physical retailers, including Walmart (http://bit.ly/QFXAX8), Amazon (http://amzn.to/RTapy1) and Family Christian (http://bit.ly/1mI4ZjE).

The new live album follows Bethel Music's TIDES LIVE, which immediately shot to No. 1 on iTunes' Christian/Gospel chart when it released Feb. 25, and Bethel's first-ever studio album, TIDES, which released Sept. 3, 2013 and also hit No. 1 on the overall Top Christian/Gospel Albums and Praise & Worship Billboard retail charts amidst unprecedented international acclaim.

Taking the new music from You Make Me Brave, TIDES and worship favorites, like the 2013 Dove Award nominated "One Thing Remains," to the masses, Bethel Music has seen capacity crowds across the South, East and West Coast in tour cities like New York City, Los Angeles, Washington DC, Cleveland, Atlanta, Las Vegas, Seattle, Nashville and Portland. Continuing its tour, Bethel Music's "Midwest Worship Nights" events with Steffany Gretzinger, Amanda Cook, Matt Stinton, Hunter Thompson and more will be held in Pittsburgh, PA (5/22), Kalamazoo, MI (5/23), Milwaukee, WI (5/25), Minneapolis, MN (5/26), Indianapolis, IN (5/27) and St. Louis, MO (5/28). For all the latest tour detail, go to http://www.bethelmusic.com/worshipnights.

"Our heart for Worship Nights is to partner with what God is doing in communities around the world and see Heaven invade earth," says Joel Taylor, Director of Bethel Music. "Join us for an authentic night of worship, encouragement and prayer as we love God together and pursue His presence."

About Bethel Music:
Bethel Music, is a worship ministry that formed as an organic extension of Bethel Church in Redding CA. Over the last four years, Bethel Music has grown from being a local church music ministry to becoming a global outreach featuring a cadre of songwriters and worship leaders, a half-dozen CDs, chart-topping songs, and both online and on-campus worship schools. The heart of Bethel Music is to be a steward of the worship being created and released at Bethel Church, making it a resource available to the world. In addition to the thousands of people that attend Bethel Church's weekly worship services, another 100,000-plus people subscribe to the online stream of the services at www.ibethel.org. More about Bethel Music can be found at www.bethelmusic.com, www.facebook.com/Ibethelmusic and www.twitter.com/bethelmusic.

About Fuel Distribution:
Fuel Distribution/Tonetree Music, a division of Fuel Music & Management, LLC, is one of the leading independent distributors of Christian music, CD's, tapes and vinyl records internationally and enjoys a growing base in artist merchandise sales. Based in Tennessee, the Fuel team brings nearly 50 years of combined music industry experience in record label operations (Furious? Records), record distribution and marketing (EMI Label Group), and artist management for artists ranging from upstart bands to Dove and GRAMMY Award nominated, multi-platinum artists. More information on the company can be found at www.thefuelmusic.com.

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For more info on Kari Jobe visit the JFH Artists Database.