Lincoln Brewster's Christmas album and tour bringing hope to children in the Congo
SACRAMENTO — Singer/songwriter, worship leader, guitar virtuoso and Integrity recording artist Lincoln Brewster is helping provide urgently needed resources to children in one of the poorest areas of the world. Brewster's proceeds from Joy To The World—his best-selling, critically acclaimed debut Christmas recording—and his Christmas tour will be donated to the Covenant Kids Congo initiative, the artist recently announced.
In addition, a limited-edition Fender Stratocaster guitar, played in concert by Brewster and featuring artwork by renowned performance painter David Garibaldi, has been auctioned at each tour date to further aid the strategic outreach effort.
A partnership of World Vision and the Evangelical Covenant Church in the United States and Canada, the Covenant Kids Congo initiative targets child sponsorships in the Equateur Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a region ranking last on the United Nations Index of Human Development. Monthly sponsorships will help children, their families and the community receive clean water, education, healthcare, food resources and economic development.
“Ultimately Christmas is a celebration of the greatest Gift ever given, so we wanted to do something we’ve never done before and make this all about giving,” Brewster says. “When we heard the story of this particular area of the Congo—where they often don’t name their kids until they are at least 3-years-old because the infant mortality rate is so high—we knew we had to do something to help. The bottom line is that parents in the Congo love their kids like we love ours and in many cases just don’t have the ability or means to do anything. Clean water and food should not be privileges; they should be something every human being has access to.”
Joy To the World, Brewster’s debut Christmas recording, released in October, spending two consecutive weeks in the Top 5 on Billboard’s Holiday Albums chart and debuting at #1 on iTunes Holiday Music - Top Albums chart. Crosswalk.com says, “…these are not your Grandma’s Yuletide carols. Lincoln Brewster is known for his creative songwriting and expertise on the electric guitar, and these talents prove luminous in Joy to the World, his eighth studio album.”
Brewster’s “Joy To The World” Tour launched last month in Palm Springs, California, to a capacity crowd and hit multiple cities before concluding December 9 in Henderson, Nevada. Later this month, Brewster will oversee the music for Christmas services at Sacramento’s Bayside Church, where he serves as worship arts pastor. Last year Bayside held 17 special Christmas services drawing more than 41,000 people.
Lincoln Brewster is a Dove Award-nominated worship leader, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter. His 2010 Integrity/Columbia Music recording Real Life debuted at #1 on Nielsen SoundScan’s Praise & Worship Albums chart. In addition to his role at Bayside Church in Sacramento, Brewster regularly leads worship seminars and workshops around the country. Follow him on Twitter @lincolnbrewster.