Bishop Gary Hawkins, Sr., pastor of Voices of Faith Ministries, always begins his sermons with four words that are familiar to his congregation: “There is a Word…” These days, the bishop is uplifting God not only with a Word from the Scriptures but with a spiritual song he has composed. Bishop Hawkins and Voices of Faith’s choir has been working on “You Kept Me” along with a collection of other songs that the church is producing to mark the church’s 20th anniversary. “We are excited about our first CD project! We are celebrating 20 years of ministry and thought how fitting to honor God with a worship CD. This is a small token of our appreciation and love to God for blessings us with 20 years of tremendous ministry,” said Bishop Hawkins. “There are some incredible songs on this CD that will bless many! We have written songs that are both traditional and contemporary. We want every one to experience the move of God.” The independent project is a collaboration of the choirs from each of Voices of Faith’s seven locations, including its main campus in Stone Mountain. The Baton Rouge, LA congregation traveled to Atlanta for the celebration. The CD has 12 songs that written mostly by members of the congregation and Bishop Hawkins. In addition to “You Kept Me,” Bishop Hawkins wrote two additional songs for the CD, "In The Right Place" and "Where Is Your Faith". Bishop Hawkins said he was inspired to write “You Kept Me” while reflecting on God’s grace and mercy. He said he was driving around town in his home of Baton Rouge, LA after preaching there when he began to thank God and give Him praise for everything. He said he pulled off on the side of the road on his way to his mother's house and jotted down the words that filled his heart. He sang the tune over and over and as soon as he arrived at his mom's house, he contacted his personal musician, Mark Barry, who listened and then put the music to his vision. “I have never written a song before, but I clearly heard from God. This song, “You Kept Me” was written from my trials and triumphs. God reminded me that all I had been through, He kept me,” said Bishop Hawkins. Reggie Croslan and Jyrin Cox were the producers on the CD. Music Composers were Mark Barry and Christopher Moten. Pastor Miah White and Princess Rouche-Cox along with Rachel James did an outstanding job preparing the choir. Bishop Gary Hawkins is the Executive Producer on the CD. “The CD caters to everyone—from 6 to 75. There are great praise and worship songs, great spiritual songs, upbeat songs. It’s just a balanced CD that reflects Voices of Faith’s ministry,” White said. “You can put the CD in and listen to it from the beginning to the end and not want to skip any of the songs.” “We’re doing this as an independent project, but we’re believing God for a label for national distribution,” White said. Voices of Faith Ministries’ recorded live on June 7, 2014 at 7 p.m. at our Rockdale County location, 1290 Sigman Road, Conyers. All are invited to the free concert.