1. Newsboys and Moriah Peters are hitting the road with evangelist Nick Hall for The Reason: A Family Christmas Experience, hitting 12 stops this month in a lot of snowy places like Michigan, Minnesota, the Dakotas and Wisconsin, among others. Fans are clearly excited, as half of the dozen scheduled shows sold out before the tour's opening night.
2. Famed Seattle-based record label Tooth & Nail Records celebrated their 20th Anniversary in 2013 and to document the last two decades, a film has been created telling the story of the label and artists. No New Kinda Story is a behind-the-scenes look at the rise, fall and rebirth of the iconic label. In addition to the film, there is a commemorative hardbound book with exclusive photos and artwork storytelling the last two decades. The documentary and book are available through Tooth & Nail Records.com.
3. Integrity Music recently honored Dove Award winning songwriter Jennie Lee Riddle in recognition of the gold certification of Riddle's inspiring worship anthem "Revelation Song" as recorded by Phillips, Craig & Dean. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified the song, commemorating over 500,000 digital downloads of the recording.
4. It's been a massive year of performing to sold-out and capacity crowds across the globe for Skillet, and the latest was during their first headline tour across Europe throughout October and November. Selling out 60% of the venues, including London, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Warsaw, Antwerp and Cologne, the band also packed houses in Stockholm, Zurich, Hamburg, Glasgow, and cities in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.
5. In what is easily one of the most entertaining lyric videos you'll ever see, Chris August has released a video for the song "Tell Me What You Want for Christmas," the single from his Christmas project, which is appropriately titled The Christmas EP.
6. Worship leader Kyle Sherman admitted one of his guilty pleasures: eating late-night bowls of cereal. In a photo posted to social media, he said last night he decided to combine Lucky Charms, Raisin Bran and Grape Nuts for one superbowl of supercereal.
7. Pastor, author and Integrity Music recording artist Danilo Montero received a Latin GRAMMY Award for Best Christian Album for his acclaimed project La Carta Perfecta (The Perfect Letter), during the 15th Annual Latin GRAMMYs held recently at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. This album has become one of Montero's most successful projects, debuting at No. 10 on Billboard's "Latin Pop Albums" chart and receiving nominations for a Dove Award and Premio Arpa (Harp Award), among other accolades within the music industry.
8. In a year that has been full of surprise Christmas releases, The Jellyrox (fronted by Eleventyseven's Matt Langston) has done it again, as the synth-pop wonder takes on Mariah Carey's bigtime hit, "All I Want For Christmas Is You."
9. Brad from Rapture Ruckus is at home in New Zealand, and there at his "mum's" house he stumbled upon his old toys, which revealed an awful truth: he must've went to McDonald's a lot as a kid. He found a collection of Muppet Babies happy meal toys, including his beloved baby Animal.
Quotes (3)
1. "Indifference towards evil is as insidious as evil itself." - Andy Mineo
2. "This Christmas choose to give Jesus the gift of you." - Tim Timmons
3. "Leading worship is more than just leading songs; it's pastoring the people." - CentricWorship
