Steve Fry's Mission is two-fold:

1. To restore to the Church the centrality of Christ, and,    
2. To awaken in the Nations a passion for God.

His music and lyrics reflect a prophetically-motivated expression of devotion. And Fry's devotional books, Safe in The Father's Arms and God, Who Heals Our Heart will inspire you to know God's character. 

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Fry - the son of a minister - cut his teeth as a youth pastor, a position that he held for ten years. "We started with a handful of kids, but eventually grew to 800 members. It was an exciting time. Worship was such a big part of what we did," he says. Ministering to such large numbers of youth in the mega-church environment has enabled Fry to address strategic issues to the body of Christ here in the 90's. 

Fry's experiences as a youth pastor also germinated the seeds of his missions ministry work. He helped to form Messenger Fellowship - a program that started with 12,000 young people as a two-week outreach program in L.A. during the 1984 Olympic Games. It has since become a network of pastors, missionaries and worship leaders throughout the world. 

During the summer of '96, Fry's third musical, Thy Kingdom Come, and his latest musical, Storyteller, were performed in Malaysia in church settings as well as in a school and at a busy shopping mall - and were received with overwhelming response. Storyteller is an 18-minute presentation of the Gospel that has been specifically designed for the local church to perform in schools, at the mall, in the park, or wherever crowds are gathered. 

A.D. 2000 and Beyond, the movement which spawned 1995's historic Global Consultation on World Evangelism (GCOWE) conference in Seoul, Korea, is also close to Fry's heart. Over 4,000 hand-picked delegates from 186 nations - Catholics and Protestants - met at the GCOWE conference to discuss the task of completing world evangelism by the end of the millennium. Fry's song, Song Of Many Sounds, was chosen as the conference's theme song, because it expressed its mission: "A church for every people group and the Gospel for every person by 2000 A.D.." He was thrilled to play a part in such a momentous event, and was encouraged by the conference's findings. 

"I was very surprised - as was everyone - to see how much the church leadership is shifting to the developing nations," Fry says. "The breakthroughs that the church is experiencing is nothing short of phenomenal. It's happening rapidly. We may not achieve world evangelism by 2000 A.D., but I'm certain that it will happen within the next ten years. We are within touching distance of Matthew 24: 'And this Gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony of all nations, and then the end will come.'" 

Fry lives in Nashville with his wife, Nancy, and their three children. 

  Steve Fry's Top Nine Q And A 

1. How did you get involved in Contemporary Christian Music? 
   I was a youth pastor for almost ten years. I started when I was 18 years old. We actually had one of the largest youth groups on the West Coast - about 700 young people. Because of our size we were able to do a lot of different things. Start rock bands, tour with musicals, produce rock operas. So music was always a primary part of my life. I began writing songs when I was in high school. In fact, as a senior, Karen and Richard Carpenter's mentor noticed some of the material I was writing and gave me great encouragement as to a musical career. From those early days of songwriting I just kept working at my craft until God opened the doors to Sparrow Records about 12 years ago. Since that time I've had the privilege of doing 6 recordings.
   
      
2. What musicians or artists have most influenced you? 
   I was actually a child of the 70's, but found myself drawn to some of the 60's influence. Like most people, the Beatles influenced my musical taste a great deal. Also, Simon and Garfunkel, Bread and some of the songs that David Gates used to do. I was also shaped a lot by musicals - Cats, Les Miserables. In fact, some of these influences can be felt in my recording, Thy Kingdom Come, which is like a mix of Hosanna Integrity! and Phantom of the Opera. I've also been musically impacted by the great hymns of the church like, Praise to the Lord the Almighty and All Creatures of Our God and King.
   
3. Are you married and do you have kids? 
   Yes, I have a lovely wife, Nancy. We've been married 20 years and we have three kids. Cameron is 11, Kelsey is 9 and Caleigh is 3 years old. We have a super time together - in fact, the two older kids get to travel with me on a ministry trip at least one time each semester. It gives them a real taste of what a road warrior does.
   
4. What books or authors have influenced your life? 
   The Biography of George Whitfield by Dallimore; In the Name of Jesus by Henri Nouwen; Reece Howell's Intercessor; and anything by A.W. Tozer.
   
5. If you could say one thing to Christians that would impact their lives what would it be? 
   Proverbs 4:23: "Guard your heart for out it comes the issues of life.". At the end of the day, what we do by the grace of Jesus to keep ourselves free of bitterness, unforgiveness, jealously, impurity and so forth is the most important thing we can do to maintain a life of joy, peace and effectiveness.
     
6. How did worship become such an important part of what you do? 
   As a youth pastor I found out early that what attracts people, whether they're 18 or 88, is the presence of God, and that the key to sensing His presence was to spend time worshipping Him, and cultivating a sensitivity to Him. Worship is the key, I think, that allows truth in the mind to seep deep into our hearts.
     
7. How is my music unique?
   First, I think that the music I write is usually the overflow of insights and encouragement that I have received from God. For many, writing music is their work, to some it is their art, but to me, it is the way I encapsule the passion I have for God and His purposes. Another thing I try to work at is crafting meaningful lyrics. Whether it's a pop tune or an anthem, I try to capture in my lyrics meaty truths from the word of God which can give voice to the passions and experiences many feel but cannot always express.
   
8. Where do I see my ministry ten years from now? 
   My mission statement is: Awakening in people a passion for God and summoning the church to the centrality of Christ doing one or more of these three things: First, I will continue to be involved in creative communications in all of its forms: music, book writing, musicals, producing teaching series on video and so forth, all for the purpose of awakening in people a passion for God and summoning the church to the centrality of Christ. Second, I would most likely be giving leadership to a full-orbed ministry center which would take this mission statement and see it fulfilled through the training and sending of ministry teams, fine arts teams, the printing of periodicals, newsletters, videos and communication in all its forms. This ministry center may stand on its own or it may be the overflow of a local church. Which comes to my third thing and that is the possibility of pastoring a work. I was an associate Pastor for ten years and there is something of that in my blood. It's quite possible that as a Senior Pastor I could create a context in which such a ministry center could be birthed as well as continue to give voice to my mission statement with the variety of communications tools God would give me.
   
9. What do you see as the biggest concern regarding the church today?
   I think the single biggest issue facing the church worldwide is this: is Jesus Christ the Lord of His church? Perhaps a better way to put this is are we letting Jesus be the Lord in His church? The truth is that for many of us, from our individual lives all the way up to the highest church councils, there is much that we need to adjust. From the way we relate to our families, to the way we relate to unbelievers, to the way we conduct church business meetings, to the way we make our political influence felt - in theses arenas and so much more it is not enough to try to do God's work...we must endeavor to do God's work His way. And that way is always the way of the cross. It is the way of meekness, the way John the Baptist so eloquently expressed when he said " He must increase, I must decrease". I am encouraged at the signs of spiritual vitality in the church, the growing prayer movement across the land, the increased appetite for unity, the fresh thrusts into the regions of the world which have not felt the gospel's impact. Yet in and through all of this, we still need to be alert to those areas of pride and self-seeking which can ultimately undermine our efforts. The kingdom way is life's great paradox: the weak are the strong, the small are the great, you die to live, you lose to find. When we do God's work God's way, I suggest that we will be to the world a credible demonstration which supports our passionate proclamation. 

   C O N T A C T   D E T A I L S 
   Address: P O Box 474 
   Brentwood TN 37024-0474 USA 
   Phone: (615) 370-1322 
   Fax: (615) 370-1323