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The contemporary gospel group Spirit-Led is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a live recording of its newest CD, “Faith” and is inviting the community to attend.

“We’ve had so much support from this area,” said the group’s director Lannie Robertson. “This allows the community to celebrate with us.”

The live recording will be at 5 p.m. Oct. 17 at Monument of Faith Ministries in Eden. Though the group is based in Eden, its membership includes singers and instrumentalists from Greensboro, as well as Martinsville, Eden, Reidsville, Madison and surrounding areas.

Produced by Cedric Thompson of Charlotte, the CD will include a few songs the group has done before, but mostly new music.

An Eden native and McLeans­ville resident, Robertson co-founded the group in 1989 after participating in one of Reidsville’s city-wide revivals. Robertson and others saw a need to unite churches and the youth in the area.

“I approached the gentleman over that event and asked him if (singers from the various church groups represented) could continue as a community choir,” Robertson said.

The choir has about 30 members, including Robertson’s sister and brother-in-law Douglas and Valerie Akins, sister Andrea Byers and brother Monte Robertson. Akins is principal of Aycock Middle School.
The siblings started singing and playing in church.

“I was taught to play piano by my mom, and all my uncles and aunts were musically inclined,” Robertson said.

Through the years, Spirit-Led has traveled up and down the East Coast performing in churches, at seminars and at music conventions. The group has won awards, including the Waljo Gospel Music Awards’ Choir of the Year and Band of the Year.

Robertson said working with Spirit-Led started as a hobby for him. In the blink of an eye, the group went from singing locally in churches to recording music, having it played on gospel radio and traveling to perform. The newest recording is the group’s 10th CD.

“We have always strived to take the approach that we’re not just performers but ministers,” Robertson said. “We want to point people back to God.”

Member Marcus Holley believes many lives have been touched by Spirit-Led.

"Doing concerts and singing is awesome, but watching people changed by the presence of God is real," he said. "There is nothing more real than people crying out for help and deliverance, and there is nothing more real than being a part of making that happen.

Akins described the group as a true family and said her participation over the past 20 years has strengthened her faith.

“In a time when people are faced with challenging situations and what appears to be helpless and hopeless situations, I hope that by hearing the messages in our songs, they will understand that there is hope. And, because of that hope, they can overcome anything that they are faced with,” Akins said.
Twenty-year member Andrea Byers agreed.

“If people listen to the lyrics, there is a positive message of hope, love and peace,” she said. “I truly believe we can minister to others because we are familiar with the circumstances that many are enduring.”

Byers appreciates the group’s close-knit, family dynamic.

“From a child, I was taught to love God, to serve him, to help others, and coming from a musically inclined family, I also love to sing,” she said. “We all have found the true meaning of friendship while participating in this group, which is unconditional love.”

A member for 12 years, Charlotte Garrison joined Spirit-Led as an outlet for herself, as well as to minister to others, after her mother died.

"Spirit-Led has been a blessing to me in so many ways, and I have grown so much spiritually," she said. "You cannot be Spirit-Led with junk following you, and that is the greatest change over these past 12 years."

Twenty-year member Tena Dillard had similar sentiments.

"Being a member of this choir has changed my life drastically," she said. "Being part of an annointed group of ministers is truly a gift given to me by God."

Although a few original members of the group have passed away over the years, many original members have stayed.

“It’s unusual for a gospel group to remain and perform together for such a long period of time,” Robertson said.

He attributed the group’s longevity to “finding favor with God.”

“We’re a group that loves doing what we do,” he said.

Many in the group have been called into the ministry, including Robertson, associate minister at his church.
He is not sure what the future holds for Spirit-Led but feels certain the group will continue to reach out to the community.

“I think we may turn our focus more toward ministry, but we will keep the door open to minister through song,” Robertson said. “I think we’ll have to be led by God as we go into the future.”

Contact Jennifer Atkins Brown at 574-5582 or jennifer.brown@news-record.com.