Also following suit in an effort to merge a heart for worship with social justice, this month’s release of Change the World (Munizzi Music) from Martha Munizzi has a humanitarian focus. In addition, Munizzi is partnering with several organizations in conjunction with the project, and the proceeds will benefit a plethora of struggles in India.

One group Munizzi is working with, Humanity (humanityforall.com), links art and worthy causes, allowing all who participate tangible opportunities to make a difference.

A Place Called Hope

Spend a little time with Steven Curtis Chapman, and it’s impossible not to talk about his family, which includes three beautiful little girls (8-year-old Shaohannah, 5-year-old Stevie Joy and 4 year-old Maria) that he and his wife, Mary Beth, adopted from China.

And thanks to his story and the work of his foundation, Shaohannah’s Hope (shaohannahshope.org), Chapman gets to hear other people’s stories on a nightly basis when he hits the road.

“It’s remarkable how God has used our story to inspire others,” Chapman shares. “Through the efforts of so many generous people, they get to show hope to the orphans of the world, which is really the heart of God.”

According to Chapman, every 18 seconds a child becomes an orphan, an alarming statistic that inspired him to act, not only by adopting himself, but by helping others who want to follow suit. Through Shaohannah’s Hope and the recent “Change for Orphans” campaign on Chapman’s current “Live in This Moment Tour,” more than $16,000 was raised in Houston, Texas alone.

“Change for Orphans really underscored the message of my album—what can we do now?” Chapman says. “There’s an exciting movement that’s happening, and we want to help as many people as we can to experience the joy that we have through adoption.”

C’mon, It’s Urgent!

For a multi-faceted artist like tobyMac, it’s racism that gets him all fired up in regard to social justice. So he started E.R.A.C.E, (erace.org), an organization that provides education about racial reconciliation and fair trade. For the members of Caedmon’s Call, their work through the Dalit Freedom Network (dalitnetwork.org) has forever changed the course of its ministry. Just ask them, and you’ll be amazed.

And for Delirious’ Martin Smith, the recent Compassionart retreat (compassionart.co.uk) was the realization of a seemingly impossible dream that was a year and a half in the making. Not only did everyone from Michael W. Smith to Israel Houghton to Matt Redman join together to write worship songs in Scotland to benefit the poorest of the poor, but 100 percent of the proceeds from future album sales, etc. will be transferred to the social causes of their choice—certainly a crazy notion that happened to work through God’s intervention.

While social justice may seem like a job that ordinary people like you and me don’t have enough of a platform for to be successful, Caedmon’s Call member and solo artist Derek Webb is quick to refute that. “There’s a lot of confusion, especially among believers about what it means to follow Jesus,” Webb shares. “For better or worse we, the body and followers of Jesus, are in constant dialogue with culture, often as much in what we’re not saying and doing…if for no other reason (of which there are plenty), this is why we must listen to the words of Jesus telling us that of all the commandments, the greatest are to love God and our neighbor.”