NASHVILLE – Christian music has always been woven into Amanda Patterson’s life. Raised in a Kentucky Baptist family filled with music, she grew up surrounded by song as her father served for years as a worship pastor while her mother and four siblings all shared the same passion.
Music opened doors for Patterson in her teens and early 20s as her profile in Christian music circles continued to grow. Then, at age 30, everything changed. First, it was a Stage IV colon cancer diagnosis, followed by thyroid cancer that threatened to take her voice. Over the next year she went through eight months of chemo, six weeks of radiation and five surgeries.
What once looked like a bright future suddenly became uncertain, but her faith never faltered.
Through the crisis, Patterson leaned on God, her church family and countless people who prayed for her. She had met her future husband, Reid, a little before the cancer diagnosis and gave him an out in the new relationship. He instead asked her to marry him. Today, the couple has an 8-year-old daughter even though doctors did not expect her to be able to have children. God had other plans.
K-LOVE Kids project
Now Patterson is writing a new chapter as the creator behind K-LOVE Kids, a new social media platform that launched May 1 with the goal of connecting children to faith through fun, Christ-centered content.
The vision is to create a trusted place where children can engage with music, videos and shows that point them to Jesus.
Patterson said the opportunity came because of a connection with Tom Stultz, CEO of the K-LOVE radio network. They both have roots in Greenup County, Ky.
“We connected because nobody is from where we’re from,” Patterson said. “We knew all the same people, had a bunch of people in common.”
They also both had an interest in ministry to kids. Patterson was overflowing with ideas that she had played out in her mind for years.
“I’ve had this idea of bringing music to kids, especially in the Christian world, for a very long time,” she said. “There’s not a lot that exists, especially doing cover songs. I pitched what I thought it could be and he (Stultz) loved it.”
Patterson said Stultz’s belief in the project made K-LOVE Kids possible.
“This would not have happened without him,” she said. “He believed in the entire thing before he could even see it. He put nonstop faith and trust in me and what it could be. He fought over and over again to make it become reality. It is all because of him. He cries every time he sees something that we do.”
Stultz said the emotional reaction comes naturally.
“I cry every time I hear the kids sing for three reasons: one, their voices sound so good and pure; two, I get the feeling the Lord is working in and through this so it has a great chance of working and, three, because I know how hard Amanda had to work and how many obstacles she had to overcome to get this ministry to where it is today.
“I told her I was basically giving her a pile of dirt and asking her to go build a farm,” he said. “She has, and I couldn’t be prouder. She was willing to risk it all because, at the time, we did not know if we should invest in this ministry or not. She spent over six months investigating what else was in the marketplace, what had been tried before and creating plans for implementing her bold idea.”
Stultz said the K-LOVE board agreed to fund the venture for at least three years to see how it would develop. “Her poise and commitment won us all over.”
Experience proves beneficial
“We created what I call demos, what I thought could be possible,” Patterson said. “I found some kids to record three different songs. We did three music videos in one day. We put together the whole plan for the next five years of what could be possible. I pitched all of that at the end of July last year. I asked for the world expecting a little to be approved. They approved the whole world.”
Drawing on 15 years of experience in Christian music, Patterson believes every stage of her life prepared her for this moment.
“Working with crazy talented kids, I’ve been there,” she said. “I performed when I was a kid. I knew what I would have wanted to have when I was 14. My whole entire history, everything I’ve been through, has led to this moment. So much of it I didn’t understand and why the Lord had me there at that moment. Looking back at everything, it was all so worth it. I fully understand what I’m doing and what could be possible.”
Part of the vision came from research Patterson conducted while working at K-LOVE. She discovered that 72 percent of Christians decide to follow Christ before age 18, with nearly half making that decision before turning 12. Yet much of Christian media targets either preschoolers or teenagers, leaving children ages 5-12 underserved.
K-LOVE Kids aims to fill that gap.
After a nationwide casting call that drew 200 auditions, the team narrowed the field to 12 children from states including California, Texas, New Jersey, Tennessee and Kentucky.
“Each video will have four kids. You will eventually see all 12 of them. We chose 12 because most of the kids are in school full-time. I wanted them to still have a life, do sports, and have friends. They rotate and take turns (performing). It keeps them with their families.”
Patterson said character mattered just as much as talent during auditions.
“We also looked at the heart of why they might join something like this. We wanted kids who knew how to speak, talk well and knew their audience. We wanted the older kids to speak to the younger kids.”
The group has already recorded multiple albums, including a full release scheduled for July 26. Short K-LOVE Kids talk episodes are also in production, along with Christmas music projects.
Patterson hopes the platform becomes a positive alternative for children spending hours online each week.
“If they are spending time there, if I can reach them where they are, I’m willing and able and wanting to do it. We want them to eventually get interested in the Bible, church and each other,” she said.
In many ways, Patterson said the inspiration started with her daughter, Adalyn.
Patterson recalled taking her daughter to a children’s concert that “was definitely not about Jesus.” Watching the excitement in the crowd sparked an idea.
“She was having a good time, and I looked out over the crowd and thought, ‘What if these kids were worshiping and having the same amount of fun?’ It was colorful, bright, entertaining. Why can’t we have this and have kids worshiping at the same time?”
Adalyn now attends every video shoot and has developed a love for music herself.
A family tradition
That passion for worship runs throughout the family.
Patterson’s father, Jim Wilcox, served 22 and a half years as worship pastor at First Baptist Church Russell, Ky. Today he and his wife, Lisa, live in northern Kentucky while their children continue serving in worship ministry roles.
“Amanda has always exhibited a penchant and drive toward excellence, being willing to make sacrifices and take risks to grow into new, varied and challenging roles,” he said. “In her late teens and 20s, she spent years working in the contemporary music industry recording, touring, leading worship and meeting others in the industry (sound engineers, producers, videographers, etc.) that have prepared her to be able to now pass on those things to the next generation.
“Her mom and I both believe strongly that our great God has been growing and testing her faith through varied life experiences and some significant hardships and fire, preparing her for such a time as this to lead K-LOVE Kids at K-LOVE Radio.”
This article originally appeared in Kentucky Today.
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