[1]NASHVILLE (BP) – Award-winning CCM trio Point of Grace hopes their first full-length album in five years will remind hurting people of Gospel truth and the importance of church.
The record titled “Turn Your Eyes (Songs We Love, Songs You Know) Volume II,” is an “eclectic” collection of modern worship songs and classic Christian hymns.
“We really have a heart to pass along some of the great hymns of our childhood and our faith to the next generation and in particular our own children,” group member Shelley Breen told Baptist Press.
“Those songs have meant a lot to us through the years and are so theologically rich and sound that to document those with our own Point of Grace spin was important. But we also have a place in our heart for modern worship.”
Songs included on the album include “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus,” “It is Well,” “House of the Lord,” “Way Maker,” and Rich Mullins’ “Awesome God.”
The track was included to honor Mullins after 2022 marked the 25th anniversary of his tragic death.
[2]Also on the record is an original song penned by the group along with their producer called “At the Table.”
“It’s just about getting along and being able to love people who have different viewpoints than you do, even if you think they’re absolutely dead wrong,” Breen said.
“To be able to invite them to the table … and you can do that without sacrificing your own conscience and values.”
Released on April 28, the record debuted in the Top 10 on Billboard’s Top Christian/Gospel Albums chart.
The Dove Award-winning group said one of the most important elements when putting together a record is keeping their live show in mind.
After a long period of time with no live shows during the COVID-19 pandemic, the trio desires their music to encourage and uplift people in a fresh way.
“Our hope has always been that our music would reach people who are hurting in their hard places and remind them of the truth,” group member Denise Jones said.
The group has strong Southern Baptist ties, as Jones and Breen were two of the original four group members that formed at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkansas under the original group name “Say So.”
“We got a lot of support from our university,” Breen said.
“The people at the university were amazing. Lots of friends went on to be Baptist preachers, minsters of music and things like that. So we’re very connected to the Baptist church and very grateful to them for their support of us in the early days. I think we sang mostly at Baptist churches.”
Breen explained in the group’s early days, they would often perform at SBC events such as different Youth Evangelism Conferences and most of the churches they would perform at were Baptist.
Jones said she is grateful to Ouachita Baptist because of their care for them as people beyond their music.
“I thank Ouachita just for all the opportunity I had at the school, not just for Point of Grace, but how they poured into us as individuals,” Jones said.
“They gave my education as a music major, but the education they gave me to be ready for this job is great. The excellence that they taught about just things that you do, you do it well, I think was a big learning thing for us and carried us all these years.”
One of the key themes that was reinforced for the group in their time at Ouachita was something the members had grown up learning – the importance of the local church.
“Jesus died for the church, and all of us are involved in our local churches and it’s an important part of our own lives when we’re here in town,” Breen said.
Group member Leigh Cappillino, who attends Oak Valley Baptist Church in Franlkin, Tenn., joined Point of Grace several years after the group’s humble beginning at Ouachita, but shared the group’s value of extending their influence beyond singing and into service through the church.
The artists hope the record reminds people of the importance of the local church.
“The music takes place on the stage, but the ministry should be as much, if not more, off stage,” Cappillino said.
“We all grew up recognizing that the foundational building blocks started in the Church for us. We could guarantee us being at church more than we could guarantee us having dinner. Those are happy roots.
“It’s a support system. It’s a place where we’re discipled individually. It’s a continuation of family. It’s a place of comfort. I have grown up to where you don’t just take from the church, you give.”