WASHINGTON COURT HOUSE — Grammy-award winner and platinum-selling Christian artist, David Phelps, will be performing at Grace Community Church this Sunday. Performing with Phelps is award-winning comedian, Mickey Bell.

This 2023 After The Downbeat Tour stop, featuring Phelps as well as Phelps’s musical entourage, will feature songs from more than a dozen multi-award winning recordings he has to his credit.

According to Phelps, he is hoping to “make a connection with the audience through music” and “stir them with hope.”

So why did Phelps and his team decide to visit Grace Community Church in Washington Court House?

”We try to make our way around the country and go to places we haven’t been to in awhile,” said Phelps. “We are so grateful to have the opportunity to meet people at local churches like Grace Community that are working for the same thing we are.”

A graduate from Baylor University, Phelps is credited among today’s most spectacular voices.

For more than 15 years, Phelps served as a member of the popular and prestigious Gaither Vocal Band, and during that time received numerous Dove Awards, Grammy Awards, and multiple platinum-selling recording projects. As a soloist, he received 2009 Dove Award nominations for Male Vocalist of the Year and Long Form Video for the Christmas DVD, “O Holy Night” to add to his many awards and honors.

Phelps’s 2012 live concert DVD, “David Phelps: Classic,” debuted on Billboards’ Music Video Chart at number one and since its release has received acclaim from throughout both gospel and secular music genres. The recording has been featured on numerous television networks, including the Public Broadcasting System (PBS).

In 2015, Phelps released a brand new recording, “Freedom.” The Freedom companion DVD also debuted at number one on Billboards’ Music Video Chart. In April of 2017, “The Best of David Phelps: from the Homecoming Series,” peaked at number one on Billboard’s Music Video Sales Chart.

Also in 2017, Phelps released his latest recording, “Hymnal.” Throughout the recording, Phelps lends his three-octave range to some of the most treasured hymns of the church.

In the fall of 2018, Phelps released his latest Christmas collection titled “It Must Be Christmas.”

His natural gift for music was evident when Phelps was very young and he knew early in life that he wanted to be a performer.

“I grew up in a family of musicians,” said Phelps, “and music was always as important to me as it was to everyone in my family. My mom is a trained soprano and she taught me everything she knew, until I was older and she began taking me to more advanced lessons.”

While earning his degree in vocal performance from Baylor University, Phelps was given numerous opportunities to venture into the world of secular music.

“I had several teachers who felt that I should be singing opera or performing somewhere on Broadway,” he recalled. “In college particularly, I had a teacher who kept pushing me strongly toward classical music, but when she finally accepted that Christian music was what God was calling me to do, that became the turning point for me.”

Phelps explained that he “did not choose” the Christian music genre, rather it “chose him.”

“I fell in love with the connection that comes when you sing gospel music,” said Phelps.

In the fall of 2021, he released his first recording in three years, “Gamechanger.” Like many creative people, Phelps found himself with a lot of downtime and a desire to create during the 2020 pandemic. Putting pen to paper and then spending time in the studio, Phelps went from being a dreamer to an inventor – and it was a GameChanger.

“A dream alone isn’t enough. At some point, action has to be taken,” said Phelps. “I’m a firm believer: plan, pray and then do.”

While studying music at Baylor, Phelps met Lori Purtle, who has been his wife and rock solid partner for more than two decades. The couple has four kids – Callie, Maggie Beth, Grant and Coby – and the Phelps family resides in the country outside Nashville, Tennessee.

Mickey Bell will also be featured entertainment at this event.

Performing over 150 shows a year, Bell produces a clean comedy act that is perfect for the entire family. He is also open with audiences about his own struggles, using his platform to advocate for mental health awareness in hopes to help others find laughter through their pain.

This special evening of worship and celebration at Grace Community Church, located at 525 Glenn Ave. in Washington Court House, is set to begin at 6 p.m.

Event information may be obtained by visiting www.davidphelps.com or www.itickets.com or by calling 740-333-5433.