Popular gospel artist Marvin Sapp plans to record his first album since his wife, MeLinda, died of colon cancer in 2010. The live recording will be Oct. 7, at Evangel Cathedral in Upper Marlboro, Md., near Washington, D.C.
Sapp says the album will be a testament to God’s sustaining power. “The focus of this record is how you can come through situations and still remain on top,” he told Billboard. “It’s about how the enemy has a way of hitting you with stuff to cause you to fold and buckle, but I’m still standing.”
Sapp, who is senior pastor of Lighthouse Full Life Center Church in Grand Rapids, Mich., suffered three major loses prior to losing his wife last year. Sapp lost his father, a musical mentor and a spiritual father all in a three-month period. He hopes to share how he is overcoming his pain on this next album, scheduled to release in 2012.
This will be Sapp’s seventh album since he began his solo-career in 1996, following a six-year stint with the wildly popular group Commissioned. His last album Here I Am debuted at No. 2 on the Top 200 Billboard charts, making it the highest charted gospel album of all-time.
As a celebrated worship leader and accomplished gospel artist, Sapp credits the power of praise as a means of healing. “What I’ve found is music and preaching has been extremely therapeutic for me. You have to praise God to maintain your sanity,” he told Charisma earlier this year referencing the difficulties he has endured.
“I found myself singing songs and worshipping God. I knew that we needed to stay as close to Him as possible. What better way to stay close than in worship or in praise?”
Watch one of Marvin Sapp’s more popular songs: “Never Would Have Made it”.
