Advocacy Is Heading the Show

by Gregory J. Rummo
April 25, 2005

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(AgapePress) - It really was no surprise when earlier this year, the five-time Grammy award winning Christian contemporary artist Steven Curtis Chapman played to a sold out concert hall at Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, NJ. He's sold over nine million records in his career with one album certified platinum and two certified gold.

What might have been a surprise to some concert-goers, however, was Chapman's repeated emphasis on adoption during the concert. It's a theme he has threaded through many of his newer songs such as, "What Now?" and "When Love Takes You In."

But his passionate advocacy for adoption is much more than material for a few hit songs. It's a way of life for the Chapman family.

In addition to their three biological children, the oldest of whom attends Baylor University in Waco, Texas, they have adopted three orphan girls from China. "I've been buying diapers and formula for the past 18 years," he said jokingly at his concert at West Point Military Academy in West Point, NY, on April 2 during a 15-minute heart-to-heart chat with the audience between sets.

The Steven Curtis Chapman family

Chapman uses his concerts to foster awareness about adoption and to raise money for Shaohannah's Hope, the adoption foundation he and his wife, Mary Beth, started several years ago. Named after their first adopted daughter, Shaohannah's Hope was created to offer financial assistance by providing grants ranging from $2,500 to $5,000 to families who were willing to adopt but could not afford the expenses involved.

Typically, about midway through a concert, Chapman uses a combination of a poignant video and live music to reach out and touch the hearts of those in the audience. This is followed by a short talk from Scott Hasenbalg, executive director of Shaohannah's Hope, who encourages concert-goers to drop by and visit one of the foundation's booths during intermission.

My wife and I were among the 20 or so volunteers who manned several booths at the February 26 concert in East Rutherford. We worked the booth at the main entrance to the concert hall. Before the concert and during intermission, interested people thronged around us to learn more about adoption. Many were also eager to make a donation. Some joined the Stevey Joy Club, named after the Chapman's second adopted daughter, by pledging $20 monthly for a year. Others gave a one-time gift. One person handed me a check for $2,500.

Chris and Stacy Garrison are beneficiaries of Shaohannah's Hope. They received a $2,000 grant towards the adoption of their daughter. They are hoping to travel to China this summer.

The Garrisons are on the ministerial staff at the Madison Avenue Baptist Church in Paterson, NJ. They were also among the volunteers at the East Rutherford concert. "We were thrilled at the opportunity to work at one of the booths," they told me. "Just think, we have a chance to make a difference in the life of a Chinese orphan we may never meet until we get to heaven."

To date, Chapman's "All Things New" tour has raised almost $2 million towards the goal of $2.5 million. But the goal of Shaohannah's Hope is more than simply taking money from the generous and redistributing it to the needy. Chapman is also interested in creating a desire in the hearts of concert-goers to examine the question of adoption for themselves and their own families.