NASHVILLE, TN May 4, 2009 – GRAMMY® award-winning and multi-platinum selling artists Steven Curtis Chapman and Michael W. Smith wrapped up their highly successful United Tour last week, finishing a string of 44 shows with sell-out performances at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium and in Chapman’s hometown of Paducah, Kentucky. That capped off multiple sell-outs on a historic tour that began last fall and continued into the spring, pairing the two iconic artists for the first time in their lengthy careers in front of a cumulative audience of more than 100,000 people.

Both artists performed music from their current albums – Chapman’s This Moment and Smith’s award winning A New Hallelujah, and A New Hallelujah – The Live Worship DVD – while also collaborating together on songs from each of their expansive catalogs. Those collaborative moments on stage became crowd-pleasers each night, giving fans an opportunity to catch shared glimpses of humor and inspiration between the two long-time friends.

 

Show Hope™, the orphan care ministry originally founded by Steven Curtis and Mary Beth Chapman, was the sponsor for the United Tour's 2009 spring leg. The tour’s response was overwhelming as over 2,500 individuals and families made monthly commitments to sponsor orphan care and adoption. With a mission to share the message of caring for the world’s orphans, Show Hope sponsors will be able to help more orphans than ever before find their forever families. 

 

Concert reviewers caught on quickly to the special moments:

“From the honesty and transparency of discussing his daughter's death to the energy and passion of their greatest songs to the warmth and joy in a loyal audience, Steven Curtis Chapman's pairing with Michael W. Smith on their current tour is a night of inspiration, unity and family…. If your Christian faith is important to you, this is a night that's as worshipful as it is wonderful and it's certainly for you.” (Belief.net)

 

“Hopefully this won't be the last time Smith and Chapman share the stage on tour together... and hopefully more artists will take cues from these guys on how to make a tour of talent a special night for fans to remember and cherish.” (JesusFreakHideout.com)

 

 “Sharing the stage with Steven, both in the fall and again in the spring, was a privilege for me,” Smith says. “His consistency over the years as a great artist and a great man of faith was evident every single night of the tour. I feel like the timing of this tour, the timing for Steven and I to share the stage together, was God’s timing – and it was worth the wait. I’m so grateful to everyone who came out for the experience. Steven and I will never forget it.”

 

“The United Tour has been an incredible experience, and how amazing to get to tour with Michael,” Chapman adds. “He was an incredible friend and brother in walking through this time with our family. It’s been a profound opportunity to see friends around the country who have ached and prayed for us and thank them in person. I think all of us that were part of ‘United’ have learned again at a deeper level the truth of what we’ve been writing and singing all these years... that God is faithful, even when life is hard, and that the Gospel is true and God is worthy of our praise. My sincere thanks to all who worked on stage and off, and to all who came to join us on The United Tour.”

 

Two of Christian Music’s most recognized and beloved artists, Chapman and Smith ended The United Tour on the heels of major Dove Award wins. Chapman took home the honors for the Gospel Music Association’s Artist of the Year and Songwriter of the Year, while Smith’s A New Hallelujah was named Praise & Worship Album of the Year as well as Inspirational Song of the Year. Together, the two artists have garnered a staggering eight GRAMMY ® awards, 100 Dove Awards, 78 No. 1 singles and more than 30 gold and platinum albums.

Since its inception, Show Hope has financially helped provide forever homes for over 2,000 orphans from 40 countries, including the U.S., resulting in a truly worldwide impact. Yet, still so much assistance is needed. The ministry receives an overwhelming amount of grant requests, approximately 150 new adoption assistance requests each month. In addition to meeting those needs, financial support towards Show Hope also provides medical care, love and hope to special needs orphans, specifically at Maria’s Big House of Hope in Luoyang, China, which will house over 100 orphans at full capacity. Show Hope sponsors not only address an orphan’s need for food, care, shelter, and spiritual nourishment but the root issue for an orphan: the lack of a forever family. For more information on how you can support the needs of Show Hope, please visit www.ShowHope.org. 

The popular fan site launched in late 2004,  www.StevenCurtisChapmanAuction.com, has been a major supporter of Show Hope’s mission to come alongside the church in the body of Christ to share the message of the importance of caring for the millions orphans around the world. On April 20th, the last pair of “The United Tour” ticket auctions closed and with the winning bids, proceeds benefiting Show Hope eclipsed $105,000! A sincere thanks to all who made bids and participated with the auction site. Because of the financial support, there are girls and boys living with new hope and hearing the Gospel of Jesus Christ.