JAMESTOWN, NY (January 15, 2013) – Jeff Sanders wasn’t sure how his band, To The Sky, was going to get to its next performance following its show at the small Midwest church he affectionately refers to as the “Little House on the Prairie Church.”
“We were broke at the time,” he explains.
Even though the church didn’t know of the need, the gathering of some 50 people still raised enough money to get the worship band to their next destination and some food. “They took an offering for their church first,” Sanders recalls. “Then they took an offering for us, and it was more than their first offering.”
Sanders, a youth pastor who grew up at Zion Covenant Church in Jamestown, adds, “God really humbled our hearts. It reminded us to put our trust in him.”
Sanders says the band is committed to playing only for offerings because of their belief that God will provide along the way. Even if they make little money, the lead vocalist says, “We come into this world with nothing, and we leave this world with nothing.”
To The Sky currently is on their “A New Beginning Tour” in New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, but is booking dates for its upcoming “Restoration” tour in May.
The members attended Jamestown Community College together and performed as part of a “secular” band called Thunder. But then they felt called to perform Christian music and stopped playing their previous material because they believed it wasn’t honoring to God.
Sanders says the groups refers to themselves as an “experimental band” because they play all kinds of music, but their songs are a heavy mix of metal and alternative. Sanders says To The Sky will perform whatever the church believes is appropriate to their setting.
The band tours with a speaker because they believe their concerts should be more like a worship service.
Judd Hamilton, who helped started recovery ministries in Jamestown, will travel with the band during its “Restoration” tour.
To The Sky signed a one-album recording contract with Tate Music Group earlier this year, which helped the band release its first studio album entitled “Rise Up.” The eight-track album can be previewed and purchased online. http://www.riseupnow.bandcamp.com.
