Home: R : Rebecca St. James : Biography

Biography (courtesy of Forefront Records)

What are some favorite highlights from your first 10 years of music and ministry?

Rebecca: A few years ago I sang at the Creation Festival before an audience of 60 or 70 thousand people, and I remember in particular doing my song "Speak To Me" and then singing with everyone. That was a very, very powerful moment.

Touring in Holland where they seem to know my music better there than almost anywhere else in the world … that's been awesome!

We also did an event with dc talk and the Supertones years ago with the Pope in St. Louis. That was a very, very awe-inspiring experience for me.

Visiting the White House recently, having breakfast there and being able to share a bit about abstinence and seeing if we can partner with President Bush's Faith Based Initiatives, that was a highlight.

Over the years just seeing people respond to the altar calls. Every now and then I'll see a little child about the same age that I was when I became a Christian, at age 8. When I see them coming forward in responding, that touches me profoundly.

How do you keep your success in perspective?

Rebecca: One thing I fully realize is that I can't do anything good without God. He's really the core of what I do and my inspiration for it. Pride is such a trap. I know that, and I always want the focus to stay on God.

The other thing I know is that I'm part of a team. I work with a bunch of wonderful people, and I'm just a piece in the puzzle. I don't see myself as someone who is famous. I travel in enough circles around the world where I'm not known at all – that gives me perspective.

Which songs of yours do the fans love most?

Rebecca: "Wait For Me" receives the most response of any song I've ever recorded. That song has just really hit a nerve because so many people are facing the issue of making a decision about sexual purity in their lives. Another thing they really respond to in the song is hope. I talk about 'second chances' and 'forgiveness' in the lyric, and a lot of people need to hear and receive that message today.

Other songs that fans have strongly responded to over the years are "God" and "Go and Sin No More." I think in both cases it's because of the depth of the message. More recently, both "Breathe" and "Song of Love" have gotten a lot of response.

I'm actually a bit like my audience! "God" and "Wait For Me" are probably my favorites.

What are the stories behind the new songs on Wait For Me?

Rebecca: I wrote "Expressions of Your Love" with Chris Tomlin, and we sing it as a duet. It's about a theme that's very close to my heart: all the time in life we see expressions of God's love and His glory, and yet too often we ignore them. We walk by beautiful scenes in nature but don't praise God for them. The song highlights the expressions of God's love that we see everyday. I like the twist where the lyric says, 'Oh Jesus, make me an expression of you.' Make me an expression of your love daily.

The other new song, "I Thank You," is a tribute to God, thanking Him for His goodness to me over the ten years I've been in music – for being my strength and my passion and for keeping me in His love.

What is your life like outside the spotlight?

Rebecca: At the end of the day, I'm a 25 year-old on a mission to point people to God and to be faithful to His mission and His will for me.

On the personal side, I'm a hopeless romantic who enjoys the outdoors, chick flicks, swing dancing, and just being a kid. I love my friends dearly, love to laugh, love kids, and love to help people.

And I'm very loyal to Australia; very proud of my homeland and would maybe like to live back there one day.

What's next for you in music and ministry?

Rebecca: I'm on quite a unique musical journey. I started out in pop music and then went to pretty full-on rock. Now I've landed at a pop/rock place that I really quite enjoy. In the future I would like to build on that and explore other unique ways of presenting the gospel.

In ministry, my passion is to be faithful to giving my all wherever God has me. Whether it's an interview I do, or a song that I'm writing, or album I'm working on, or concert performance that I'm doing, my mission is to love God and glorify Him with my life and to reach people and point them to His hope.

I'm excited about the future! I have opportunities to write another book, and to be part of a touring musical later this year. I'm just traveling one day at a time and seeing where God leads me next.