A mighty King, so mocked and scorned
To save a people, lost and torn.
No crown of jewels, no golden throne,
But through blood and tears your glory shone.
You conquered death and saved us all.
You reign forever, sov'reign God.
Your kingdom is glorious! Your kingdom is glorious!
King of our hearts, and king of our lives, your kingdom is glorious!What a powerful expression of the love and sacrifice of Jesus Christ!
Jackie Francois, a new young and inspirational voice in the world of Christian contemporary music, makes a joyful noise unto the Lord with these words from the title track of her debut album,
Your Kingdom is Glorious.Jackie, a devout Catholic, inspires me both in her music and her story of spiritual growth. Her faith journey is quite similar to my own.
Growing up in Placentia, California, Jackie attended St. Joseph Catholic Church for 22 years. It was not until Jackie attended various retreats, youth conferences and World Youth Day 2000 in Rome that she came to experience Jesus in a deeper way.
After her senior year in high school during her experience as a Young Apostle at Steubenville West in 2002, Jackie fell in love with the Eucharist and the Catholic Church, started going to daily Mass, and began to learn more about her faith. In college, Jackie was the Cal State Fullerton Newman Catholic Club president and worked as a volunteer youth minister and musician. Ultimately, Jackie responded to God's calling to move to Ventura, California and become a full-time youth minister at Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic Church.
As a child of a musical family, Jackie has been singing for nearly her whole life and learned music theory at a very young age. During her senior year in high school, she taught herself to play the guitar, which opened the door for her to begin composing her own music. In 2003, popular Catholic recording artist Tom Booth listened to Jackie's two-track CD and immediately realized that she was blessed with a unique talent. Booth and his family mentored and shepherded Jackie, inviting her to sing at major faith events with audiences as large as 5,000 people.
In March 2006, Jackie recorded a 12-track demo and Booth's recording studio in Arizona. Only a couple of months later, in August, Jackie learned that her song, "My Soul Rejoices," would be included in
Never Too Young, the first Catholic music resource for middle school students. About a year later, Jackie returned home to Placentia, California to begin full-time music ministry in service to the wider Catholic Church.
Jackie's voice is often heard on the Catholic contemporary music website,
spiritandsong.com. In a
media advisory, Robert Feduccia, general manager of spiritandsong.com, expresses his excitement about Jackie's talent and heart for worship music.
“She’s a powerful young minister and her music is already having an impact,” says Robert Feduccia, general manager of spiritandsong.com. “I’m excited for new fans to discover what the spiritandsong.com family already knows—Jackie is a rare talent with absolute commitment to her faith.”
Produced by Tom Booth and Jeff Thomas,
Your Kingdom is Glorious contains 11 original tracks and one cover. Jackie's album is versatile and includes a variety of musical styles ranging from serious rock tracks to delicate, hushed ballads.
Jackie is enthusiastic about sharing the message of Jesus Christ with a wider audience through her music.
“I’m excited to share Your Kingdom Is Glorious with the world,” says Jackie. “I hope people enjoy this CD and sing this music in many worship settings. That’s the sole purpose of these songs—to praise God with them!”
Jackie's entire album, along with personal reflections on each track, can be found
here.
Do you/would you listen to Jackie Francois' music? Are you involved in ministry, music or otherwise, at your church? How did God lead you to this vocation?
Comments (5)
I think it's wonderful to see and hear new Christian artists coming to the forefront. I don't think I've heard her (unless she's featured on our local christian radio station) - but I'll look for her music in the future. Thanks for the heads up!
I'm kind of involved in a music ministry. I sat down once and said to my friends there that I was going to write a hit song. I wrote several songs during the next several years and wanted to glorify God as much as I could. Well, a few years later I met a gal who was a best friend of my cousin whom I only see a few times a year. Her friend is a Christian singer with a few released CD's. So I was ready for the opportunity and gave her a copy of the lyrics of one song. She read them right of way as I left her alone and later she said "I like it". She related to my song lyrics saying she already could hear some music for it. I said not to worry about the legal stuff, what ever she wanted to do was okay with me.
cool. I use Spirtandsong.com ALL the time. They have a lot of good stuff. I remember when that site was launched and to see how it has grown over the past several years is awesome! But then again I'm catholic so it's cool to have inspiration from catholic artists.
I haven't heard of her but I'm going to check her out.
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I run a blog on Catholic music called GrapeVine at www.gvonline.net. I would like reprint your article and others that you have on Catholic artists. Can you please visit www.gvonline.net and click on the Contact button to write to me and let me know if I have permission?
Thanks, Susan