Earlier this year, a dozen of the Christian music industry’s top singers and songwriters, invited by Delirious frontman Martin Smith, gathered together in Scotland to write songs that would benefit the poor through a charity called CompassionArt. The songwriters, publishers, managers, copyright institutes and agents involved all waived their rights to the music so that all of the monies generated will benefit the charity. (Here’s what Paul Baloche had to say about how much money that could be.)
Now 14 of the songs birthed during that retreat, along with a compelling 50-minute CompassionArt documentary, are collected on a new CD/DVD, CompassionArt: Creating Freedom From Poverty. The project features the twelve CompassionArt songwriters, joined by seven genre-defining guest vocalists: (Songwriters) Paul Baloche, Steven Curtis Chapman, Stu G, Israel Houghton, Tim Hughes, Graham Kendrick, Andy Park, Matt Redman, Martin Smith, Michael W. Smith, Chris Tomlin, and Darlene Zschech; and (Guest Vocalists) Kirk Franklin, Amy Grant, Joel Houston, Leeland Mooring, Christy Nockels, tobyMac and CeCe Winans.

“We are a global community, an underground adventure, a map being drawn as we speak that connects wealth with poverty, art with hope, compassion with despair,” says CompassionArt founder and Delirious frontman Martin Smith. “We have united ourselves as a community of artists and songwriters to give it all away. Please join us by purchasing the album, playing these songs and singing them in your church services.
“Every CompassionArt songwriter has nominated a charitable project that will share in half the proceeds that these songs raise,” continues Smith. “The projects supported include those that offer people primary healthcare, clean water, education and more. But we also wanted to do something together; we wanted to invest the other half of the proceeds in projects that would join the dots between art and compassion.”
Four collective projects were chosen to receive 50% of the proceeds from these songs:

• Hand of Hope, offering relief and restoration for families caught up in Mumbai, India’s sex trade and food and education for children scraping for survival on a rubbish dump in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
• Stop The Traffik, a global movement against the trafficking of people that has more than 1,000 member organizations in 50 countries and a grassroots following of ordinary activists around the world.
• Ray of Hope, a team of people in remote parts of Brazil that meets the needs of children; food, education, support, advice, clothing and medical aid.
• Watoto, a charity helping orphaned children to abused mothers, and helping to restore hope to people whose lives have been devastated by suffering, providing creative life centers, encouraging artistic education and plans for a better future for all.

The 12 projects being supported by the CompassionArt songwriters are:

• For The Silent (Paul Baloche)
• Shaohannah’s Hope (Steven Curtis Chapman)
• Beanz Meanz Livez (Stu G)
• Lakewood Missions (Israel Houghton)
• Caring for Ex-Offenders and The Regeneration Trust (Tim Hughes)
• Restoring the Sound (Graham Kendrick)
• Compassion UK (Matt Redman)
• St. Stephen’s Society (Andy Park)
• Links International (Martin Smith)
• Living Hope Community Centre (Michael W Smith)
• Baby Watoto (Chris Tomlin)
• Hope Rwanda (Darlene Zschech)

CompassionArt: Creating Freedom From Poverty will be available at both physical and digital retail outlets everywhere beginning Jan. 27, 2009 in the US through EMI CMG, and Nov. 24, 2008 in Europe and Scandinavia through Fierce!/Kingsway, Asia, Africa and South America through Integrity, and Australia and New Zealand through Crossroads. For more information, visit the CompassionArt website.
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