I’m Giving (I Gave) Away 100 Albums

UPDATE: We’ve now reached our goal of 100 requests for a free copy of Alli en la Cruz. Thanks for helping us get the word out to our Spanish brothers and sisters!

I’m excited to announce the newest release from Sovereign Grace Music: Allí en la Cruz. Translated, that means There at the Cross. I’m so excited that I want to give 100 of them away (details below).

In 2002 we produced our first Spanish CD, Sea la Gloria solo a Ti, twelve Sovereign Grace songs translated from the English versions. We were happy we could produce something to serve our Spanish churches, but as you might guess, the songs sounded like what they were – translations. On top of that, we used the original instrumental tracks. Definitely not Hispanic.

In contrast, the 10 songs on Allí en la Cruz were all written in Spanish for Spanish speaking churches. And similar to other Sovereign Grace songs, they’re congregation friendly and focus on the gospel, our need for Christ, God’s character, God’s Word, and our faith-filled response. Titles include Only by Your Grace, How Great is Your Love, Majestic God, and We Are Your Children (Solo por Tu Gracia, Que Grande Es Tu Amor, Dios Majestuoso, y Somos Tus Hijos).

The primary writer and main vocalist is Mauricio Velarde, a young musician who came to Christ a few years ago at my church. When he first came, he was playing in his own band and writing love songs. But as Mauricio attended our Spanish congregation, Iglesia Gracia Soberana De Gaithersburg, he began to catch a vision from his pastor, Joselo Mercado, and Ken Boer, music director at Covenant Life, for writing songs that would serve the church and glorify Jesus.

The album started out as a local church EP. But when I heard the songs, I told Ken that I wanted to take it on as a Sovereign Grace project. With the additions of a few other writers (Jose Torres, Jose Troche, and Miguel Medina) we soon had a full length album.

For the most part we used vocalists and musicians from my church. John Behrens, a gem of an intern, did most of the engineering. Mauricio oversaw the project and made sure different Hispanic styles were authentically represented. He even let me display my massive accordion chops on one song. The album was mixed and mastered in Nashville and I’m really pleased with the final product.

I realize most of you reading this won’t be able to understand the lyrics (although I think you’d dig the music). But maybe you know someone who would not only understand the songs, but actually be able to sing them. If so, I’d like to know who they are.

I have 100 copies of Allí en la Cruz I want to give away to pastors and/or worship leaders of Hispanic congregations (one per church). If you can recommend anyone, just send their name, mailing address, email address, and church name to bob@worshipmatters.com. Or simply use the contact tab above. Oh, and it’s okay if the Spanish pastor or worship leader is you. We’ll send an album to the first 100 requests we receive.

If you just want to purchase the album you can get it for $10 or download it for $7 at the Sovereign Grace online store. Lead sheets and guitar charts are included with the CD.

You can also find out more about the album at the Alli en la Cruz Facebook page or the Sovereign Grace Music website, where we’re giving away the song “Somos Tus Hijos.”

Thanks for helping us spread the word!