After 45 weeks on Billboard Magazine’s Gospel Airplay chart, GRAMMY® Award-winning songwriter and Inspired People recording artist Pastor Charles Jenkins and Fellowship Chicago have captured the #1* slot on the survey with its rousing New Orleans Brass Band-flavored anthem #WAR.
“Wow! We could not be more grateful,” says Jenkins who performed the song this past weekend to a standing ovation on the “Bobby Jones Gospel” television program that will air this fall on BET. “Nothing brings us more joy than hearing people sing #WAR as their personal fight song. There is so much going on in the world and real people are fighting real battles everywhere. The stories and testimonies we hear everyday say it all and in the words of the great Andrae Crouch: To God Be The Glory.”
The song was written by Pastor Jenkins and co-produced by he and Rodney East who has collaborated with the likes of R. Kelly, Jennifer Hudson, Tyrese and Charlie Wilson. “We are clear that #WAR is more than a song,” he adds. “Next month, my wife and I are excited to release a #WAR book and curriculum so friends can gather to study, pray, and fight to win in life together. Special thanks to Tracey Artis – our radio promoter, our amazing team, radio programmers everywhere, our gospel music family, and everyone who prays for us. We love you.”
The shepherd for the 8,000-member Fellowship Chicago church, Pastor Jenkins burst into the national spotlight when he and the Fellowship Chicago choir’s radio debut “Awesome” topped Billboard Magazine’s Hot Gospel Songs chart for 22 weeks in 2012. It won a BMI Award in 2014 for over 50,000-lifetime radio spins. The album “Best of Both Worlds” debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Gospel Album sales chart, garnered 5 Stellar Awards, multiple Dove Award nominations, appearance at Jay Z’s “Made In America” festival and more.
