Rebecca St. James on 'Sarah's Choice'
CBN.com MUSICAL CAREER
Rebecca was born in Sydney, Australia, and is the oldest of seven children, five boys and two girls. She was the lead vocalist at the Christian school she used to attend. When she was 13 years old Carmen, the nationally recognized singer and performer, invited her to open shows during his Australian tour. During this time she recorded her first album, Refresh My Heart.
She moved to America when she was about 14 years old, because her father was offered a job in the States. About two months after the family moved to America, her dad’s job fell through. Her family asked God to provide for their needs, everything from money and food to a car.
Rebecca says, “Miracles happened daily.” By the time she was signed to a record label at 16 she had a strong testimony. In 1994, Rebecca released a self titled debut album with ForeFront Records. Her nine albums have sold millions.
Today Rebecca is a Grammy Award winner and multiple Dove Award recipient, with international success. In January 2008, she was for the seventh consecutive year named "Favorite Female Artist" in Contemporary Christian Music by readers of CCM Magazine.
In addition to music, Rebecca is a bestselling author, with more than a half dozen books to her credit—including Wait For Me and her recetnly released 90-day devotional called Pure. A passionate spokesperson for the child relief work of Compassion International, more than 30,000 of the world’s neediest children have found sponsorship through her worldwide concerts. Her annual schedule of international touring has made Rebecca St. James one of the Christian music industry’s most globally outreaching artists.
PASSION FOR PURITY
Throughout her career, she has spoken about the importance of purity. “I’ve spoken to college students in Kyrgyzstan, to a downtown club audience in Paris, and to thousands of people elsewhere around the world about the fact that I’m a virgin and I’m waiting until marriage for sex.”
As an advocate for abstinence, Rebecca says that “deep down, most people respect those who stand for purity, and underneath it all, they know it’s the right way to go.” Rebecca wrote a song about the importance of purity and a book called Wait for Me. She says the song is relevant to teens, single people, and married people of all ages. “My passion for this issue is fueled by seeing so many of my generation being ripped off by Satan. He has promoted his lies far too well, and far too few believers are talking about and living the truth that combats those lies,” shares Rebecca. “The enemy is prowling like a roaring lion to kill and destroy us. One of the biggest ways he can destroy our credibility is in the area of purity. If we’re indulging in impurity he can shoot us down.” Rebecca encourages teens, single people, and married people to be committed to God and to guard their purity.
SARAH’S CHOICE
Rebecca St. James makes her debut as a lead actress in the movie, Sarah’s Choice, a film with a strong pro life message. In the movie, Rebecca portrays a single successful career woman faced with the unexpected news that she is pregnant outside of marriage.
Rebecca is very passionate about the role and is now making a bold creative statement through film on the pro-life agenda. Rebecca hopes that the film will encourage young women who are faced with an unplanned pregnancy to choose “life.”
In preparation for her role, Rebecca spent time with “boots on the ground” in a crisis pregnancy center in Los Angeles. She was deeply moved by the experience. In a recent interview Rebecca says, “The script had a very strong message of redemption and forgiveness that touched me deeply and made me to want to do the role. I’m hoping this movie will touch many people.”
Recently, Rebecca received news that one young woman who viewed Sarah’s Choice has already opted for the decision of ‘life’ for her unborn baby.“We’ve prayed that the film will touch hearts and be used as a real tool for ministry to encourage the choice of ‘life’ for those facing the very realities that the film portrays,” says Rebecca. “That was my intent and the intent of everyone involved in the making of this movie.”
Sarah’s Choice was released on DVD in November 2009 by Pure Flix Entertainment.
By special arrangement with Care Net, and their broad alliance of 1,180 North American Care Net pregnancy centers, special local market viewing events of Sarah’s Choice are being encouraged to ultimately reach those most in need of the film’s message. A study guide has also been prepared by Pure Flix to correspond with the movie as a ministry assist tool. Noted Kristin Hansen, Vice-President of Communications for Care Net: “We are encouraging screenings of Sarah’s Choice in conjunction with the January Roe v. Wade anniversary, which falls on Friday, January 22nd, and the corresponding ‘Sanctity of Human Life Sunday,’ January 24th." Rebecca is adding her personal voice and presence to many of the screenings with a special series of co-coordinated concert/film events being set throughout 2010.
