Rebecca St. James won’t soon forget her midnight tour of Red Square in Moscow where she posed in front of the dramatic light bathed St. Basil Cathedral near the Kremlin with band and road crew. Bringing God’s message to the very heart of Moscow was but one unforgettable stop in a tour that was purposely directed to reach parts of Europe, several of them formerly Communist Block countries that few Christian artists before her have ever before reached.

Just back in the U.S. this week after blazing a trail through eleven European countries in two and a half weeks of concert performances, at a time when Christianity is at a reported all time low throughout Europe, Grammy winning St. James is anxious to share the message that “God is alive and on the move!” She found that truth to be evident in far flung spots she visited including Russia, Hungary, Estonia, Bulgaria, and Faroe Islands.

“It was a bit of a groundbreaking tour; an extremely maverick concept for a major artist of her caliber to undertake,” noted St. James’ London based tour agent, Gary Smith. “Rebecca was keen in the midst of us booking major stops for her like Oslo and Zurich, to challenge us to take the time to seek out opportunities for her to be booked in seldom reached locations such as Russia, Hungary and Bulgaria where young people might be drawn for the first time to hear the music and a message of God in a rock concert setting. We were told by the Russian promoter that Rebecca’s concert was the first of its’ kind in Moscow,” noted Smith.

The Australian born St. James was warmly embraced in Moscow. As the rare Christian artist to travel from America to bring her concert tour to the Russian capital she performed to a capacity audience. Noted Rebecca, “Russia was truly an incredible experience! From the bouquet of roses we received at the airport to the tremendously warm reception we received at the concert from the Russian people. God is moving in Moscow and it was such a wonderful experience to be a part of what He is doing.”

“This concert will be a subject of conversation for a long time in Moscow,” noted event organizer Martuynichev Sergey. “Russians fell in love with Rebecca and crew. We are singing her songs and expecting she will be back for an even bigger event in Moscow in the future. We strongly believe that with this concert Rebecca St. James has opened a door for other Christian artists to come to Russia from abroad,” he added.

Rebecca with fellow artists Delirious? performed together in the UK and Germany during her just completed European tour

Hearing she was touring Europe, a local promoter in the far flung Faroe Islands made contact about bringing St. James and crew to the windswept archipelago of eighteen islands in the North Atlantic. Formerly a possession of Denmark and populated by 50,000 people and 70,000 sheep, the Faroe Islands have their own language, the oldest parliament in the world, and is the rare country in Europe that’s heavily Christian. More than 30,000 claim to be born again believers in a country where abortion is illegal and pornography is prohibited by law. More than 1,000 people turned out for Rebecca’s Faroe Island concert on May 31st. Noted her concert promoter, “The response was phenomenal! The major mainstream newspaper noted ‘this was an extreme example of a top professional and well polished concert.’ Parents came with their children and entire families were touched by the music and message.”

Her concert in Sofia, Bulgaria was also a highlight. “God centered, inspirational and emotional,” noted Managing Director Emmanuel Totev who brought Rebecca in for an audience that seldom sees artists traveling from America, much less a well known Christian rock singer. Her concert made national news and was a rare live music event taped for telecast nationally throughout the entire nation of Bulgaria.

Along the way on Rebecca’s May 18-June 5th tour of Europe there were more conventional concert stops in the UK, Wales, Switzerland, Germany, Norway, and Austria. In Austria, she played a promised return performance for the tiny hamlet of Oberhofen high in the Austrian Alps. The appearance booked by a young Catholic priest found virtually all of the 1,600 residents of the town including the mayor, and the entire Oberhofen police and fire departments turning out to welcome her back.

In the midst of it all, St. James is glad to have set her course for ‘the road less traveled’ throughout Europe. More than a concert tour, she considers it was a missionary trip.

“We saw some incredible moves of God throughout our European concert travels-but we also saw some profound pockets of darkness. It encouraged me not only to want to go back, but to encourage others to take up the challenge and meet the needs of the wonderful people that are present there,” she noted.

St. James’ latest project is If I Had One Chance to Tell You Something which also come in a special edition containing a bonus DVD with behind-the-scenes features and two bonus songs and is currently available at Canadian Christian retailers nationwide.

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