- January 15th, 2010, 12:58 am
#295323
Carroll County Times wrote:Traveling in style: Calling Levi band members gave up prosperous lives to spread messageClick Here for Full Story
By Brandon Oland, Times Staff Writer Thursday, January 14, 2010
Members of the Christian music group Calling Levi spent most of Sunday traveling from Georgia to Tennessee in a 45-foot-long bus with 12 bunks and plenty of leg room.
They drove the 10-year-old bus from a church concert in Georgia to a recording session in Nashville, Tenn., Sunday. They’ll arrive in the same massive vehicle for a free 6 p.m. Sunday performance at Mount Airy Baptist Church in Mount Airy. A freewill offering will be taken.
These days, Calling Levi travels like rock stars. It wasn’t always the case.
Mark and Tammy Lashey and Rob and Stephanie Leight, the four vocalists comprising Calling Levi, used to cram together in a conversion van to performances for their musical ministry. And they suffered through a stint on a jalopy of a bus that frequently broke down and drained already tight finances.
Rob said the group prayed for the chance to travel in a more reliable vehicle. It came, courtesy of a businessman who was sympathetic to their cause and willing to give them a break on a loan no other financial agency would.
“We couldn’t get any bank in America to agree to a loan for a bus,” Rob said.
That’s because Calling Levi mainly relies on donations and is established as a nonprofit. The members make enough to care for their families but are by no means getting rich off the more than 200 days they spend on the road, Rob said.
Rob said they willingly gave up prosperous lives to spread God’s word through their powerful melodies. They typically perform at churches on weekends and at camps in the summer.
Tammy and Stephanie, who are sisters, met their husbands at Liberty University, an evangelical institution founded by the late Jerry Falwell.