Marvin Sapp 'Honored' After First Album in Four Years Reaches No. 1

By Christine Thomasos, Christian Post Reporter Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Gospel singer Marvin Sapp managed to garner another No. 1 debut album on the Gospel and Christian Sales Chart, with his latest offering "You Shall Live."

It's been four years since Sapp, 48, who also serves as a pastor of Lighthouse Full Life Center in Grand Rapids, Michigan, released an album and he's humbled that his 10th has been such a success on music charts.

"I am humbled that so many still believe in the practical musical message that my team and I have shared over the years," said Sapp in a statement to The Christian Post. "It's been four years since my last album and the response has been great. Words can't express the appreciation that I feel!"

Get Our Latest News for FREE

Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know.

Subscribe

The album, released on June 2, is his fourth-consecutive record that reached No. 1 on the Gospel and Christian Sales Chart. Sapp made history in 2010, when he became the all-time highest charting gospel artist in Billboard‍ 's history with the release of "Here I Am."

Sapp has also garnered 22 Stellar awards and multiple Grammy nominations. Still, his latest offering was about something more than just garnering accolades.

Sapp told CP that it was important for him to encourage people. He said he wanted to keep the record "churchy but funky," which is a formula he has mastered throughout the years.

"I found myself going through the last four years of my life literally having to speak and declare and decree things over my life to keep me consistently encouraged. That's what the record is really about," he previously told CP. "It's really about affirmation, declaration and us, as individuals, really just reciting that living is the only option and anything else outside of that isn't an option at all."

Sapp is expected to speak at the Essence Empowerment Experience on Friday, July 3.