Following a successful Facebook campaign, fans of former Christian rock-worship band Delirious? managed to push their single History Maker into the top 10 in the UK's pop charts. The aim was simply to raise the flag for faith in Jesus and to raise money for charity.
Delirious? will donate their profits from the UK single downloads to Compassion art projects, a poverty relief initiative.
The Facebook group 'Christian music topping the UK Charts!' generated more than 50,000 members who were buying two versions of History Maker - a studio version and a live version from the band's farewell concert.
According to the London Times the group, which saw four of its songs reach the UK Top 20 between 1997 and 2008, disbanded last November. Now, at the request of "a whole bunch of Christians from Facebook" - to quote the official Delirious? website - they re-released their 1997 song History Maker for Easter.
The Facebook initiative all started a couple of months ago after the success of an unrelated campaign on the internet, which helped an old rock band, Rage Against the Machine, gather 950,000 supporters online and top the charts at Christmas against all odds.
The highpoint of the campaign was Palm Sunday until April 3. The strategy was simple, it was all about spreading the word in the virtual community.
Churches were also invited to participate as the fans created a series of PowerPoint presentations designed in such a way that it is suitable for any church meeting.
The Evangelical Alliance said: "This creative approach is revolutionizing the way Christians fulfil the great commission ministry, with the velocity of the internet increasing interactivity and giving Christians another platform to be relevant to society."
Peter Wooding is a TV, radio and print journalist and media consultant having spent 10 years as news editor with UCB Radio in the UK. He has traveled extensively reporting from countries including Russia, Serbia, Ukraine, Dubai, South Korea, Zambia, Gambia, Mozambique, Croatia, Israel and India. He reports regularly for CBN News, KCBI radio, ASSIST News and Sorted Magazine. Peter and wife Sharon live in North Wales, UK with their three children.
Passionate to see God’s Justice and Mercy impact lives, Peter is director of a new UK ministry Mercy Project International (www.mercyproject.org.uk) to help at-risk young people in Ukraine, Russia, Armenia, Kosovo, the Middle East and beyond. Contact Peter for consultation at woodingpeter@hotmail.com or tel. +44 1244 549167/+44 7500 903067.
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Christian band rocks UK pop charts over Easter
