FBC Silas members watch singing duo grow into chart-topping artists

It’s definitely a God thing,” said Tammy McRae, mother of the gospel-singing duo The McRaes, whose faces grace the cover of the June edition of Singing News magazine.
   
On May 29, the nationally acclaimed recording artists packed the house at First Baptist Church, Silas, ministering to the crowd with songs such as their No. 1 hit “If It Had Not Been the Lord.”  
   
Just back from a tour with well-known Christian singer/comedian Mark Lowry, the duo wowed the audience with their powerful testimony in word and song.
   
The McRaes grew up just across the state line from Silas in nearby Waynesboro, Miss., and have been frequent guests at First, Silas, since the early days of their career.
   
“We’ve known them since they started their ministry and we’ve watched them grow,” said Shirley Whigham, wife of Silas pastor Don Whigham. “It’s been amazing to see them grow to where they are now. It’s really been obvious that it is God’s hand at work in their lives.”
   
Their mother agrees.
   
According to Tammy McRae, her daughters’ rise to top the gospel music charts is not because of their own talents — it is a divine plan in the making. 
   
The McRae family grew up listening to the gospel music sounds of artists such as The Crabb Family, Jeff and Sheri Easter, The Isaacs and The Greenes. Annie and Kelly McRae, the two oldest of five girls, began singing as young children when the family attended Clara Church of God in Waynesboro, Miss.
   
“Everyone at the church was involved in music, either singing or playing an instrument,” Tammy McRae said.  “I took them with me to sing in the choir when they were only 6 and 8 years old. They learned to sing by standing beside the altos in that choir. Then they began to sing harmony together.”
   
As the girls grew older, they began to receive invitations to sing at local churches and functions, making a name for themselves on a local level. 
   
But the McRae sisters began to realize that God had bigger plans for them when they were invited to open a concert in Waynesboro, Miss., for the Easters.
   
“I know God was in this,” Tammy McRae said. “We didn’t know anybody in the music industry, but when Jeff (Easter) heard the girls sing, he asked if they had ever considered recording a CD. My first thought was ‘Hey, I know my mother would really love to have a CD made by her granddaughters.’ I never thought all this would happen.”
   
Easter called a producer in Nashville and arranged for Annie and Kelly to record their first CD. A short time later, the McRae family was astounded when they heard from Lowry.
   
“He invited the girls to tour with him, and they spent nine months traveling with him,” their mother said.
   
During their tour with Lowry, who was also part of the Gaither group at the time, Annie and Kelly performed in Gaither Homecoming videos as well as sang on stage with Lowry during his solo tours.
   
According to their mother, who serves as their manager, sound operator and general do-it-all, The McRaes began to see even more doors open for them through an association with the Crabbs. 
   
The McRaes also made their songwriting talents known by recording “I Will Overcome” and “Lord, Shake These Chains,” both written by Annie McRae. Both songs made the Singing News Top 20 charts.
   
Although Annie and Kelly McRae are both young, 21 and 19 respectively, they have seen incredible opportunities open up for them in the space of a short time. It is a testament not to their talents but to their faith in God, Tammy McRae said.
   
“They are very grounded in the Word,” she said. “What you see on stage is who they really are. … They think of this as a ministry where they can honor God and lead others to Him. When people talk about today’s youth in a negative way, they need to take a look at the lives of these girls. They live their faith.”
   
That faith is evident in their lives both on and off the stage, Whigham said.
   
“These girls have come to our church on many occasions, not just to sing but to minister in other ways,” she said. “They’ve even taken time out of their schedules to speak to our youth. They talked to them about the fact that what they do looks so glamorous, but they have to keep their focus on the Lord. 
   
“They had the opportunity to cross over to country music a few years ago, when they were about 13 and 15 years old, but they wouldn’t do it. Annie told me that they knew that it was not what God wanted them to do. They knew they were going to sing gospel.”
   
According to Tammy McRae, the Lord continues to bless their family in amazing ways. 
   
Annie and Kelly signed a recording contract with Daywind Records last year and a booking agreement with the April Potter Agency. They continue to produce chart-topping hits and are drawing large audiences wherever they appear. 
   
The McRaes say that they intend to follow the Lord’s lead wherever that takes them in the music industry, with more plans to pursue songwriting as well as singing. But Tammy McRae insisted, it is all in God’s hands.
   
“If you never heard their songs, if you never heard their music, just to see the love of God in their lives and to hear their testimony is enough to know where their heart is,” Whigham said.