James “JJ” Hairston (Youthful Praise)

By Richard Cox

Youthful Praise, under the direction of JJ Hairston, lives by the theme of Psalm 66:2, “..make your praise glorious.” They are not seeking fame but want to fully give God glory. With their latest project Youthful Praise Live: The Praise The Worship, they want listeners to feel the worship, feel the praise and then be encouraged to live for God.

Gospelcity.com: Tell us about the background of Youthful Praise.

JJ Hairston: We were formally known as a teen choir called T.L.T. My church is Turner Faith in Bridgeport, Connecticut and actually Youthful Praise started out as a teen choir 15 years ago. We were too old to sing with the kids and too young to sing with the adult choir. So we started singing on our own. As the years went by we changed our name to Youthful Praise. We started singing the song Awesome God and things went really well with that.

GC: Did you write the popular song Awesome God?

JH: No. Actually Sean Wright, the guy who used to sing with us who is now a pastor. When Youthful Praise was first started, it was that song that people really started taking about. So we decided we wanted to record it, put it out and things have really taken off. God has really blessed us.

GC: What is the vision of Youthful Praise?

JH: Our desire is that people grow closer to God and feel our worship experience through what God has given us. We are not doing it to gain any fame or fortune for ourselves but just so He (God) will be glorified.

GC: How many members are in Youthful Praise?

JH:We have about 30 members and a 10-piece band.

GC: You just released your third project in August 2005. What is the title of the CD and the message to receive from the tracks?

JH:The title of the CD is Youthful Praise Live: The Praise The Worship. We are trying to take you through not a churchy service but a worship experience. We start out with You Are So Awesome and end with The Blood. And we want to take you through a worship experience with us. The night we recorded the CD, that’s what it was. The listeners who have purchased the project say they can feel it and that’s all we wanted.

GC: On your website I noticed the scripture Psalm 66:2, “..make your praise glorious.” Is this the theme of Youthful Praise?

JH:Yes!

GC: What have been the most memorable moments for your choir so far?

JH:I would say the first recording on Awesome God. It was an adventure. We didn’t know what was going to happen. When I turned around to start the first song I saw the place was jam-packed with people; they were standing on the side waiting to praise God.

GC: What message would you like to give to the survivors of Hurricane Katrina?

JH:I would say you can come back from anything. Some people think all hope is lost. They lost their house, their everything but even with that now it’s God’s opportunity to show how strong and mighty He is. He’s going to replenish everything and give you more than you thought you were going to get in life.

GC: What impact has Bobby Jones Gospel had on the music ministry of Youthful Praise?

JH:So much!!! When we first started with the Awesome God project, people liked it but they didn’t have a face to the name. Many people were singing the song and no one knew who the originators were. God blessed us to be on Bobby Jones Gospel and then people knew who we were. So thank God for Dr. Bobby Jones and the show for that.

GC: Do you have any websites for our readers to keep us with your music ministry?

JH:Yes. You can visit www.youthfulpraise.org.