I’ve been a huge Stryper fan since 1985.  I walked into a bookstore in Macon, GA and saw a display with their Yellow and Black Attack album.  I picked up the cassette and headed back to Cochran, GA (Middle Georgia College).  The entire drive back to the dorm I was in heaven as I listened to their sound for the first time!  Later that week a friend in the dorm (who was not a Christian) came to me to ask if I had ever heard of a band called Stryper as he handed me a copy of Spin Magazine with a feature article on the band.

That was the first time I shared the Gospel with someone because of Stryper’s music.  In the years to come, I would share Jesus with others my age and younger through the band.  I recall one summer going to Panama City Beach, FL with a few extra cassettes (Soldier’s on Command) on hand to give away as I met other teens.  One of the high points was watching Stryper (In God We Trust) at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, GA.  Michael Sweet directed everyone’s attention to the stars in the ceiling of the building and began to talk about God’s creation.  There was a couple next to me that both began to break down and cry as Michael talked about God.  I began praying for them.  At the end of the concert I spoke with them and prayed with them before we left.

Fast-forward…. I saw Stryper a few years ago in Atlanta with several friends.  As we hit I-75 I asked, “Who would have ever thought we would be going to see Stryper in our 40’s riding in a mini van?”  Ha!  The next tour through Atlanta I will have my 11 year old son with me too! 🙂

Well, Stryper is releasing another studio album!  It is expected to release on November 5.  Their first video from the album has already been released, “No More Hell to Pay”.