A Rockford couple pours into the community creating an overflow of inspiration in more ways than one. WNIJ’s Yvonne Boose spoke with the pastor and first lady to find out how they keep going higher and higher.
Justin Francis is the pastor of Soar Assembly and the president and CEO of Soar Radio. His wife Rebecca is the vice president and operations manager of the gospel station and the owner of Ignite Change Solutions LLC. What started out as an online radio station has warped into so much more and continues to grow.
Soar Radio started over a decade ago. This online platform offers inspirational music and other content. Justin is a songwriter and said he hosted a lot of events in the city.
“And I was talking to a friend that actually does marketing down south,” he said, “and I was telling him, 'I really wish I had a radio station that would help sponsor, you know, some of our events.' And he was like, 'why don't you?' And I said, 'well, we don't have a Christian, you know, radio station here.' And he was like, ‘you should start your own.’ And I was like, ‘no.’”
That “no” quickly turned into a yes. Justin said he reached out to his technically minded cousin for help. They started doing research and Soar Radio emerged in 2014. And then something else happened. In 2017, the online station became the first internet gospel station to be monitored by Nielsen’s Broadcast Data Systems. Justin said that placement helped the station ascend even higher. He said labels started calling to have their artists’ music played on the 24/7 network.
“So, they can chart,” he explained. “So, because of that, I was like, 'you know what? Why not do an award show?'”
The purpose of this awards ceremony is to honor gospel players who have made a major impact in the genre. The first show took place in April 2017 at the Tebala Event Center in Rockford and continued to happen in the city until this year, when it moved to Chicago. This year's honorees were Archbishop William Hudson and gospel singers Yolanda Adams and Smokie Norful. This ceremony can be seen on YouTube.
Rebecca said the growth of the station and the award show is something she didn’t fathom.
“I know, like, people see us do it," she said, "but I'm just as shocked as you guys are, right, like I still feel the same way, like I'm grateful for the opportunity. And I also think that the fact that God chose us, out of all people in the world like to do something like so big.”
In addition to the music, the station offers content from community leaders including Justin himself.
The JD morning show used to air four days a week but has turned into a weekly show. Rebecca is cooking up something of her own: a YouTube podcast called “Doin’ It All.” She said this was inspired by comments made by people who were suggesting that she does too much. This first lady is a mother, serves on many boards in the city, and runs her own company in addition to the work she does for Soar Radio and the awards show. So, she decided to share her journey with those who struggle with time management and productivity.
“You can do it all. You really can,” she said. “It's ‘how are you using your time?’ If you're scrolling on social media all day, that's probably why you can't do a lot, right? You know? So those kinds of things, and I'm guilty of that, right? Because I love watching trends and what people are doing.”
Rebecca said the first couple of shows will be done solo, but she also plans to interview other experts, including her mom.
Justin said he’s maximizing the momentum of the brand and is excited for everything “Soar,” but the assembly and awards are his main focal points. He says the awards ceremony has featured many singers, but he still wants to highlight greats like Kirk Franklin, CeCe Winans and Shirley Caeser.
“Everybody else in Gospel that you can think of, we've had," he said, "from Mary Mary, Tye Tribbett, The Clark Sisters, all of them, from Tamela Mann, Michelle Williams. I mean, everybody else in Gospel, it’s kind of surreal, has hit the stage, and we've had presentations and tributes from Beyonce herself and Bishop TD Jakes."
Justin said he will dub the comments that Yolanda Adams made during her Soar Award thank-you speech calling the movement a “Soar conglomerate.”
The “Doin’ It All” podcast will debut this month. Next year’s Soar Awards will honor gospel singers Fred Hammond and Donnie McClurkin. It will take place on March 2 in Chicago. In the meantime, the radio couple will continue to use their platforms to help others fly.
Listen to an extended version here:
