[Mickey]

(NASHVILLE, Tenn.) July 11, 2002 – Sparrow /sixstepsrecords is eagerly preparing to launch the sophomore recording from highly successful artist/worshiper Chris Tomlin. Entitled Not To Us, and produced by Matt Bronleewe (Jars of Clay, dcTalk, Natalie Imbruglia), the project will release September 10 amidst a multi-faceted marketing campaign, strategically implementing an aggressive combination of retail, radio, Internet, publicity and touring elements.

“Chris Tomlin is the kind of artist we believe that ‘hearing is believing,’” says Sparrow’s sr. director of artist development, Denise George. “To that end we are trying to capture every opportunity with our partners at sixstepsrecords to have loyal fans and new consumers hear and experience these songs. Chris has an established and growing fan base with the unique reach and ministry of the Passion Network Reps, so we are able to speak directly to college students in a way that is truly impactful. Our focus will be on introducing Chris's songs to the larger CCM audience through radio, on the road with Rebecca St. James this fall, and strategic retail promotions and partnerships.”

One of the premier songwriters of today, Tomlin is already well known for his widely embraced anthems, including “The Wonderful Cross” and “We Fall Down,” which have appeared on over 800,000 Passion records sold to date. Additionally, his “Forever” appears on the current Gold-selling Michael W. Smith’s worship recording. With the new project, Tomlin proves once again his rare ability to reach directly into the world of the modern church and to college students.

Tomlin’s Not To Us contains the exceedingly popular “Famous One,” already connecting with live audiences nationwide from the fall 2001 Passion Experience tour and April 2002 Passion release, and a host of other songs that are strikingly immediate and singable.

“I had no idea that ‘Famous One’ would connect with people in such a powerful way,” explains Tomlin. “I knew it was singable, and I loved the idea of the word ‘fame’ for God because I know our society understands that word when they don’t understand some of the other words we use for who God is. When you talk about fame, Jesus embodies the word. One day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that He is Lord. That’s fame beyond belief.”

Not To Us features all original songs written or co-written by Tomlin. Additionally, the anticipated release includes one song co-written by the UK’s renowned and prolific songwriter, Matt Redman (Michael W. Smith, Tree63, Passion Worship Band).

“Matt and I simply placed ourselves in a quiet spot in the back of a church for a couple of days,” explains Tomlin. “We wrapped our minds around the enormous idea of God creating the world and redeeming the world at the same time, and we both sensed something special in that room, in the wedding of lyric and melody.”

Performing many of the new songs from Not To Us this fall, Tomlin’s significant fan base will get a taste of the upcoming project when he appears on the extensive nationwide Rebecca St. James Worship God Tour. In addition, Tomlin will appear at numerous youth camps this summer and will perform for college students at over 250 campuses via the Passion '03 Satellite Link Oct. 24. There will also be a special celebration in Tomlin’s hometown of Houston, where he will appear during the week the recording releases.

The first single from the project, “Enough,” will go for adds at AC and CHR radio formats July 26. The Sparrow/sixstepsrecords radio team will provide stations with pre-recorded Tomlin interviews and will also design a special “win it before you can buy it” campaign, giving fans a chance to obtain the project before it hits the shelves.

The record labels have further designed several purchase premiums for the first few weeks of sales, including a special $11.99 introductory price and a reduced price on backlist titles featuring Tomlin. The labels will also target promotions at key regional and national accounts. Tomlin himself appeared at the Chordant Sales Conference in May to talk about Not To Us and perform new music from the project.

The Sparrow’s/sixstepsrecords’ media team is working to garner coverage for all of the special events surrounding the release and is preparing pre-release mailings for media contacts and Internet press kits on Tomlin. In addition, www.christomlin.com is being revamped with new information and special features regarding the new project, and the team is targeting coverage for the project on a variety of well-known websites.

For more information on Chris Tomlin and Not To Us or to obtain tour dates and locations, please visit www.christomlin.com or www.sixsteprecords.com.

Founded in 2000 by Louie Giglio, sixstepsrecords is a young worship label and is a division of Choice Resources, the parent ministry for Passion Conferences. Other artists on the roster include Charlie Hall (Porch & Altar) and David Crowder Band (Can You Hear Us?). The label partners with Sparrow Records for marketing, sales and distribution operations.

Brentwood, Tennessee-based EMI CMG was founded in 1994. It is the world's largest Christian music company, operating the Sparrow, ForeFront, Worship Together and EMI Gospel labels in addition to EMI CMG Publishing and Chordant Distribution Group. EMI CMG is a unit of EMI Music, the third largest recorded music company in the world.

For much more on Chris Tomlin, click here