Program Success November 2006 | Page 31

The Christian Reader November 2006 31 WHAT IS KULCHA GOSPEL? I give honor, praise, and glory to my Heavenly Father, the Most High God! I thank God for His Grace and Mercy for allowing me to live long enough to accept His son Jesus Christ as my personal Savior, Healer, and Deliverer! I thank God for filling me with the Holy Ghost and manifesting his Spiritual Gifts within me! Before I was saved, I always loved my Caribbean music. Even though I was born in Brooklyn, New York, both of my parents are from the islands and raised us with the Caribbean heritage traditions. My Mother is from St. Kitts and my Father is from St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, and growing up in the Canton family home in Brooklyn, island music reigned. My sisters and I would travel far and wide for Caribbean Soca Carnivals in New York, Florida, and St. Thomas, where we danced in the streets and on trucks celebrating Carnival. Who would have guessed that Jesus would have changed MY life, cleaned me up and use ME to promote GOSPEL music! God must have a great sense of humor, because if you would have told me back then, that I, Lisa Canton (an ex-Rasta!) would be promoting GOSPEL music, I would have laughed at you! I now know that God’s plan and destiny for my life is KULCHA GOSPEL and RIGHT SPIRIT MINISTRIES. When I got saved and delivered for real, God showed me that there was contemporary Caribbean gospel music out there, but it’s not as available as American gospel. God then gave me the vision to promote Caribbean Gospel Ministries via KULCHA GOSPEL. “KULCHA” is spelled the way we pronounce the word “culture”. Caribbean gospel ministries are unique because the majority of our Caribbean Music Ministers left the secular music industry as major artists and became born again full-time gospel artists. I’m proud of that, and like to showcase that because their testimonies reach and impact souls whenever they are ministering. Can you imagine Snoop Dogg, Fifty Cents, and Young Jeezy getting saved and wanting to live for Christ, leaving the music industry in the height of their successes and going gospel full-time? That’s what’s happening in Caribbean gospel today. These major reggae artists who were used to “rocking” stadiums as their American counterparts such as: Judy Mowatt (used to sing backup for Bob Marley); Junior Tucker and Carlene Davis (both are min- Lisa Canton, President Kulcha Gospel, International isters today!), Hopeton Lewis, (founder of the Caribbean Gospel Music Awards), Stitchie, Papa San, Chevelle Franklyn, Goddy Goddy, Dobby Dobson, and Shelly Thunder, just to name a few; confessed that Christ Jesus is THEIR Lord and Savior, then they walked away from the secular industry and used their God-given talents for the Kingdom of God. PRAISE GOD! Their testimonies are all amazing! Now they are pr