Ray Boltz
Genre: Pop
Official Web Site
Ray Boltz Bibliography: (click on each album cover to view tracks and Ray Boltz lyrics)
Ray Boltz Biography 1995 was a year Ray Boltz will never forget. The changes it brought in him are powerfully chronicled in his release, No Greater Sacrifice. Ray crossed the country, playing sold-out venues to thousands of fans. His Concert of a Lifetime video was certified gold and the album topped the charts for months. But as significant as all those accomplishments were, they were only part of the picture.
Ray began working with Misson of Mercy in the past year taking offerings at each concert to feed the hungry in Calcutta, India, raising almost $500,000, enough to provide almost 5 million meals. Later in the year, Ray had the opportunity to go to Calcutta and see and assist in the work there. Witnessing Christ's power and love in both nourishing frail bodies and souls, Ray was deeply touched forever. "The two things that moved my heart the most," says Ray, "were the generosity of my audiences, and standing in the feeding line in Calcutta serving hungry people plates full of rice. I actually saw the money we raised at work in people's lives."
Ray's compassion for the Indian people was stirred when the Rev. Wayne Francis, a ministry representative for Mission of Mercy joined the tour. Every night, Francis would lead a devotion before the concert. "It was like being in church every night," Ray says. "We set a goal of growing closer to Christ on this tour and it really happened."
With the first decade of his career brilliantly summed up on The Concert Of A Lifetime and given total creative control of every aspect of his music for the future, Ray felt complete freedom on No Greater Sacrifice to go wherever his heart and the Lord led him. "The focus of No Greater Sacrifice really became clear after my trip to India and hearing the stories the stories Wayne Francis shared night-after-night during the tour," says Ray, "as well as actual encounters and experiences with people as we traveled."
One of the album's stand-outs to be inspired by pre-concert devotions is "God Gave Me Back Tomorrow," a soulful duet with Cindy Morgan, telling of God's restoration from failures and shortcomings that rides atop a free-flowing R&B groove.
Ray was born and raised in Muncie, Ind., where he still resides with his wife, Carol, and their four children, Karen, Philip, Elizabeth and Sara. He graduated from Ball State University in Indiana, where he received a degree in business and marketing.
Ray's music ministry started in Sunday night services, youth meetings, prisons and evangelistic services. His goal was to perform music that would allow his audiences to see Jesus. During the last 10 years there has been an incredible growth in concert attendance, record sales and public awareness, but his goal remains the same. Ray believes the success of his ministry cannot be measured merely by the number of people who buy his records or attend his concerts. True success in ministry can only be measured by the impact it has on individual lives.
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