Mark Schultz (musician)

Mark Mitchell Schultz^[1] (born September 16, 1970) is a contemporary Christian music artist. He has been nominated for numerous Dove Awards, winning his first at the 2006 Dove Awards when the CD/DVD Mark Schultz Live: A Night of Stories & Songs was named Long Form Music Video of the Year.

Background

Mark Schultz was adopted at two weeks old by his parents Gary and Ronita Schultz in Kansas City, KS. He has an older brother, Brad and a younger sister, Susan. Most of his childhood was spent in Colby, KS where he attended Colby Elementary School. When he was about eight years old, Schultz began to teach himself piano by ear. Schultz attended Colby High School and sang in musicals and with his friends in a band. He was also very involved in athletics as a basketball player, a track runner, a pitcher in baseball, and the quarterback of the football team. He graduated from Colby High School in 1989 and was elected to be the graduation speaker for his class.

Schultz attended two years at Colby Community College where he played baseball. Next he transferred to Kansas State University where he finished his college career, graduating in 1994 with a BA in marketing. He is a member of the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity. At KSU he auditioned for the small elite singing group known as the Kansas State Singers and was given a spot. He traveled with the Singers during his college years, and it was in this group, led by director, Gerald Polich, that Schultz honed his singing voice and started to dream about a bigger career in music. Late at night he would sneak into the music building at K-State to play the piano and write songs.

After graduating from college, Schultz drove to Nashville, TN to try to make it in the music industry. He had no job lined up, and all of his belongings fit in the back of his car. When he got to Nashville, he began looking for internships with music labels, and he also took a job as a waiter at one of the larger hotels in downtown Nashville. The hotel was right down the street from the famous Ryman auditorium. When Schultz's parents came to visit him for the first time in Nashville, his dad told him that he would one day listen to his son doing a concert on that stage.

Schultz found an internship at BMI, Broadcast Music Incorporated. One of the other interns who was leaving gave Schultz a name and number of a youth pastor in town and told Schultz to contact him for a job. That pastor's name was Mark DeVries. Although he was a Christian, Schultz did not feel like he was being called to work in a church but rather have a career in country music, so he tore up the piece of paper with the name and number on it and never called the minister.

Almost a year later Schultz was struggling to make ends meet as a waiter and was not getting any time to write songs or perform. He was ready to return to Kansas and give up on his dream. Late one night as he was closing the restaurant a couple came in through the front door. They explained that they had been given a gift by their church members to spend a night out at the hotel and have dinner. Even though he was tired and ready to go home, Schultz began to enjoy the conversation with the couple. Immediately a friendship was born with Mark and Susan DeVries. This was the youth pastor that Schultz was supposed to call a year before. DeVries told Schultz that he should enter youth ministry because of his engaging personality. Schultz did not think he would be good at working with kids, but eventually, he agreed and started at First Presbyterian Church, Nashville, TN as a youth director. He worked there alongside Mark DeVries for eight years, and it is at FPC where his music career was born.

About a year after he started working at FPC, Schultz was offered a part in the group Up With People to travel the world performing concerts. He was allowed to go while still keeping his job at FPC secure. During that year he visited France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, and other countries performing concerts and community service. It was a defining experience for Schultz who had never traveled outside of the country.

Career

Schultz began writing songs for the youth at First Presbyterian Church and their families. He wrote personal songs of people's struggles (He's My Son, Cloud of Witnesses, etc.) as well as songs for certain church events (Remember Me, I Am the Way). The members of the church and specifically the mothers of the youth group helped Schultz organize a concert at the Ryman auditorium which was held in 2000. Tickets were sold at FPC and all over Nashville by the women of the church. The auditorium was full that night and Schultz's parents were in the front row. Mark DeVries introduced him, and after the Ryman show, Schultz was offered a record deal with Myrrh Records. The songs performed at the Ryman concert made up Schultz's first record, his self-titled debut, Mark Schultz. This virtually unheard-of feat for a new artist landed Schultz not only a record deal where he went on to sell over 1.3 million albums but also garnered him 10 No. 1 singles to date. Schultz has landed the top spot on Billboard's Christian Adult Contemporary Songwriter list and has been featured on 48 Hours, CNN and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. In 2011, Schultz released his first instrumental album, Renaissance and his first novella, Letters From War, based on his hit song through {Howard Books} a division of {Simon and Schuster}. His 2005 release, Mark Schultz Live: A Night of Stories & Songs, was certified Platinum by the R.I.A.A. and earned Schultz his first GMA Dove Award.

On May 6, 2007, Schultz began bicycling from California to Maine in an attempt to raise money for widows and orphans. Schultz's inspiration to make the 3,500 mile trek came from a visit that he and his wife made to orphanages in Mexico. During the trip, Schultz performed concerts along the route and all of the proceeds benefitted the James Fund, a non-profit that meets the needs of orphans and widows. In total, Schultz raised approximately $250,000.

Schultz's album, All Things Possible, was released on September 4, 2012. The album's lead single, "All Things Possible" was released on July 17, 2012 and the next single, "I Gave Up" is scheduled to release in mid-2013. In early 2013 Mark headlined the "All Things Possible" tour with Aaron Shust and Jonny Diaz, playing over 20 shows in 15 states.

Schultz's latest album, Hymns was released on March 25, 2014 and includes eleven hymns, some of which include additional verses written by Schultz.

Activism

As an adopted child, Schultz believes that giving to orphans in need is part of his life's purpose. In addition to the bike trip, he has been an advocate for orphans and adoption during his entire career. Specifically, he has been a spokesperson for Bethany Christian Services, World Vision, Compassion, Food For the Hungry, The Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute and many others. More recently, Schultz has been participating in mission trips to serve orphans in Mexico with the group Good Goers.

In 2011, Schultz and his wife started the Remember Me Mission, which is a non-profit dedicated to helping orphans all over the world. Proceeds from Schultz's music and other creative projects go toward healthcare and education for orphans at home and abroad.

Discography

• Mark Schultz (2000)
• Song Cinema (2001)
• Stories & Songs (2003)
• Broken & Beautiful (2006)
• Come Alive (2009)
• Renaissance (2011)
• All Things Possible (2012)
• Hymns (2014)
• Before You Call Me Home (EP) (2015)

Awards and nominations

References

• Mark Schultz; J.L. Bibb (2005). Stories Behind the Songs. 
• Mark Schultz; Travis Thrasher (2011). Letters from War. 
• News - Your Music Zone

External links

• Official website
• Mark Schultz Meets Orphans Through Agency From Where He was Adopted on CNN