Beyond the Song by Jantina Baksteen featuring The Hyssongs
I caught up with Richard Hyssong of popular trio, the Hyssongs, to talk about their new radio song, “There Is God.” I love the family blend on this song. My first comment to Richard was, “Is this a Shane Roark song?” True story! Enjoy this interview.Â
Jantina Baksteen: “There is a God,” is your third release to radio after “Choose Life,” and, “God Says You Can,” off of your latest project, Pressing On. Those three titles that are uplifting by themselves. What is the story behind this album?
Richard Hyssong: Our family has recorded at Chapel Valley with producer, Shane Roark, for about sixteen years. When we started working on our CD, Pressing On, our goal was to pick songs that would encourage people. It seems like the world is filled with hopelessness and the only one that will give us hope is Jesus Christ. We do not have a travelling ministry for awards or accolades, but we just found out that this CD was just nominated as one of the top 10 albums of the year.
We feel really blessed at how well our first single off this album has done. “God Says You Can,” has been on the charts for seven consecutive months. When we first heard this song, written by Matthew Lawson, we knew we had to record it. Phil 4:13 says “I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.” Many are called but due to self doubt, or others doubting them, they do not act on that calling. We need to remember that when God says you can, there is nothing you cannot do!
Prior to that we released “Choose Life,” which was the No. 1 song in Southern gospel last fall. That song was recorded about seven years ago. We decided to send the song to radio due to the timing of what was happening world wide. The song has three powerful verses, and each verse has a story. We knew that the messages needed to be heard, and people’s lives were changed. Michael Frost, the writer of the song has actually sent us another single that we cannot wait for everyone to hear later in 2020.
JB: Shane Roark is the writer of this powerful song, “There is a God.” Did Shane write it especially for this project?
RH: “There is a God,”, written by Shane, is our brand new radio release. It was written as a response to those that question and deny that God exists. When we were in the song selection stage of our new album, we discussed the state of our world. This song seemed to keep coming up, and there was no doubt we needed to record it. The song seems to be perfect for today as people are questioning everything.
JB: What is the message in this song?
RH: At this point, the world is dealing with Covid 19. As a full time music ministry, there is no income due to churches and venues being closed. In fact, as of right now, no one knows how this will effect world economically. So for me, this song has a deeper meaning. We know that God will take care of us regardless of what happens. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever and as the song says “There is a God, He knows my name.” I believe that with all my heart.
JB: I know you have an amazing testimony to share of your daughter, Mckayla. Can you share some of that with the readers?
RH: Most people know that our daughter, Makayla, was born with twenty-two tumors in her heart, and masses of brain tumors. She was just three days old when they discovered her physical issues. My wife, Kelly, and I were told that she would most likely not survive, and that if she did, she would never walk or talk. People all over the world prayed for her and today, she is eleven years old, and doing fantastic. All of her heart tumors are completely gone and she is doing great!
JB:Â When you look back to that time and that trial with your family, how does that mesh with the message in this song?Â
RH: Going through that with our daughter has shown us the power of God. There is no doubt in our minds that “There is a God.”
JB:Â You travel as a family. How does it feel to spend so much time together?
RH:Â It is a little different travelling with your family. We have three generations in one vehicle, which can be quite interesting at times, however, we do get along quite well.Â
JB:Â Can you share a funny story that happened on the road? How many dates do you do in a year?
RH:Â Our family typically performs 225 – 250 concerts and services per year. Each year it seems like we are busier than the year prior.Â
Funny story: If you spend anytime with our family, you know we love to laugh. The first year at NQC, we were invited to do a TV interview. We were told that the program was called Daystar. Our time slot was at 8:00 p.m., and we needed to be there 10 minuted prior to sign some paper work. When we arrived at the Daystar network booth, they had no idea who we were or who had scheduled us. I typically do not push, but I felt that they made a huge mistake and had scheduled others and pushed us out. They informed the Booth Brothers that they had made a mistake, and needed to slide the Hyssongs (who nobody knew back then) in their spot. We did the interview and had a great time. Once we were done, we headed toward our booth. As we were walking back another man came up to us and was very upset with us. He informed my family that he was waiting to record us, and that he hosted a TV show with same name, Daystar, but not on that network. What are the chances! Talk about humiliating, however we got on both networks and shows!
JB: Makayla is does an awesome job together with you on stage. Does she have the passion to follow in your footsteps?
RH: I love having our daughter sing a few songs with us at each concert. At this point, I am not sure what she will do in the future. Of course, I would love to have her and our son continue being a part of our ministry in some capacity. However, we want them to make those decisions and follow God’s leading. They both have some great gifts and it will be fun to see what the future has in store for each of them.
Please enjoy this video, as the Hyssongs sing, “There is a God!”
Special thanks to Richard Hyssong for chatting with us on Beyond the Song. You can find out more about the Hyssongs HERE.
