Youth in Gospel: Canaan Coffman

Youth in Gospel: Canaan Coffman

By Lyndsey Chandler

I am excited to introduce to you this month’s featured artist, Canaan Coffman, of gospel music artists, the Coffmans.

Canaan Coffman lives in Danville, Kentucky, and is 17 years old. While she is the only one who travels with her parents, Canaan has four older adult brothers. She sang her first solo at three years old and her parents said it was actually on pitch. 

Canaan has a passion for acting and she hopes to use that one day for God’s glory. It is a scary passion, but she is crazy about characters, costumes, and theatre. 

“I also love Broadway,” says Canaan. “There’s so much creative genius on Broadway, it’s amazing. Besides my passions, I like a good puzzle and youtube video.” 

When it comes to instruments, Canaan shares, “I have taken piano (lessons) on and off my whole childhood, but I’ve never learned enough to play whatever I want or play publicly. I also played the trumpet in public school. Not to brag, but I was first chair.”

Her favorite fast food is Chick-Fil-A nuggets or Culver’s burger with cheese. Her days off of the road are never really days off. Canaan is homeschooled, so when she gets home, she typically finds herself catching up on work she wasn’t able to do on the road before her deadlines. When she gets a real day off, she’ll let us know how it feels.

One of my favorite questions to ask of my featured artists is about the funniest thing that’s ever happened to them on stage, because after a while, something funny and/or crazy is bound to happen. 

“For some reason, I always knock my teeth with my mic trying to take it off the stand,” Canaan confesses. “At Dollywood one year, my lip bled through our whole set and you could see me trying to make it stop. Also, my mom once fell backwards on stage during our set. Everyone was so quiet, but then we all were dying laughing. Other groups were there too, and we all had a big laugh about it later that night.”

Canaan’s parents were a part time duo when she was little and she traveled with them. When she was nine years old, her parents decided to start the ministry up again and officially add Canaan to the mix. This March, Canaan will have traveled with her parents for nine years. 

“We moved back to Kentucky from Tennessee where my mom had been a worship leader at Mountain View Baptist in Johnson City. I can’t speak for my parents who make up 2/3 of our group, but there was something missing. We were finally with our whole family in the same town. My dad had a fantastic job, so we were financially stable. Yet, we knew God was calling us to something bigger than ourselves. We started practicing music and booking dates. With a lot of growth and favor from God, we became the Coffmans.” 

Canaan shares how the group stages songs. “Mom and I have pretty close ranges, but she’s still the higher singer. We can trade in and out on leading songs. I’m not totally confident in my range, which I’m working on. So, for now, I sing alto when I don’t lead.”

Canaan does Dual Enrollment courses through Liberty University homeschool program. When she graduates this May, she will have her Diploma and Associates Degree. She does plan on attending college on a campus, and she and her parents believe that God is going to keep their ministry going through that. 

“When I sing straight to Jesus and not to people, I feel humbled and motivated to keep going. Discouragement hits me often like a truck. But usually, that happens when I’m thinking about my goals, my wants, and my abilities. I know God has given us our gifts to help other people. But, if I think of it as worshiping with them, I feel more connected to the Lord.”

A special message that Canaan Coffman would like to get out to young people and a life goal that she would like to complete is, “Read your Bibles! I cannot stress this enough. Read it all. Read the good parts, the scary parts, the confusing parts, and the really confusing parts. Twitter and Facebook aren’t the Bible, and we need the true Word of God more than ever. I hope God will give me the opportunity to lead someone to Jesus one-on-one. To see a true, saved all over salvation. Careerwise, I would love to worship in an arena and take part in a movie.”

I hope you have enjoyed reading this interview with Canaan. For more information about The Coffmans’ ministry and booking information, you can contact Lori Wise with Dominion Agency. Facebook HERE

By Lyndsey Chandler

First published in SGNScoops Magazine March 2020