Because of one lady, an anointed worship leader was born.

Remember pastor once shared about how each small thing we do could lead to a great man of God rising up? Here is Israel Houghton's testimony. Above is one of his songs that is simple, yet so full of gratitude for the Lord.

I come from a cross-cultural background, which is a nice way of saying that my father was black and my mother is white. My mother became pregnant at the age of 17 in Waterloo, Iowa. Obviously, it was a bad situation during the early 70's in a small midwestern town. Her parents gave her two choices: either have a back-alley abortion or be disowned by her family. Thank God she chose the latter. Ultimately, she was disowned and abandoned by my biological father.

She ended up moving to San Diego, California. Picture this. It was 1971 and my mother was 8 months pregnant, all alone, thousands of miles from home, and forced to enter reality unprepared. Pretty bleak. (Read on...)

One day, while walking down the street, this lady pulled up to her in a Volkswagen Bug. The woman got out of her car and respectfully, yet boldly began to share the Gospel with my mom. Words of life and hope began to overtake the words of rejection and abandonment she had grown accustomed to. There on the street corner, she ended up on her knees where she cried out to God and committed her life to Jesus Christ. The lady gave my mother a Bible and she began reading at page one. My mother saw the name Israel all through it. That's how I got my name!

My mother eventually met and married my stepfather, who is really my dad, when I was one year old. We grew up in church because he went into full-time ministry as a pastor. You see, God had a plan from the very beginning!

I'm often asked by skeptics why I'm as passionate about worshiping God as I am. The answer is simple for me. In this age of disposable relationships, I could easily have become a statistic and, at best, a distant memory of a youthful mistake. Instead, a Sovereign God rescued my mother and me and gave us hope, a future and a testimony of the providence of God. The very least I can do is enter into His gates with thanksgiving, His courts with a passionate praise and eventually bow before His throne in intimate worship.

As far as leading worship goes (which is my passion and calling), I now realize that there have been demands put on me from every part of my experience since day one - culturally, emotionally, musically, and more. So things tend to sound cross-cultural, cross- denominational, and cross-generational. I like to call it, "The Sound of New Breed Worship." I tend to lead from an internal platform founded in Psalm 124:2, "If it had not been for the Lord who was on my side"....where in the world would I be?

In an age of disposable relationships, maybe we should be asking ourselves that question a lot more often. I am confident that we would worship with far more conviction, intensity, and overwhelmed gratitude if we did.

Today, Israel Houghton has garnered acclaim as one of Christian and Gospel music’s foremost worship leaders, songwriters, recording artists and producers.

Engaged in full-time ministry since 1989, Israel has touched the hearts of millions across the globe through his anointed, God-inspired music.

A former member of Fred Hammond’s talented vocal aggregation, Radical For Christ, Israel has worked with gospel luminaries CeCe Winans, Donnie McClurkin and Yolanda Adams while winning the admiration of such notables as Andrae Crouch, Maurice White (Earth, Wind & Fire), Ron Kenoly and Gary Oliver. He has also performed at numerous high-profile events including The Stellar Awards, PromiseKeepers, the Young Messiah Tour, the NBA All-Star Game Week and Washington For Jesus and continues regular television appearances on the Trinity Broadcasting Network.

Israel, his wife Meleasa and their three young children make their home in Texas where he often leads worship at Houston’s Lakewood Church.

New Breed is a purpose driven Worship movement carrying the sound of the Kingdom through the anointing of God to lead all peoples seeking to glorify God through worship and anointed music.

In 1995, Israel and Meleasa founded New Breed Ministries, a music ministry organization comprised of noted musicians and singers who serve within their respective churches and tour extensively performing worship concerts across the country.

Israel and New Breed have appeared on three power-packed praise and worship albums, the 2001 Hosanna! Music CD New Season, the 2002 Integrity Gospel CD Real and most recently, Integrity Gospel’s Live From Another Level. They also have appeared on numerous albums recorded at Lakewood Church with worship leader Cindy Cruse Ratcliff.