A Closer Look Inside Yancy Ministries
YANCY MINISTRIES
With boundless energy, a myriad of creative channels, and an unflinching commitment to child discipleship, all mixed together with a heart of worship at every diverse turn, Yancy Ministries has become a premiere destination for kids worship music and church resources utilized in children’s ministry around the globe.
“I think diversity is something that happens in creative people,” notices Yancy, who has spent more than two decades on the front lines of artistry and ministry with an ever-increasing desire to serve fellow believers in many different areas. “I’m just one of those people who has a whole lot to share and express. My life plan has always included music. I started off doing more CCM music for teens and adults, then began leading worship for youth groups and church congregations, and with God’s prompting, started creating music for children and their families. There are several elements that are a part of the music and ministry that I do, and all of that combined makes me who I am. Some see those things as diverse. I just see it as me being obedient and doing what God has called me to do.”
THE MINISTRY’S STORY
The journey to Yancy Ministries’ extensive reach began with the simple desire to explore singer/songwriter terrain under the clever banner of “Music that Makes Jesus Loud,” which, like many newcomers, began with countless songwriting trips to Nashville. From the start, Yancy caught the ear of audiences and industry alike, first following in the footsteps of Jars Of Clay to win the Gospel Music Association’s International Spotlight Competition, then scoring the “Best Artist” slot in a WordRecords.com competition, as well as being named one of 7ball Magazine’s “Best 25 Independent Artists.”
Besides recording her own artist-centric inspired albums, Yancy quickly became one of Music City’s most sought-after songwriters. A sample of her success includes penning the chart-topping/ASCAP Award winning song “I Don’t Want To Go” for Avalon’s Grammy and Dove-nominated Oxygen album, writing the contemporary pop favorite “Something Beautiful” for Jaci Velasquez, and numerous co-writes with now legendary Third Day front man, Mac Powell. Yancy also exclusively wrote the songs and produced the videos for Standard Publishing’s annual VBS curriculum for many years.
Along the way, Yancy has toured coast-to-coast, sharing the stage with names such as Michael W. Smith, Newsboys, and the Billy Graham Association, in addition to touring as worship leader for SuperStart weekend events for preteens. Frequently, she can be found leading worship for kids camps, VBS weeks, and conferences across the country. However, the biggest component of Yancy’s travel calendar is comprised of local church family concerts which often include an audience of kids, parents, and even grandparents, yielding truly revolutionary multi-generational worship events. While some locations have high profile names like Hillsong Church (Sydney, Australia), First Baptist Dallas, Northpoint Community Church (Atlanta), Lakewood Church (Houston), and Prestonwood Baptist (Dallas), the full list are churches of all sizes and descriptions…just like the family of God.
Yancy has been a featured guest many times over on TV programs and networks such as “100 Huntley Street,” Daystar Television Network, and Family/LeSEA Broadcasting. Families also love to watch her music videos on the streaming services Pure Flix, Minno, RightNow Media, Yippee, Smile of the Child (TBN), YouTube, and more! She currently can also be seen leading worship weekly on First Baptist Dallas’ online service for kids.
Each year, Yancy can be found teaching workshops at multiple national conferences such as Children's Pastors Conference, KidzMatter’s MegaCon, Orange Conference, and D6 Conference as well as regularly contributing articles to Worship Musician Magazine, KidzMatter Magazine, MinistrySpark.com, and ChildrensMinistry.com.
Yancy has taken home About.com’s Readers’ Choice Award for “Best Christian Indie Solo Artist,” and in 2021, Yancy won her first GMA Dove Award for Children’s Music Album of the Year for “Ready, Set, Go.” Her Dove Award winning music can best be summed up as “All the things kids love and everything adults value.”
THE WORSHIP RESOURCES
“I love traveling and being a part of live music, but I also enjoy spending weekends in Nashville with my home congregation,” shares Yancy. “I’m blessed to have songs that have become really popular, and after church, I occasionally hop on social media and see comments from all over the country—many places which I’ve never visited—from churches who have used one of my songs in their services. We know over 167 countries use our music and resources. Isn’t that so cool? That’s been the most motivating and rewarding part to me–making music and materials other people can use. It’s not possible for me to be in all of those churches at the same time, but by making these songs and videos, it allows me to serve local churches and be part of others’ journey with Christ, even though we may never meet face to face. I’ve become super passionate about shifting Yancy Ministries’ focus toward those types of efforts.”
Yancy recently authored and self-published her first book, “Sweet Sound: The Power of Discipling Kids in Worship.” It encompasses her life ministry of leading kids into the presence of Jesus. By using examples from the life of King David, as well as her own personal experiences, Yancy is purposed to empower the reader to raise up kids who desire to live a life of worship on a daily basis, not only on Sundays. For those in kids ministry or worship, this book will challenge you to STOP just doing songs and START leading worship by making disciples who know what it means to worship the Lord in spirit and in truth.
Yancy’s first music projects for younger children began with recordings known as the Yancy and Friends: Little Praise Party series, which combines audio with video filled with cartoon characters to help visualize the words and themes portrayed within the songs.
Continually a popular worship resource in churches and homes around the world, the “Little Praise Party” series is focused on inviting young hearts to a relationship with Jesus by beginning a foundation of theology through the discipline of worship. “The first Little Praise Party album I made was for a church in Tulsa where I was working on the worship staff. We were just trying to fill a need we had for worship for that specific age group,” explains Yancy. “I had no idea how God would use that first recording, or how it would grow into a series of projects and some of my most popular songs. It was truly a ‘God’s dreams and plans are bigger than we can comprehend’ scenario for me.” One of the newest Little Praise Party projects is the 2021 Dove Award winning “Ready Set Go,” and there’s even an entire Spanish-language collection of Little Praise Party mainstays titled “Pequeña Fiesta de Alabanza,” which features vocal production from Jaci Velasquez and Salvador’s, Nic Gonzales.
Yancy has also focused on music for preteens and older elementary children. Most recently released under the brand Kidmin Worship, this music is a mix of Yancy original songs, popular worship songs, and hymns. The audio is set to an age-appropriate style, voice range, and song arrangement for this age group, and mixed with exciting motion graphic lyric videos.
Heartbeat Worship Curriculum is a robust five-lesson series that will help teach preteens HOW we do worship, WHY worship is important, and WHAT does worship look like in their lives. Yancy sums it up, “Kids will engage in worship when they understand the purpose of worship. Learning from David about how to have a heart after God will be a game changer for your kids.”
The idea of having a child of her own stirred Yancy to branch out and release the acoustically-framed, “Roots For The Journey.” What started as a lullaby album for Yancy’s son, with songs all based on scripture, soon became a relaxed worship experience for the entire family, making it a perfect baby dedication gift.
THE SUMMARY
Yancy Ministries ultimately exists to Make Jesus Loud, whether that’s through songs, videos, books, curriculum, countdowns, devotionals, training, mentoring, consulting, events, or family concerts. It happens in homes–one family at a time–or through the Church–one location at a time. A love and passion for Jesus is at the core of everything they do, encouraging whole families to love God with all their heart, spending time singing God’s praises, and celebrating all that He has done. Yancy’s personal passion is to help kids learn how to run to the Father by developing a reflex of worship.
Yancy’s new book is available in print, digital, and audiobook formats at http://yancyministries.com/SweetSound and wherever books and audiobooks are sold online.
Church resources for children’s ministry leaders can be found at https://store.yancyministries.com
For churches placing content online, check out the Annual Streaming Master Use License at http://yancyministries.com/streaming
For families, Yancy’s music can be found on all streaming services at https://sc.lnk.to/yancy