Kanye West in the Smoky Mountains? Rapper bringing Christian service to Tennessee

Kanye West is bringing his Sunday Service gospel show to Pigeon Forge in east Tennessee, a family tourism destination best known for Dolly Parton’s Dollywood theme park.

The rapper’s appearance is part of a Strength to Stand youth conference Jan. 18-20, according to the organization’s website, which says West will perform a concert.

Pigeon Forge is just outside the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, about 30 miles southeast of Knoxville.

West — who is married to reality TV star Kim Kardashian — surprised many people earlier this year by releasing a gospel album titled “Jesus is King.”

He has been making headlines the past two months by professing his Christian reawakening, including a series of appearances — called the Sunday Service Experience — at some of the nation’s biggest churches.

The shows feature West singing and rapping songs with Christian-themed lyrics, including some songs that are just as danceable as his rap hits.

Strength to Stand announced Nov. 21 that West’s Sunday Service was being added to the youth conference, and it quickly sold out. However, the conference posted Monday that a limited number of seats were added after “rearranging things.”

West’s service was added not long after the conference canceled a scheduled appearance by Christian comedian John Crist, when news broke that he was “accused of sexual misconduct,” according to People.com.

Scott Dawson, who founded the student conferences, told KnoxNews.com he had been searching for an artist to replace the comedian when a friend mentioned having contacts within Kanye West’s inner circle.

Dawson was “shocked” when West called not long after and said he decided “after prayer and deliberation” to perform at the January event, KnoxNews.com reported.

Strength to Stand, a Christian nonprofit based in Alabama, says its Bible Study Conferences are designed to “challenge your students to go beyond the surface of casual Christianity and bring them into a lifetime commitment to Jesus Christ.”

The conferences are for students from grades six through college, Strength to Stand says on its website.

“We make no apology in confronting lost students with the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” the site says.

This story was originally published December 4, 2019 at 8:13 AM.