Purpose will have an anniversary celebration on Aug. 30 at 6:30 p.m. at the Russellville Church of God. There will be free food and everyone is encouraged to come out.

By Matt Wilson

For the FCT

The local gospel music quartet, Purpose, has been together officially for three years now and with the release of their new album, “Going Through,” the group has found an intensified sense of purpose indeed.

Group members Paula Mullens, Byron Gann, Tim Williams, and Scott King travel around the region singing songs of worship and “spreading hope and love in this world,” according to Williams.

But over the three years, the group has evolved into more than just harmonies and lyrics.

“We truly think of ourselves as a group that ministers more so than just a group of singers,” Williams said.

“We are storytellers and we want to share with people in their stories as well.”

The group became official in 2009 after years of crossing paths with one another during various singing engagements. Now as a limited liability company, Purpose is a proper “band” if you will, but Williams said they don’t promote themselves as such.

“We don’t promote our group as a southern gospel group,” Williams said. “We feel like we do more than that—that we have a higher calling.”

Mullens said the group is more focused on spreading a message.

“We evangelize wherever we go,” Mullens said.

“We want to spread the message of peace and hope to all the people in this world—to let them know that things can be good, that they can get better.”

Both Mullens and Williams said that if anything has changed with the group over the years it has been with the members.

“As a group we have grown closer for sure,” Mullens said. “We have all really focused on our purpose to evangelize.”

“The ministering has really become more deliberate and we really have become more focused on that side of things,” Williams added.

The group’s new album, “Going Through” is something that Mullens and Williams are delighted with.

“We don’t sing any song unless it has a true meaning to us,” Williams said.

“This album is filled with songs like that. There are great ministering opportunities in these songs.”

The album was recorded with David Holloway at Diamond H Studios in Smithville, Tenn., and Williams said it was a great experience.

“In the 33 years I’ve been doing this, I’ve never been more comfortable in a studio,” Williams said.

“Of course we always play our songs with a live band when we perform, but there are a lot of extra instruments on this album and it sounds great.”

The title of the album comes from a line in a song the group does, “One More River,” that became somewhat of a theme for the group over the last year.

“We did a lot of traveling around and moving through town to town,” Williams said. “The words in that song just started to really hit home for us.”

Williams said over the past few years there has been more of an urge to tell about Jesus and hope. Mullens said that everything associated with this group has seemed to fall into place and happen for a reason.

“When we got our bus that we tour around in, we decided to name it Esther after the story in the Bible,” Mullens said.

“It was placed in our lives at a time that we needed it and it has turned out to truly be a blessing.”

You can catch the group Aug. 30 at 6:30 p.m. at the Russellville Church of God for a night of singing and ministry. There will be free food and everyone is encouraged to come out.

Williams said the group is looking for a guitar player, but everything is going well for the group and he likes the strengthened focus the group has these days.

For Mullens the night of ministry and singing on Aug. 30 is something she and the group feel a constant need to be a part of.

“If we aren’t singing somewhere and ministering to the people then we feel like we’re forgetting something—that we’re supposed to be somewhere doing something,” Mullens said.