Genre:		Pop, Inspirational/Worship
For fans of:		Margaret Becker, Keith Green, Kim Hill, Melissa Etheridge
Label:		Found/Floodgate Records

I Have to Believe (2005)
Rise Up (2004)
Effortless (2002)
Created to Worship (2001)
All I Have (2000)
To the Moon (1998)
Love Covers (1996)

	Buy 'em here! I Have to Believe Rise Up Effortless

Rita Springer has always had a knack for bringing people into the throne room of God. She can cut through the clutter of our busy lives, merging honesty and heartbreak, hope and heroism to show the Lordship of Christ, while never forgetting the love affair that He yearns for as well. I Have to Believe, Rita's latest project, and the debut of Found Records, continues telling the story of her journey—a journey to get closer to the presence of God.

This quest includes a passion to bring others along with her, so each year, Rita finds herself traveling 38-40 weekends, leading her Fragrant Oil conferences, along with more traditional worship conferences and appearances at events which often center around worship and women's ministries.

Faced with the challenge of capturing the fervent passion and raw honesty that Rita's live events are known for, the team of producers Nathan Nockles (Passion Live, Matt Redman), with additional production by Margaret Becker, and mixing great Shane Wilson (Switchfoot, Third Day) were enlisted to get the job done on this her fifth studio album. So in early 2005, Rita traveled to Nashville, ready to take on the monster known as the recording studio. "The recording experience was great," she explains, "because it was a time of watching other very talented people take up where I left off, and watched how they steered my heart."

Every album reveals a season of Rita's life. But this album is a little different. I Have to Believe seems to be the most severe, in that the others tended to be stories of the journey to God. This album, however, is a declaration. It's about faith, raw belief, and affirming truth that has not yet happened. Songs like "You are Good" and "Everywhere" focus on this theme—repetitive statements that simply state publicly the Lordship and faithfulness of God, even in times when His voice is silent.

"The Bible says that you must believe. It's not optional," explains Rita, "And that belief includes moving and taking steps that you don't understand. I think that this is essential to worship in the church as well. We need to include declarations, not just songs that make you feel good.

"This is probably the most important season in my life, as I've been learning to follow the Lord in very unconventional ways."

Part of this unconvention was the adoption of a baby. Rita had been feeling God calling her to adopt for a few years, and had just taken the steps to obey this calling when the Christian Adoption agency in Florida called to give her the news. A couple from Zimbabwe was in the US on a student visa, and when she became pregnant, he went back to Africa, leaving her in the states unable to provide for a new baby and the toddler she already had. Upon looking at Rita's profile, she simply said, "She is to have my baby."

So December 1, 2004 a new journey began in Rita's life when little Justice Zane Anesu Springer was born. "This album sort of came together after Justice was born. I think that his addition to my life has just helped me understand not only the love of God, but just what obedience looks like."

Found Records is a new division of Floodgate Records that is focused on the worship genre. Rita is joined on the label with artists such as Kate Miner and Todd Proctor. Found Records is based in Costa Mesa, CA and is distributed through Word Records / WEA Distribution.

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