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Christian recording artist Pam Thum and I are clutching mugs full of hot tea and chatting about her recent trip to South Africa as a lazy rain falls just outside the nearby window of her Michigan home.
"One day I performed in an open-air arena in a drought-ridden part of South Africa," she says. "As I sang 'It's Starting to Rain,' it actually did! People began dancing in the rain, getting completely soaked. They didn't care what they looked like, they just thoroughly enjoyed the much-needed water. I felt God saying he wanted people—myself especially—to say, 'Rain on me. Do what you want in me,' without caring what they look like in the eyes of the world. It was an amazing day."
Amazing is a good word to describe Pam's popularity in South Africa. After only a few months of hearing Pam's self-titled debut played on Christian radio, readers of JOY! magazine, a Christian publication in South Africa, named her Best International Female Artist of 1993. On her first trip there, Pam was met by a flock of fans, several photographers, and a hotel room filled with flowers. "My popularity in South Africa has been one of the surprise blessings of my music ministry," she admits.
But South Africans aren't her only fans. Pam's been a host for Canada's leading Christian TV show, 100 Huntley Street, and she's toured in the United States with popular artists such as 4Him and Wes King. In 1994, she was nominated for the New Artist of the Year Dove Award after six songs from her debut album reached the top ten and one became a number-one hit. Since then, she's released two more well-received albums, Faithful and Feel the Healing (both Benson).
While this whirlwind success may be new to Pam, singing and performing certainly aren't. The only child of traveling evangelist parents who took her on the road with them, Pam has been involved in music ministry since she was two and a half years old. While this upbringing paved the way for her current music ministry, it also led to a host of struggles. As we talk, Pam reveals how she's finally discovered a new level of freedom and joy in her faith and her relationships, and how she's overcoming her compulsion to be a "perfect" Christian.
Tell me more about your recent trip to South Africa.
I stayed two weeks, visiting a project run by Christian relief organization World Vision, and a maximum security prison, and singing in Johannesburg and Durban. One of my performances was filmed for a television special that will air nationally in South Africa.
The fans there are extremely loyal and relational. Almost every night during the trip I was signing autographs for at least an hour and a half. A lot of people slipped me notes telling me of the impact my music's had on their life. One woman wrote that she'd been contemplating suicide, but during the concert that night she'd rediscovered hope in Christ. She thanked me for saving her life. Many fans tell me they pray regularly for me.
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