The transformation of Joseph Rojas, frontman and songwriter for Seventh Day Slumber, from former felon and drug addict to redeemed saint cannot be overstated. His miraculous conversion, a fairy tale-like story and the crux of the music, mission, and ministry of this band, now has taken on an even greater, more powerful role in the lives of those in its wake: Rojas, his tale, and Seventh Day Slumber itself, have now become catalysts, naturally connecting to those in youth ministry.

At a recent performance, the date and place of little consequence, the band found itself faced with a seemingly meaningless choice: With their set time as a headliner at this particular show cut short due to unforeseen circumstances, they had to decide between the music and the message. Simply put, there was not enough time, due to curfew, to both play their music and share a message. Rojas, as figurehead and voice of SDS, chose the latter. It was a decision that would echo into eternity.

“We cut our set, and I shared about healing hurt, about the availability of acceptance and salvation to those in attendance,” Rojas explains. “I spoke on the things that have come to characterize my band and my life--the fact that God doesn’t see your sin, your addiction, or your hurt, when he looks at us as people. No matter what we have done or what we are going through, He loves us and wants to destroy all the things in our lives that keep us from living in health and peace with Him. After giving an invitation to receive Christ to the audience, a young man came forward. It wasn’t until afterward that we learned he was planning suicide that very night, and he had come to the show to have one last night with his friends. God changed him right there, and he gave us the suicide letter he wrote before coming to the show. He now lives with purpose and hope, and we have the note as a reminder of what God has done...and what He will continue to do.”

It is in this spirit that the Dove-Award nominated Seventh Day Slumber released their third LP, Finally Awake. Whereas the powerful testimony of Rojas served as a point of poignant reflection on their widely successful debut effort Pickin’ up the Pieces (which sold more than 60,000 copies, and had several radio successes including “Candy,” “I Know” and “Innocence”), and also their acclaimed sophomore LP Once Upon a Shattered Life (which has passed its predecessor in sales and made an even greater impact on the airwaves with staples like “Caroline”) on this latest they are taking the truth of transformation outward, into the lives of young people, where there is desperate need.

“The message of this album is clear. We want to empower kids to stop looking to the media, to what the world tells them they have to be, to find identity. You don’t have to be what everyone else tells you (in order) to be what you were created to be,” says Rojas.