A love for God and love for people. After chatting with Mike LeFevre, these are two topics that really stood out in whatever he said. It is so obvious that Mike LeFevre and The LeFevre Quartet have a genuine love for others, and that is what motivates their singing. Living out the message of song lyrics about is one of the most important and difficult things to do, but The LeFevre Quartet does it with grace. If you want to know about the pictures Mike LeFevre drew in school, “Superbowl Sunday” concerts, and the perfect timing for the message on their CD, keep reading!
Stacy Compagner: When did you first start singing gospel music?
Mike LeFevre: I actually started singing at a very young age, but I started singing with my uncle at the age of 14 years old, and then by the age of 16, I was on the road full time. I graduated from high school early so I could go on the road full time. That was my dream at a very young age.
SC: Was there a specific time you remember thinking that you knew singing gospel music was what you wanted to do?
ML: As a child, even in school I remember drawing pictures of buses, thinking about being able to get on the bus and sing. I can’t remember a time in my life when that was not my dream.
SC: Looking back on all the years you have had in gospel music, what advice would you have for any aspiring artists who want to get into gospel music?
ML: I would say, first of all, to know your calling — if God has called you to sing. I’d tell everybody to be the best you can be for God because, if this is what He has called you to do, then we owe Him to be our best at what we do.
I feel like a lot of people just want to go sing. They don’t want to invest into it. I feel like if we are going to do this, we need to do it to the total best of our ability and try to improve. Even with as many years as I’ve been singing, I still am a work in progress. Whether it be singing, MCing, or managing the group, there are always ways I can improve. I listen to others. I watch other groups sing. I watch what they do and watch what works and what doesn’t work. My advice to younger people who want to sing is to sing with a local or regional group to start with and get used to being on the stage in front of people. Learn how to talk to people. This is definitely a people business, so to speak. It’s a people ministry. Our fans are very loyal. They love you. Once they love you, they love you forever. Love on people. You gotta be all about loving on folks.
I gave a lot of advice there for one simple question, but there’s such a combination of things to me that that entails, and the biggest part of it is knowing what your calling is.
SC: After all the years you’ve had in gospel music, you’ve had lots of concerts and so many amazing opportunities. Is there any one special concert or a moment after a concert that stands out and made a really big influence on you?
ML: My whole career in gospel music itself has been that I’ve always wanted to be better than I was. So when you’re young, you start out and you set goals. Every time that we get on the platform to sing — all the guys will tell you I say this — every time it’s Superbowl Sunday, so to speak. When we go to sing, I don’t care if there are 10 people or 10 thousand people, it’s the most important date that we’ve done.
I can say I’ve had a lot of highlights. But as far as one sticking out more than the other, they’re all so important to me that I can’t say one is better than another…there are so many highlights that we get to do. Every time that we get to go on a platform and sing, it’s just a great opportunity because we get to see so many people, and we get to love so many people. So I don’t take any of it for granted.
SC: What is the group’s favorite song to sing or the most popular song you are singing right now?
ML: We have two songs that are really ministering well. One of them is “The Rugged Old Cross.” That song, as we speak, is still lingering on the charts. Theoretically, the way charts usually fall, it should have been gone 2-3 months ago. So that’s been a good song for us. It’s got a great message. I love a line that says “a payment of love was given in love on a rugged old cross.” And then our new song, I think is very timely, is called “Between the Prayer and the Answer.” I feel like we are in a time in America right now where we’re praying for healing, we’re praying for America to get better, and we’re in that waiting period between the time we’re praying and between the time that God has answered our prayers, so we are living that song. What an amazing song!
SC: Just like all the other groups during this time, I’m sure this pandemic has really affected your ministry. But I think God is also using this time to teach us and speak to us, so has God been teaching you anything lately during this time?
ML: It’s a time of waiting on God, listening to God, and one thing that I think we get in such a busy world, and that’s impatience. We are impatient for that answer to come from that prayer that we prayed…waiting, listening, and being patient. Those have really been brought to the forefront of my mind.
SC: Is there anything that is currently in the works for The LeFevre Quartet?
ML: Well, our new CD just came out. Its big release date was May 15. Ironically, the title of the CD is called Hope, and the reason we called it hope is because of songs like “Between the Prayer and the Answer.” It’s a song of hope. Jordan sings another song on there called “He’ll Come Through For You.” That’s a song of hope. Jordan did another song on there called “The 99.” It’s a song of hope. When they asked me about naming the project, I said ‘well, one thing that I’ve noticed about the majority of these songs on here is that they all have a remnant of hope in them.’ Anyway, it released on May 15th. And we’re excited about that!
