VaShawn Mitchell

If the foundation of a thing is indicative of how far up it is going, VaShawn Mitchell is about to soar! In this culture and time where everything happens fast, Mitchell is only in a hurry about one thing, taking care of his Father’s business.
Having grown up in the south suburbs of Chicago, Mitchell comes from a region that brags great songwriters and ministers of music. His professional music ministry journey began at the St. Mark Baptist Church where he served along with Lonnie Hunter for six years. While in college he landed at Bishop Larry Trotter’s Sweet Holy Spirit Church. He served there as an Assistant to the Minister of Music beginning in 1997 before taking over the Music Department in 2000. As he readies for the dawning of his next project Promises, one need only look at where Mitchell has been to see where he’s going.
When he began serving in the Music Department at Sweet Holy Spirit he had no idea that he’d eventually transition to the role of head honcho. “I never was looking to do it, but I think I was being prepared to do it for a long time.” Having obtained a degree in therapy and youth work, he was always led back to music and church work. When Bishop Trotter asked him to take the helm of the Music Department, Mitchell was ready, though not necessarily seeking the post. “It wasn’t something I endeavored to do, but something I was destined to do.”
He had already released his first personal project with the New Image Chorale in 1998, but the acceptance of the role meant putting his personal recording career on hold. He agreed to switch focus to build the music ministry of the church before reentering the industry as a solo recording artist. This might have been a little easier if he hadn’t already tasted success and delivered chart-friendly hits “Only A Test”, “Don’t Last” and “My Worship Is For Real”, but wisdom, maturity and humility enabled Mitchell to hold his own reins and to do the right thing for the season. “As an artist who is also a Minister of Music, it can be hard to put yourself on hold, but it’s easy when you know that if you are to grow in your calling, you have to first focus on the vision of the Church”.
It is this maturity and focus that solidifies the platform and bolsters Mitchell’s sure success. Youthfulness aside, he attributes this maturity to the Word of God. “I understand that there is a prophet of the house who gives vision and direction and that everything flows according to that vision. We have to go back to the Word of God and understand the Levites were not meant to fight but to prepare the atmosphere for the army to come in behind them. We have to carry the second man’s anointing and understand the pastor is the set visionary of the house, and our job is to put the legs to the vision.” After about five years of focusing on the vision at Sweet Holy Spirit, Mitchell was released to resume his recording career. His debut project on Tyscot Records in 2005, Believe in Your Dreams was the dawning of a new day, and he continues to lay the foundation of his multi-faceted ministry of singer, songwriter, producer and minister of the gospel.
After years of preparation, many months of prayer and consideration and after receiving release from his Bishop he is soon headed to take on the fresh task of serving as Minister of Worship and Arts at New Birth South, located in Atlanta suburb, Jonesboro, GA. Pastor Andre Landers has one of the fastest growing ministries in that area, on their hands. Mitchell, they feel, is equipped to take on the large Levitical task. Leaving his church home, he is undaunted by the change and new territory, Mitchell rests his hope on what God has promised, and expects nothing less. On his sophomore effort on Tyscot, Promises, he encourages himself while encouraging others.
Promises, takes the listener from praise to promise. Rick Robinson and Danny Weatherspoon join in at the production helm to serve up a project that is sure to encourage the soul. “Crazy Praise” opens with a bang of energetic possibility, set around just what might happen if you let go. “I Worship” takes a CCM flavored turn with an anthemic proclamation; guitar and strings ease the soulful sound of Mitchell’s mix. Delicate worship balladry on “Lift My Hands” grows and winds to full-blown choral splendor. Up-tempo gems “Able” set the stage nicely for title track “For My Good” a contemporary soul-clapper that is inherently infectious. Songs like “It Passed Over Me”, which Mitchell wrote after missing a deadly accident, courtesy of a traffic jam, speak to God’s sovereignty and his hand of protection. Kim Burrell guests spots on “Over & Over”, penned by up and comer Jason Claybourne, whose flowing writing style is perhaps the ying to Mitchell’s yang. “Testimony” is literally that, personal healing testimonies wrapped around a traditional Chicago-style vamp. The extra special energy of Angie Spivey takes things over the top!
Mitchell pens eight of the eleven tracks on this project that focuses on the promises of God. He writes masterfully not only to encourage the saints, but to speak to the heart of the cynic who may be tired of the “guarantees” that come with each new year. “There are some promises that people have been waiting for God to release on them. And we have to know, that no matter what we go through God is thinking of us. No matter what our present situation is, the word of God promises that our end is going to be good. It may not be January. It may not be February. It may not even be December, but we have to live according to our expected end that God has promised us.”
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