Sanctuary Praise

Sanctuary Praise was a project which emerged out of the Christian Metal scene as it transitioned from the late 80s to the early 90s. Many rock and metal fans that became Christians through the ministry of Christian metal bands were rejected from churches in the 1980s. In 1984, California pastor Bob Beeman saw this problem and soon started the ministry called Sanctuary - The Rock and Roll Refuge. This fellowship brought many musicians together and formed groups such as Tourniquet, Deliverance, Vengeance Rising, Die Happy, and Mortal that would soon become ground breaking acts in Christian music culture. Sanctuary's first worship leader was Stryper's vocalist Michael Sweet and later Barren Cross' bass player Jim LaVerde. Under LaVerde and Beeman's leadership, two albums were recorded in 1991 and 1992 on Intense Records.