Jake first charted on my Christian chart in the fall of 2000 with their first release, Waiting, going all the way to the top ten and also made the top 40 though it only peaked there at #32. Their second chart hit, however, was a grand slam. I first heard it on the Left Behind Soundtrack as it was featured in that film based on the first volume of the popular series by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins. I fell in love with it upon first listen. The song is called Believer and it spent nine weeks at #1 between December 2000 and January 2001. It also spent four weeks at number one on the Top 40 becoming one of the biggest hits overall for 2001. It is the number one Christian hit of 2001. I'm glad to see so many of the chart club members picked up on this song and charting it successfully over the year as well. The brothers Penner also show up at #6 and #16 on the year end chart with The One and The Right Time. Their sophmore album, Army Of Love, is due out in February and I for one am highly anticipating it.
Believer was used in the Left Behind film to great effect and at a pivotal moment in the film. Just as Buck Williams, played by Kirk Cameron, is to go into a UN briefing where NIcolai Carpathia, the Antichrist, is about to take power, he goes into a men's room and faces his salvation decision. It is crucial at that time that he makes the right decision in order to withstand the Antichrist's mind control at the briefing. As he wrestles with this decision the song Believer plays on the soundtrack with the compelling words, "Make me a believer for once in my life/Right here right now/Touch me somehow/Let it be tonight/It's all on the line/I'm down on my knees/I don't know how but I'm ready to see/Clear every shadow of doubt in my mind/'Cause I want to believe" For everyone who has had doubts in a time of crisis these words could ring true so the song even has a universal appeal. One of the strongest appeals of the song to me is the strong harmonies provided by Toby, Marty, and Josh Penner - Jake.
