Stellar Kart has done just that with their debut album, All Gas. No Brake., and again with their sophomore project, We Can’t Stand Sitting Down. Their desire is to reach Christian and non-Christian teens through fun, positive music. Come and listen in as Adam explains his desire to be on his feet for Jesus.

What has God taught you over this past year and a half of touring?
One of the main things we’ve learned is that He’s definitely in control and has a plan, whether we can see it or not; most of the time we can’t. He always has a reason why things happen to us, whether they’re good or bad. [Knowing this] has encouraged us and strengthened our faith and made it obvious to us that we’re doing what we’re supposed to be doing.

I love the title of your new album—We Can’t Stand Sitting Down. What does “sitting down” spiritually look like?
The title corresponds to a couple of the songs, especially “Activate.” It’s our get-up-and-do-something song. We don’t want people to be content with just sitting around and not doing anything or with being safe within the church walls. We want to be in the world and doing things that impact people’s lives. That’s the point of some of the songs on this record. We’re giving up what we want to do with our lives, and we want to make a difference and tell the whole world what we believe.

What kind of service projects have you been involved in?
I was a worship pastor at a church called The Bridge in Tempe, Ariz., and after about two years, the pastor had a vision to start an inner-city ministry in Phoenix called the Rio Vista Center. On Sunday mornings they have a brunch for people in the area. A lot of them are homeless, and a lot of them don’t have anything.

We cook breakfast and serve them while we’re singing worship songs. And they get some teaching. It’s grown to be so huge that we can barely fit them all in the building. It’s cool for me because I get to go back every couple of months and lead worship there and be involved. They do a lot of ministry for people who get overlooked and nobody wants to deal with. It’s one of those thankless ministries, and it’s all about serving. I’m happy to be a part of it.

Why do you think God asks us to put feet to our faith?
There’s no way anybody who grows up without going to church will get the knowledge of Christ if we stay within the church walls. He said the church is the people—it’s not the building. When we’re the church, we need to be on the move. Our lifestyle is nomadic, so we have to be the church and not just be in a building. There’s no way anybody’s life is going to be changed or anybody out there is going to know the greatest Truth if we stay in one spot.

How are teens uniquely equipped to serve?
I went through high school and didn’t really do anything. I just breezed my way through, and now looking back, I see that I could have impacted more people.

When you’re a teen, you’re around more people on a day-to-day basis than you’ll ever be in your entire life again. That’s a time when people are impressionable and looking for something that will make them happy, that will fulfill them. A lot of times it’s boyfriends or girlfriends or sex or drugs or alcohol—anything to fit in. If you can get kids involved in something that is positive at that early an age, it’s going to be much better in the future.

I wish I had done that when I was in high school. That’s why we’re saying, “Hey, you can do something. You don’t have to wait until you’re older. You can do something right now. Your parents don’t have to do it for you. You can actually make a difference.”

Like the song “I Wanna Live” says, how did you come to the point of honestly singing, I wanna live like today could be my last day. To give all I have before it’s too late?
A couple of years ago I was lying in bed and staying up all night thinking about death. It’s kind of morbid to think about, but it’s real. I was thinking about how people waste their lives and don’t try to do anything. I wanted to be a part of something positive and something that can hopefully make people’s lives better for eternity.

When tragedies happen, there’s no way to prepare for it other than to always be prepared and live [each day] like it’s your last. Every time we play a show, we say, “OK, let’s play it like it’s our last.” And we do that every time we go on stage.

One last question: Why did you choose hot pink for your new album?
Our drummer, Jordan [Messer], is a huge fan of hot pink and black, and he’s really into fashion—he designs all our merchandise. He was excited about designing [the album], so we started this Brady Bunch style with four boxes and our faces in them. Then when hot pink was behind us, we knew it would pop off the shelves and look really obnoxious. We knew we had to do that because it’s different.

I’m Dreamin’ of a Stellar Christmas
“I’m terrible with surprises. I want to give my wife all her presents before Christmas, and I want to open them all before Christmas—I hate it when they’re under the tree. Even when I proposed to my wife, [I couldn’t wait.] I was supposed to propose to her on our one-year anniversary, but I got the ring too early. It was burning a hole in my pocket, so I asked her early. But obviously it still worked out.”

—Adam Agee
lead singer of Stellar Kart