While Sara Acker eventually did go on a missions trip to Russia and other countries as a teen, today she’s living a different dream: reaching young people wherever they may be. Riding in a dirty, stinky 15-passenger van with her band, Inhabited, she’ll travel 15 hours to sing in a concert for 30 to 60 minutes. It’s not glamorous, so she calls this her missions trip.

“When I realized the power of music, it blew my mind. I didn’t realize how powerful the stage is,” she says. “Many young people say, ‘I’m too young to be used by God’ or ‘I can’t because I don’t have this.’ But I think I’m a perfect example of how God picked somebody who wasn’t even planning on doing this. He prepared and equipped me along the way.”

Inhabited had its kick-start back in 1999. Sara’s brother, Marcus, played guitar, and her youth pastor knew Sara sang.

“He asked us to lead worship, and then he asked us to write some songs for a lock-in,” she says. “That’s very strange to say, ‘Can you write seven or eight songs and perform them in two weeks?’ But there was no pressure to write a radio song.”

Despite Sara’s stage fright, the two performed at this lock-in and found music to be an effective avenue for ministry.

Later, Inhabited added other members and released an independent rock album, Innerview, in 2003. Shortly after signing a major record deal, the band’s second album, The Revolution, came along with the same edgy rock sound. Then they released Love in 2008.

Love Letters
The cool thing is God has used Sara to bless hurting teens through more than just her music. She receives countless e-mails (she’s not even sure how many) from her fans and works hard to answer every one. She remembers one girl who wrote, “Hey, Sara. I’m 15 years old. I’m on my second serious boyfriend, and the first one I had sex with, and the second one I’m having sex with. But I don’t want to. What do I do?”

Sara’s first reaction to that girl wasn’t, “Oh, my goodness! You’re only 15! Why are you doing this? You’re ruining your life!” Instead, her passion was to lovingly help teens know what they did yesterday doesn’t define who they are today.

“I want them to know that this grace and love you’ve been taught about in the Gospel isn’t just for other people. It’s for you!” she says. “Whenever you mess up in your life, He really is there to forgive you.”

Sara was a child when she gave her life to the Lord, but when she was 13, her neighbor constantly questioned her faith. “He was an atheist, so he was asking me the toughest questions,” she says. “I’d go out and get all these books by Josh McDowell and R.C. Sproul to come back with these great things about the faith. But at the same time, it made me question everything.”

Sara had to come to the point where she took ownership of her relationship with God. “He wasn’t [meaningful to me] just because my parents taught me to go to church or read my Bible. I discovered a relationship with God for myself, to talk to God and have Him talk back to my heart,” she says. “It’s OK [to ask questions], because I came back around to seek out the truth and came back to find that [God’s Word] is true.”

Offer Advice
Sara’s questions never caused her to outwardly rebel against Christ, but she definitely went through times when she wrestled with God but tried to fake that she wasn’t. She says that’s the worst thing you can do, because then you feel forced to smile on the outside when you’re frowning in the inside.

This is one reason why Sara is so passionate about her ministry to young people. She invites their questions and honesty about their struggles. Even though it’s gotten more difficult for Sara to reply to all the e-mails in her inbox, she’s not about to quit.

“That’s always been a big part of what I feel our ministry is,” she says. “Kids in churches are really hurting. The number of kids who write in about being abused in their homes is crazy! I guess they feel they can be honest online with an e-mail or a MySpace message. I know there’s such difficulty in breaking the silence, but I always encourage them to break that silence.”

At the same time, Sara realizes she’s not a professional counselor and needs God’s help when she responds to letters. If a girl writes, “I’m a cutter. I was clean for two weeks, but I messed up again,” Sara’s goal is to at least offer her love and encouragement. She says in these situations, teens often get caught in the rut of “I messed up again” and forget to focus on the two weeks they were clean.

“In situations like that, I try to encourage them that they did a really good job and to get back up and keep pressing on. I think that’s true in a lot of addiction situations. They need to realize, ‘OK, you’re on the road to freedom. It’s a journey. Keep pressing on.’ “ Even then, teens should also seek help from a parent, counselor or pastor to have his or her support in the hard times.

Music Heard
Inhabited fans also have a huge impact on Sara’s songwriting. “Song to the Fatherless” tells the true story of a young guy Sara met at a concert in Knoxville, Tenn. He had come from an abusive home and asked, “Is this Jesus you’re talking about real? Is He really like a Father to me?” She answers his questions with the chorus, God will never walk out on you. He’ll be the Father that you never knew. He loves you, more than words can say.

One of Sara’s favorite tracks from Love is “Hush.” The song touches on spiritual warfare and the importance of protecting our minds. When the first verse says, ”Hush,“ it means stopping the noise of this world and listening to truth.

“Teenagers have so many things bombarding them: images and messages,” Sara says. “We have to learn to guard our minds and not allow all this junk in, because it will affect our lives.”

Specifically for girls, Sara points out the pressure to match a certain body image through plastic surgery. “It’s so crazy!” Sara says. “We’re reconstructing everything. We’re losing beauty itself and individuality. I want to encourage girls there’s a beauty in seeking God that can’t be found anywhere else. It’s that beauty that will attract a guy that’s a keeper.”

Sara has been dating her best friend for about three years. In her early 30s, Sara says she’s met a lot of guys, but she’s so glad she waited for the one God has for her.

“He’s such an encouragement to me spiritually,” she says. “One strength of our relationship is that God put it together, and second is that we were good friends for so long [before dating].”

The song “Respect” is about respecting yourself but also demanding it from others. “Girls will do anything for attention or for whatever they think is love,” Sara says. “This song is to encourage girls to realize their value and not just settle for some guy who’s just going to take advantage of them.”

Sara says every girl has to learn to discern a godly guy from one who isn’t thinking about her heart. “The whole MySpace mentality—Oh, your profile is hot. Let’s meet. Let’s hang out. Let’s hook up—is spinning out of control. It’s taking out any respect for each other or even valuing anything,” she says. “ ’Respect’ encourages girls to respect themselves, and it talks about how it’s a new day. If they didn’t respect themselves yesterday, it’s an encouragement to start today.”

The same is true for sexual integrity. Sara grew up in church and always heard the “True Love Waits” message, but she never heard the flip side. She wants her music to remind teens that “if you’ve ever messed up in your life, then check this out: This is one of the coolest things about God. We don’t have to run around and put a rock in our shoe for six years. We have a God that says, ‘If you ask for forgiveness today, I’ll give you a clean heart.’ “

As a child, Sara knew that was the answer for the prostitutes in Russia, and she knows it remains true today for Brio Sisses all over the world.

Ready to do battle?
Inhabited is recruiting teens to love their neighbors. Thelovesoldiers.com is a Web site where teens can get a monthly mission. Some examples could be going to a homeless shelter to perform with your praise and worship band, doing a Bible study or helping a widow at your church.

“There’s a million things,” lead singer Sara Acker says. Once the mission is completed, teens can send Inhabited pictures to post on the site and give feedback about what God did on their hometown missions trip .

“It seems that a lot of times when we go places, the youth pastors (all in a good heart) have so much entertainment like Xbox this and pizza this, but I think if people would realize how much kids would participate if they did events when the young people would actually reach out, it would change the whole church, and it would change the kids.

“That’s what changed my life so much, being a part of outreach, street ministry in my own town and inner-city ministry. That stuff impacted my life forever. It showed me what Christians are really meant to be like, and I’m still learning that."

Sara Inside Out
How much time do you spend getting ready in the morning?

It depends on how many times I change my outfit, but probably 45 minutes.

How would you like to spend a free Saturday?

At the beach

When is your birthday?

April 16, 1977

What would you like to be doing in five years?

A lot of writing. I really enjoy writing and reading and maybe some photography.

What three words best describe you?

passionate, fun, thoughtful

Favorite/least-favorite spring-cleaning chores:

My favorite is washing the car outside in the sunshine in springtime. The worst is folding clothes in my room.