Chevrolet Sponsorship of Christian Rock Worship Tour Debated

November 5, 2002

Source: USA Today

On November 5, 2002 USA Today reported that "as the fastest-growing segment of the music industry, Christian music has advertiser appeal. But Chevrolet's sponsorship of a music-and-worship tour [Chevrolet Presents: Come Together and Worship] has some observers wondering whether a line has been crossed. Although Chevy has sponsored events such as gospel's Stellar Awards, this sponsorship's blending of the sacred and the commercial has raised hackles inside and outside the Christian community. [However,] Rubel Shelly, minister at the Woodmont Hills Family of God in Nashville, says, 'So long as the events are not sectarian, support for them should be no more objectionable than when Kroger or Wal-Mart gives aid to hurricane victims that gets shipped and/or distributed through a Catholic charity.'"