2004 is barely under way and there's already a lot of news to report from some of your favorite artists!

Randy Phillips, the "Phillips" third of Phillips, Craig and Dean, recently accepted the associate pastor position at Christ Life Church in Tempe, Ariz., led by pastors Jim and Sharon Roam. Phillips and his family took several months to make the transition to Tempe from Austin, Texas, where he served at PromiseLand. Want to keep up on how Phillips is doing? Check out the church's Web site at christlifechurch.org. No word on how this will affect future recordings by the trio, but many of their previous albums were released while the guys continued to serve at their respective churches.

Joy Williams will soon make a transition of her own, from single person to newlywed! Williams became engaged on Dec. 24, 2003. But how she became engaged was in question until her fiancé, Nate Yetton, director of promotions at Inpop Records, cleared things up. (Take note: This is how rumors get started!) It was originally related that Williams and Yetton got engaged over Christmas at his parents' ski lodge at Lake Tahoe in California. Yetton supposedly went into Williams' room at 1:30 a.m. on Christmas and woke her up. By the light of a Christmas candle, he asked her to marry him. Of course, Williams said, "yes." Yetton then took the ring from its place around the Christmas candle and put it on her finger. They woke up the whole family and celebrated until 3 a.m. by reading 1 Corinthians 13 and watching the snow fall on the mountains outside. Sound dreamy? Keep dreaming.

This is Yetton's reaction to that account: "Wow! That's an awesome story! I wish I would've thought of the 'ring on the candle.' I actually had it on my pinky finger! Joy spent time with her family at Lake Tahoe, and then met me in Salt Lake City, Utah, where my family lives by the slopes. That's where I proposed."

Williams says of her upcoming wedding, "I'm ecstatic to be marrying my best friend. He is truly the greatest extension of Christ's love that I've experienced on this planet." The couple plans to wed in California on June 12, the same day both Williams' mother and grandmother were married.

Changes are also on the way for Libby Hodges, one of the original members of the popular dance-pop group Jump5. She has announced she's leaving the group. Hodges says, "I can't tell you what a hard decision this has been; the hardest of my short life. There's no juicy gossip to have. We are all still really good friends and they have been nothing but so sweet to me. It's simply that I want to take a deep breath and see exactly what God wants me to do at this point in my life. I'm actually going back to my old high school at home! God has blessed me beyond belief. I always was, and now I am more than ever, just a regular kid."

Steven Curtis Chapman and Chris Tomlin recently performed a song they wrote together. The performance was part of a benefit for International Justice Mission (IJM). About 300 guests from various backgrounds, including the recording industry and the law community, attended the benefit. The Chapman and Tomlin collaboration, "Let Justice Roll," is about the work of IJM, a Washington, D.C. based human rights group that rescues victims of oppression around the world. One such victim was a 70-year-old man named Narakalapa who was held as a bonded slave his entire life. Last year, IJM secured his release, along with his children, grandchildren and several dozen other slaves.

And we also have a few babies on the way. Jeff Deyo and his wife, Martha, are expecting their second child, a boy, in June. Janna Long and her husband, Greg Long, both of Avalon, are expecting their first child.

Congrats also go to downhere's Jeremy Thiessen and Glenn Lavender who recently participated in the 26.2 mile Disney Marathon in Orlando, Fla. The best part is, they finished! Way to go guys!

Brad England is a freelance writer who lives in Nashville, Tenn.