Joshua's Troop

Blending contemporary urban R&B and soul with longstanding gospel traditions, the youth choir Joshua's Troop is based in Chicago. Pastor Clay Evans and Pastor Charles Jenkins, his successor at the city's Fellowship Methodist Baptist Church, established the ensemble to engage the congregation's younger teenaged members. The church body frequently likened Evans to Moses and Jenkins to Joshua, prompting the singers to adopt the name Joshua's Troop in tribute to Jenkins when they issued their self-titled debut album in 2000. Project Youth appeared as their sophomore release in 2004. Direction of the choir passed in 2007 to brothers Percy and Jeral Gray, both affiliated with the gospel group New Direction. JT3, the third Joshua's Troop album, surfaced later that same year, with Troop Nation following in 2010.