LINCOLN -- Tops among her vocal performance credits at the tender age of 15, Alyssa McRoy's original composition, "Don't Give Up," is credited with saving the life of a Kentucky man contemplating suicide.
The stepdaughter of traveling evangelist Danny Williams, Alyssa's inherited her mother Rhonda William's powerful singing voice and opened the trio's four-day revival stint in Lincoln on March 19, performing another original tune, "He Chose You."
Alyssa plans to pursue music but not for the purpose of attaining fame and fortune. That path isn't for her, she said.
She said she's already witnessed the emotional impact performances devoted to worshipping God can generate.
Danny Williams remembers that night in Kentucky vividly. The family planned to open with "He Chose You," but he felt that Alyssa should sing "Don't Give Up" instead.
Danny Williams said the impact was immediate.
A group of guys from an alcohol/drug rehab center attended the revival, and as soon as Alyssa started singing four or five of them just started bawling, he said.
"God ministered to them. They gave their hearts to God that night because of that song she wrote," he said.
The next night one of the guys showed Danny Williams a bracelet on his arm.
"That's to remind me that I tried to commit suicide one time and not do it again," he said. "I've been contemplating that lately until your daughter sang that song, 'Don't Give Up.' She'll never know what that song has done for my life. It literally saved my life."
Ronda Williams breaks into tears trying to describe what its like to hear her daughter belt it out.
"[It's] amazing, the songs that she writes. I never thought that in my lifetime she would be ministering to me the way she has ..." she said. "And it's a blessing, I'm emotional, blowing bubbles everywhere. I never thought she would write such powerful songs, not just from her heart, but from the word of God and that they would minister to me and to other adults and children alike like she does. It is amazing to watch the growth that's taken place in her."
Alyssa writes songs on the keyboard and also plays drums. She sang her first song on the piano when she was 12, and has quickly blossomed into a songwriter and performer.
The biggest challenge for writing a new song is finding a new chord progression. Alyssa said that part is tougher than crafting the lyrics.
"Lyrics usually just pop in my head at the right time and just flow," Alyssa said.
Alyssa McRoy, 15, of Fort Meyers, Fla., sings March 19 during an evening revival service at Lincoln First Assembly of God Church. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Mark Humphrey)