KFB’s 2024 Gospel Music Showcase winners stay true to their Christian roots.

Proverbs 22:6 NIV- “Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old, they will not turn from it.”

As evangelists with Hope Community Church, Tyra and Jerry Robinson are very familiar with the biblical advice given about raising children, and they have had plenty of practice. The two have six children ranging in age from 17 to 9, and an infant just a few weeks old.

While there are so many qualities that make this family unique, one thing, in particular, is the musical talents the children have in common, something recognized by Tyra when they were all very young and running an errand in the family van.

“They were about 6, 5, 4, 3, and 3 years old when I noticed they could really hold a tune," she said. "They were singing in the van, and I had turned the radio down to tell them something and they kept singing, and I actually thought I left the radio on.  I was very shocked.”

Tyra recalls getting home to tell Jerry of this remarkable discovery, having the children sing the song they had “performed” during the ride home.

“We always listened to the radio station K-Love, so the children were singing a song they heard on the radio, for Jerry,” she said. “He was like, ‘wow,’ and right then and there, we dedicated their voices to the Lord because we knew that the world was going to take it and make something negative out of it if we didn't dedicate them to Christ.”

Shortly after, the Robinson parents decided to pursue a more formal musical training from a local music teacher, Meredith Lewis, at Lawrenceburg Academy of Performing Arts.

“Every mom thinks their kid can sing, but when we brought them to her and showed her what they had, she was very quick to find them a spot,” Tyra said. “She really taught them how to hear, how to listen, and how to use their ear.”

That skill has developed as the children have grown, something that has become a true asset to their performances.

“They're very good at hearing each other, even to the point if one lacks, they will pick up that person's voice along with their own part,” Tyra said.

As evangelists, the Robinsons traveled quite a bit, and since their children were very young, they have stood in front of many church audiences.

“From a very young age we would get them to stand up in front of wherever we were speaking and start singing,” Tyra said. “They were too young to be shy about it, and we just kept it going.”

The longer they sang in public places the more people started notice of their talents. Eventually, people started asking when and where the children would be singing next.

As their popularity has grown, Tyra and Jerry have made sure the children stay grounded in their faith and their studies. The children said they want to make sure people know the reason they sing is to spread the hope to all who feel hopeless, citing John 3:17: “Jesus did not come to the world to condemn the world but to save it.”

“Jesus Christ is first in everything that we do from the moment we get up until we go to bed at night, we are in prayer,” Tyra said. “We also homeschool and so they get a lot of their biblical knowledge as we study God's word in school.”

But Tyra doesn’t just homeschool her own children, she also has 36 to 40 additional homeschoolers.

“During Covid, we found a lot of parents who didn't know how to teach their children at home, so as staff evangelists, we reached out to our community,” she said. “We have a heart for those parents who have to work and then come home and have to teach their kids after a full day of work, and that's when I felt the Lord calling me to the ministry of not just homeschooling my children, but other children.”

With so many students, Tyra teaches out of a rented facility that the students’ parents actually pay for. And in keeping with her call to do this work, she accepts no payment for her homeschooling efforts.

“I don't get paid one dime because, first of all, it's my ministry unto the Lord, and secondly, I've got to do a class anyway,” she said. “Why not throw some other kids in there?”

Tyra admits she expects a lot from the children when it comes to their studies, but she said they are all very gifted students academically and musically.

“With all of them, it’s not just how they grasp God's word and then seek first the kingdom of God, but all the other things like mathematics, English, science, all of that is just an add-in,” she said. “And they are major readers.”

Musically, the Robinson children all play many different instruments in addition to being excellent vocalists. Tyra credits Jerry because he can play almost any instrument. But Tyra did her part when it came to their musical prowess.

“When they were all very young, he would put them to bed by playing the piano,” she said. And each time I was pregnant, I always walked around with headphones on my belly playing Mozart, and classical music.”

Tyra and Jerry have done so many things to enhance the lives of their children: Canaan, Andrew, Aria, Lyrica, Harmony, Tenor, and baby Chord. And yes, they all have musical names, including Canaan whose middle name is Anthem, and Andrew, whose middle name is Ballad.

Tyra said the musical names were intentional not realizing what the future held for the family.

“We did it on purpose because Jerry and I love music, but we didn't know they were going to sing,” she said. “We even said in college that if the Lord ever joins us together in marriage, we were going to name our kid music names.”

To make this amazing family even more special is the fact that four of the children, including the baby, are adopted. Tyra, again, credits her faith with this harmonious blending of children and their music. 

“God brought these children together and they all struck a chord, no pun intended,” she said with a laugh. “When the three adopted children became a part of our family, we had five toddlers at one time and three in diapers. And I said, ‘Did we hear you right, Lord?’”

While the Robinson children do not all share the same DNA, they have a bond that is as natural as any biological family, and perhaps even more so.

“It’s almost like they can pick up each other's thoughts and sentences, and certainly each other's tone or lyrics when it comes to music,” Tyra said. “It is so natural, which is why we think that even when they make singing mess-ups, you can't tell because someone else picked it up. If Lyrica was singing and she missed a note, Harmony comes right in and takes her note as well as sings her own note.”

The children have recently finished a full Christmas season of singing engagements but stay busy throughout the year. During the 2024 Kentucky Farm Bureau Gospel Music Showcase, the group came away with the top honors.

“Just during Christmas, it's nothing to have 17 to 22 concerts,” Tyra said. “One year we had so many calls, the kids said, ‘No more, Mom,’ but people were willing to wait until after Christmas to have them. So, I feel blessed and honored that God would give them to us. He could have given them to anybody, but he chose us.”

And what a divine choice it has been. As some of the children are nearing college age, they all have plans of what they want to do later in life from going into the military to being first responders to being involved in worship leadership. But it’s a safe assumption to think that music will be a part of their lives in the future.

For now, though, the group will take a break during January and February before starting their spring schedule with their second busiest season being at Easter.

Tyra and Jerry have much to be thankful for when it comes to their children, and the children say the same thing about their parents. But the Robinsons also give thanks for their church family.

“The encouragement of our home church, led by Pastor Jeff Eaton, has given us strength and a base,” Tyra said. “We have heard many times that it takes a village to raise a child. Hope Church is our village, and they are also just as responsible for raising these exceptional children. They are good kids, so good, and respectful and they're kind, and they help people. We are just truly blessed.”

Amen.