. ♪ he is mine and i am his all of it according to gospel recording star marvin sapp, aimed at one thingood news of jesus christ. it's a message that encourages and uplifts people and gives them strength to be able to move forward past life's circumstances. it's a positive message. in a difficult time. >> brown: but on this night sapp was serving as a judge so if the message was the same for each choir, how would he choose who is delivering it best? >> you're looking for tone. you're looking for, you know, individuals to make sure that they're succinct because they're a choir. you can't have one person standing out. it's not a solo act. you want to make sure that their tone quality is great and they're succinct, if they're doing choreography you want it to be tight. >> brown: gospel music has its roots in the slave era of the south. its modern era dates to the 1930s in chicago and detroit with figures such as thomas dorsey known as the father of gospel. later mahaliel jackson who sold millions of records and achieved international fame. today gospel is a multi-billion dollar business. wi

for marvin sapp, the men of valor are a role model. >> more people need to see that in the urban communitiesen though we as african-american males we get a bad rap. the only time they really seean us on television or in the newspaper is when there's something negative. my hope and prayer is that the news or whoever it is can come and see the positive male models that are going to be sharing tonight. >> brown: in the end, the ment of valor won the hearts of thebr hometown audience and won the people's choice award in a... and a check for $5,000. a >> the lord! ♪ the lord is here >> brown: the award for best church choir in america and the grand prize of $25,000 went to the voices of destinyes choir and the greater zion church family in compton, t california. >> you put time into your music depp because your music department and every church music department is very important because it breaks up the ground for the word. >> brown: the evening closed with all the choirs. and this night's congregation raising their voices together. c >> let me hear you. ♪ live on top of the world >> one more tim

a cast of over 200, including some of the biggest names in gospel music like gold record artist marvin sappnd grammy-award-winning superstars yolanda adams and donnie mcclurkin. >> because the story is an age-old story it can, you know, we've heard it in so many different forms and different ways, but here the production behind it makes this thing become alive, makes it more than just one-dimensional. you can see, you can feel, you can hear, and it brings you into another place when you are watching it. >> reporter: congregation members here see the christmas pageant as an opportunity to reach out to the community and share their faith, and that's why these artists wanted to be part of the project. >> at the end of the day we're strongly letting people know and giving them the message that, you know, the real meaning of christmas is christ. we can put an "x" in front of it, we can try to do all that other stuff, but the true meaning of christmas is christ. >> reporter: and from the smallest children's program to the biggest extravaganza that's the ultimate story of the christmas pageant. i'