CM: What made you launch Always Sisters Forever Brothers (your annual ministerial conference for youth and young adults)?
CW: I started out recording when I was probably about 19 [years old]. When you start that young, you just want to sing. You don’t think about the business, or the responsibility that comes with that platform. Well, I started getting mail from people who saw us on TV. I got mail about everything from "Who does you make-up?" to "I’m contemplating suicide." When you get that kind of mail at that age, you’re like, "Oh Jesus! I’m just singing! That’s all I’m doing. I’m just singing." At that point, you realize it’s more than just "singing." — It’s ministry.
Sometimes when people are listening to you, their lives are in a balance. As the years passed, and I got older, I continued to get mail from young people. I then realized that I had to come up with something to give back. I didn’t initially know what that "something" was. My schedule was already full. I was a wife. I was a mother. I couldn’t even think of trying to do something else. But at my first Women of Faith Conference, I thought, "This is it! This is what I want to do. Over a couple of days, I could bring in all of the wonderful people God allowed me to meet. This is how I can pour into the next generation." I would not be who I am today, if the older generation didn’t take out the time to pour into me. I know who I am because I had women to teach me who I was. I didn’t have to look for love in all the wrong places. I had a father who covered me. I had brothers who covered me. Today, young people are going through a whole lot. They’re going through stuff that I never had to face. A lot of them think that their situation is hopeless. All of this became a heavy burden on my heart. So I said, "Okay Lord, I’m going to do this after I get this and that done ... once my schedule slows down." But, I finally realized that the "perfect time" never comes. You just have to step out and do it. I said, "I have to birth this thing. I don’t care if we only reach two people. If we change just two lives, we still have to do it."
CM: So what happened after you took the leap of faith and launched the conference?
CW: After Hurricane Katrina happened, I hosted my first youth conference — just for girls. About 700 girls came. My mom came, men of God came, and we placed tiaras on the girls’ heads. We prayed over them, and the Spirit of the Lord was so powerful. We brought in speakers who spoke about everything from AIDS, to living holy, to valuing yourself. After the first conference, parents started to ask us about doing the same thing for young men. Even though I thought, "Oh Lord, I barely know what I’m doing serving the girls," we did it anyway. Since launching Always Sisters Forever Brothers, I’ve never been the same. The conference made me realize that everything God has taken me through ... every platform He’s given me ... everything that He’s taught me along the way ... it was all so that I could be positioned to give it all away to someone else.
Always Sisters, Forever Brothers is a part of my new chapter. God has pushed me out of my comfort zone to help set young people free. It has grown from serving 700 girls to over 3,500 boys and girls. I’m not doing this just to do it. I’m not doing this to be like someone else. This chapter of my life is not a "good idea." It’s a "God idea."... And I refuse to compromise what God has laid on my heart.
CM: If you were writing a memoir today, what would you title this chapter of your life?
CW: I would call this chapter, "Ministry in a Different Way." Now more than ever, I feel the urgency to shout from the mountain-top about Jesus Christ. I want everyone to know that falling in love with God is the answer to every problem. Whether I share that message through singing or speaking or doing something else, I’m willing to do whatever it takes. 
