Sisters Karen Peck Gooch and Susan Peck Jackson, who grew up loving Southern Gospel, will bring the music they enjoy singing to Altoona next month.

They’ve formed a singing Christian ministry group called Karen Peck & New River that travels across the United States and internationally performing Christian music. First organized in 1991, the group is made up of Karen, Susan and Ricky Braddy, who has sung background vocals for the albums of notable Christian singers such as Natalie Grant and Steven Curtis Chapman.

The group, which will perform Dec. 9 at Calvary Baptist Church, is truly a family-based venture.  Karen’s husband, Rickey, is their road manager and sound technician. Their son, Matthew, plays guitar while their daughter, Kari, sings and serves as the group’s product manager.

Meanwhile, Susan’s husband, David, also has a musical background.  He is the founder and owner of the Jackson Steel Guitar Co.  They got the group’s name “New River” from a tag on the sweater the pianist for the group was wearing when they first formed, Karen said.

The sisters said they love traveling together and consider themselves blessed to be able to work with family members.

“We get along very well,” Susan said.  “We keep an open communication with each other.  If a problem arises, we discuss it and move on. We know that this is what God has called us to do, and we are blessed to travel as a family.”

The sisters grew up in the South where their parents would take them and another sister, Sandra, to all-night Southern Gospel sing-a-long concerts in Atlanta, according to the group’s website.  The girls were enamored by the music and vowed to have their own music ministry someday.

When Karen got older, she was able to join one of the groups the girls had seen at those concerts, the Nelons, a group she sang with until she formed New River, the website said.

The sisters said they love Southern Gospel for several reasons, such as its encouraging and hopeful qualities, and also its purposeful Christian content.

“I think the thing I love most about Southern Gospel music is the clear message of Jesus Christ,” Karen said. “The lyrics to the songs point to hope in him.  We love singing songs about solutions to pain and disappointments, but we also love to sing about joy and peace through the trials.”

Although Southern Gospel is a part of New River’s sound, the group has a unique style all its own, Karen said.

“Of course, with our Southern accents, we are definitely Southern Gospel, but I like to think that it’s just KPNR style,” she said.  “When we record, we let the songs speak for themselves.  We may be a little more progressive on some songs but our style has worked well with our audiences.”

The group’s style has worked very well judging by the awards and accolades it has received in the 25 years since it was formed. The group started this year with its fourth Grammy nomination and ended the year with two GMA Dove awards, for Artist of the Year and Song of the Year, for the song “I Am Blessed.”

“Those who (know) KPNR understand that we sing this wonderful music to encourage people and to hopefully draw them to the Lord,” Karen said. “The accolades that we have received over the years have been such a blessing to us and some even have expanded our ministry.”