Tauren Wells Shares Relatable Reminder With Christian Music’s Biggest Stars

Published: October 14, 2025

By Mallory Mattingly

While hosting the Dove Awards, Grammy-nominated artist Tauren Wells delivered a message to remind those in attendance that without Jesus, “we have nothing.”

“Don’t get it flipped. There’s really one common denominator between all of us, and that’s that without Jesus, we recognize we have nothing. Without Jesus, we have no songs to sing,” Wells said. “Without Jesus, we have no stories to tell. We have no scripts to write. We have no books. We have no platforms. We have no Instagram followers. We have no subscribers. We have nothing to celebrate, if it had not been for the Lord who was on your side.”

“But because of Jesus, we have everything to celebrate,” the singer declared. “Because of Jesus, we have songs to sing. Because of Jesus, we have stories to tell. Because of Jesus, we have platforms to declare the greatness of our God. And it’s not about us. It’s not about our songs or our creativity. It’s about Jesus’ songs, and it’s about Jesus’ story. ”

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Wells went on to say that even though most in the room knew Christ, they shouldn’t forget that He still has the power to transform their lives.

“I know we’re all doing the thing, and we understand what we’re here for, but what if God set this appointment on His cosmic calendar long before you and I knew that we were going to be here? And what if tonight, God actually wanted to meet you?” he shared. “Tonight, God wanted to send you a message that restoration is possible for your marriage. What if tonight, through a song being sung, you realize that God actually still breaks chains off of people’s lives? What if God wanted to meet you here tonight and remind you that your story is not over?”

Several award winners echoed Wells’ sentiments.

“I want to give this message as clear as I can right now, the world is hearing about Jesus like they have never heard it before,” said Jelly Roll while accepting the Song of the Year award for “Hard Fought Hallelujah” alongside Brandon Lake. “And while they are hearing about Jesus, I encourage you to put faith on your feet and feet on your faith and walk out of this building and go do for the least. They’ve heard Jesus, now show them Jesus.”

CeCe Winans, who won the the award for Gospel Worship Recorded Song of the Year, said, “Like Tauren said earlier, we don’t do what we do for this [award], we do what we do for Jesus.”

The Dove Awards celebrate the biggest names in Christian music, but Forrest Frank, perhaps the most popular Christian artist today, didn’t attend. Last week, he said that he doesn’t want to receive any award for what God has blessed him with.

“The line in the sand that I can draw, because I’m convicted, is that I will not receive a trophy for something that is from Jesus and for Jesus,” Frank declared in a video shared on social media.

“I feel a conviction and go even a step further and say, I don’t know if I even want to step on the stage. I don’t know if I want to step in the room. So, I have decided to take a stance of non-participation. I will not be attending the Doves or the Grammys,” he continued.

“I hope to be an example to the youth that the trophy is our salvation. The trophy is that my name is listed in the Book of Life, and I get to have eternal life. What good is a piece of metal going to do compared to that?” Frank concluded.