For Nashville’s Bobby Bowen, sharing the power of God’s message through song is more than just a career.

It’s a family tradition.

For the last decade, Bowen and his family — his wife, Becky, and their children, Grace, Landis, Hope, Faith and Justis — have traveled across the United States to share their faith with others through Southern country gospel music. They have performed in churches, music festivals and other events throughout the Southeast, Midwest and beyond — including a six-week tour of Canada.

The Bowen band’s next stop: The Grand Old City.

Dowagiac’s Michiana Church of Christ will host the band as they perform a free concert at 7 p.m. Sunday inside the chapel, at 504 E. Prairie Ronde St. Members and nonmembers alike are invited to attend the concert, which will be followed by an ice cream social.

Dowagiac’s Barry Yakim, owner of Barry’s Automotive Service and a member of Michiana Church of Christ, approached the Bowens in April to ask if they would be willing to perform at the church. This Sunday was the perfect date for the stop, as the band is booked to play at a church in Angola, Indiana, Saturday night.

Yakim first heard the Bowen Family Band play at a church six years ago, and instantly became a fan, he said.

“When I first heard Bobby Bowen play, I thought, ‘Wow, can this guy sing,’” Yakim said. “I got a lot of it. But when his kids started playing with him, I was blown away.”

The Dowagiac man has attended one of the group’s concerts at least once a year since, and befriended the family patriarch in the process, he said.

Bowen, a native of Arkansas, grew up in a home with a passion for music and faith, as his father was a singer. When he was a teenager, he began traveling the country with a Christian gospel quartet, the Grammy-nominated MidSouth Boys, after attending one of their concerts.

Seeing them arrive on a tour bus, Bowen knew after hearing them perform that Christian music was his calling, he said.

“I knew then that I wanted to join them on that bus and sing,” Bowen said. “The Bible says that God will give you the desires of your heart. I guess that is what happened in this case.”

Starting off performing small parts with the band, Bowen later became a full-fledged member of the group. However, the group disbanded after the musicians agreed to go their separate ways in 1997.

In the years that followed, Bowen began working in what his wife called “real jobs,” while the couple started their family. However, the musician could not resist the urge to return to the road and perform for long.

Around 10 years ago, he decided to begin taking bookings as a solo artist, with one his first being a show in Michigan. As his wife has family living in Sturgis, Bowen decided to pack his family together for a road trip on his way to the show: an act that resulted in a swift change of heart.

“I had this feeling, seeing my whole family together like that, that I shouldn’t be traveling alone,” he said. “I thought we should do this together. When I told my wife, she told me was thinking the same thing.”

Performing alongside Bowen during his shows are his oldest son, Landis, who plays guitar, and his middle and youngest daughters, Hope and Faith, who play the mandolin and fiddle, respectively. The band has recorded several albums over the years, including a Christmas-themed arrangement, “Christmas with The Bowen Family.”

The musician knows first-hand the power that music ministry can have on others.

Several years ago, after one of his performances, someone approached the artist to tell him that, many years ago, he tried committing suicide by driving his vehicle off a cliff. Right before the man’s foot hit the gas pedal, he heard a song from the MidSouth Boys, which convinced him to shut off the car engine and devote the rest of his life to God, Bowen said.

“A lot of people who attend church every Sunday are hurting inside, and only they and God know it,” Bowen said. “Sometimes, a song can reach them better than a preacher’s sermon can.”

Bowen said he encourages everyone who has time to swing by the church Sunday and experience the power of his family’s music for themselves.

“Hopefully everyone can come out and have a great time,” he said. “I know everyone who comes out will enjoy the show.”