Steve Camp

Steve Camp was born Steven J. Camp on April 13, 1955, in Wheaton, Illinois. He was raised by Christian parents and, by the age of five, had confessed faith in Jesus. Through his teenage years he wanted to serve God, and as a young Christian he formed a close bond with the pioneering Christian singer-songwriter Larry Norman, who gave him advice on his singing and songwriting. He also met Keith Green, who encouraged him to make a stronger commitment to Jesus and to the ministry of music.

Camp attended Roosevelt University in Chicago, where he majored in musical composition and theory and studied under Ralph Dodds. He also studied business law and music at the College of DuPage in Illinois.

Camp's official biography dates his music career to 1975. He played acoustic guitar and sang backing vocals on Scott Wesley Brown's 1977 album "I'm Not Religious, I Just Love The Lord" and began a long songwriting partnership with Rob Frazier, formerly of Petra. Signed to Myrrh Records, he released "Sayin' It with Love" (1978), "Start Believin'" (1980) and "For Every Man" (1981).

Moving to Sparrow Records in 1983, he released "Fire and Ice", which peaked at No. 14 on Billboard's Top Inspirational Albums chart. Its single "Love's Not a Feeling", a duet with Michele Pillar, reached No. 4 on the CCM chart, stayed on the chart for 30 weeks and earned a Grammy nomination for Best Gospel Performance by a Duo or Group. "Living in Laodicea" also charted. Further Sparrow albums included "Shake Me to Wake Me" (1985), "One on One" (1986), "After God's Own Heart" (1987, with the No. 1 "Whatever You Ask"), "Justice" (1988, with "Don't Tell Them Jesus Loves Them" and the BeBe Winans duet "Do You Feel Their Pain?") and "Consider the Cost" (1991).

With Warner Alliance he released "Taking Heaven By Storm" (1993), produced with Michael Omartian, which yielded several No. 1 songs including a contemporary version of "The Lord's Prayer", and "Mercy in the Wilderness" (1994). Later albums were "Abandoned to God" (1999) and "Desiring God" (2002). After singles "Liberty Road" and the Christmas song "Immanuel" in 2023, he released the 27-track double album "Neighbors in an Age of Rage" in 2024. Among his best-loved songs are "He's All You Need", "He Covers Me" and "Run to the Battle".

From 1995 to 1997 Camp hosted his own radio talk show, "No Compromise with Steve Camp", and he was a regular guest on programmes including "The Bible Answer Man" with Hank Hanegraaff and "The Janet Parshall Show". In 1996 he attended the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals conference at which the Cambridge Document was drafted, and in 1997 he spoke at the Summit on Church Music Ministry at Cedarville College in Ohio.

In 1998 he became an associate pastor at Grace Community Church at John MacArthur's invitation. He started the CampOnThis blog in 2005, which was a finalist in the 2007 Weblog Awards. In 2009 he was ordained as senior pastor of The Cross in Palm City, Florida, and he was later senior pastor of CrossLife Church in Fort Pierce, Florida, describing himself as a Reformed Baptist pastor and teacher.

Camp was divorced from his first wife before 2002. He remarried on June 19, 2009. On his X profile he described himself as husband to Cindy, with seven children, six in-laws and eight grandchildren, and he lived in Florida. Despite the shared surname and genre, he was not related to the Christian rock musician Jeremy Camp.

Camp held Reformed theology and was known for saying hard things to the church and to the Christian music business. On Reformation Day, October 31, 1997, he released "The 107 Theses: A Call to Reformation for the Contemporary Christian Music Industry", modelled on Martin Luther's Ninety-five Theses. It urged artists to return to the authority of Scripture, to be accountable to a local church, to pursue the glory of God and not to be unequally yoked with an unbelieving world, and he acknowledged shortcomings in his own earlier songs. He was openly pro-life and gave benefit concerts for crisis pregnancy centres.

In 1985 Camp organised CAUSE (Christian Artists United to Save the Earth), a one-time assembly of Christian artists who recorded "Do Something Now" for famine relief through Compassion International. He also championed Food for the Hungry and led AIDS Crisis and Christians Today (A.C.C.T.), a biblical outreach to people living with AIDS. His official biography says he performed a charity concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London for Princess Anne's Save the Children.

Camp received a Grammy nomination at the 27th Annual Grammy Awards for Best Gospel Performance by a Duo or Group for "Love's Not a Feeling" with Michele Pillar. According to his official biography, he received a President's Merit Award from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences in 1986 for "Do Something Now", wrote the Grammy-winning song "Martin" recorded by Shirley Caesar, and was nominated for a Dove Award for rock album for "After God's Own Heart". He appeared on the cover of CCM Magazine twice, including the November 1986 issue.

CCM Magazine called Camp a "Christian music pioneer" whose passionate music and uncompromising commitment to the Gospel helped shape contemporary Christian music. He was one of the defining voices of 1980s Christian radio, and his 107 theses remain one of the best-known internal critiques of the Christian music industry. Tributes after his death came from fellow artists, pastors and podcasters, many of whom recalled hearing his songs as young believers.

Steve Camp died on Wednesday, November 11, 2026, after a battle with heart failure, according to a statement from the Camp family. He was 71. The statement, shared on his social media accounts and reported on November 13 by ChurchLeaders, CCM Magazine and others, said: "It is with heavy hearts, yet great hope in Christ, that we share the passing of our beloved husband, father, and grandfather, Steve Camp." The family pointed to Acts 20:24 and 2 Corinthians 4:5 as the passages that shaped his life and ministry. The place of death and funeral arrangements had not been made public.