In an event billed as the "Concert of the Decade," top Christian artists are banding together tonight to help ensure the survival of the threatened Gospel Music Association (GMA) and its programs--including the annual Dove awards.

Michael W. Smith, Amy Grant, Casting Crowns, Natalie Grant, Kirk Franklin, Point of Grace and MercyMe are among those who will be performing at the "Save the GMA" fund-raising event in Nashville, which will be available as a live free Web broadcast. Tickets for the strolling dinner and concert at The Loveless Barn are $1,000 each.

"We are thrilled to be able to offer our services and Web site to the Gospel Music Association to allow fans a chance to attend this once-in-a-lifetime concert event," Jeff Myers, president and founder of Godbeat.com and Godbeat Media, said of the largest Christian concert streamed online. "To have these artists on one stage together is utterly amazing. This may never happen again. The GMA has been the backbone of the Christian music industry for years, and we are glad to partner with HearItFirst.com and 316Networks.com to help make this concert a great success."

GMA officials hoped the event would raise $800,000 for the association. Last month the the association announced that John Styll, president and CEO for six years, was stepping down from the role as the organization refits itself as "a more volunteer-driven operation." Styll remains a board member.

Meanwhile, the 15th Annual Inspirational Country Music Awards Show presented by the Christian Country Music Association is to be held Thursday, Oct. 15, at the Trinity Music City USA Auditorium in Hendersonville, Tenn. Actor David Keith is scheduled to host the show, which will feature performances by Ricky Skaggs & The Whites, Point of Grace and Jason Crabb.

UPDATE (Oct. 13):

GMA's Gabriel Aviles acknowledged technical problems and announced a future rebroadcast on the organization's Facebook fan page:

For those of you who had trouble watching last night's concert, our apologies. We had ove 14K of you jump in all at once and it did crash the system. We are working on a rebroadcast of this amazing evening..thanks for your patience and stay tuned!

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