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Being a debut artist can have its challenges, but the girls of V*Enna are quite satisfied with where they are and what they are doing, as long as Christ continues to be the focus.

They come from different countries but have the same heart. Lucy Britten and Sharnessa Shelton, also known as V*Enna, have a sound described as "Britney meets ABBA" and a vision for reaching kids on both sides of the Atlantic. Their debut album, Where I Wanna Be, includes "Do You Wanna Know," "All the Way to Heaven" and the hit title track. Lucy and Sharnessa recently sat down with FamilyChristian.com to talk about their music and their ministry.

FamilyChristian.com: What has life been like for you since your album came out in September?

Lucy: We always tell people that we can't believe what's been happening. We're based in Britain and when we come over and people are like, "Oh, you're V*Enna! We love your album." You think, "Oh my goodness, I didn't realize anyone had ever heard of it." It's been really busy but it's been good busy. We've been rehearsing; we've done some schools. We've toured with Raze and we [just started] to tour with Phil Joel. We have just done a week in Canada, which was amazing.

FamilyChristian.com: Have you had any unique opportunities present themselves?

Lucy: There have been some amazing times recently. When we do a full concert, we do some ministry time at the end and we just sit down with the kids and talk to them about our testimonies and encourage them to go further with God or to seek God. Afterwards, there will be kids coming up to us and saying, "Tonight, I have decided I'm committing my life back to Jesus," or "I've just been convicted of something that I've just got to give up and I'm going to strive to do so." We hear kids saying that their friends have become Christians through our music and some become Christians at the concert. It's been awesome; it's so exciting to see what God's doing.

FamilyChristian.com: You are from Great Britain and Sharnessa is from the U.S. How did you come together?

Lucy: Sharnessa actually came over to do a year in a school called SCM - School of Creative Ministries in London, England. Then our manager, Mark Pennells, talked to me about my vision, heart, relationship with God—everything. It all fit together that I should move to Manchester [England] and start up V*Enna. Mark actually knew about SCM and knew that there were lots of talented people. He went down there and auditioned Sharnessa and one of our dancers, Peter. That's how we found her. It was very cool. She came up a few months later to Manchester. We both had exactly the same goal: getting to know God and going further. It's really working out well.

FamilyChristian.com: Sharnessa, how did you hear about the School of Creative Ministries?

Sharnessa: It was a family friend of ours. She's been like a prayer warrior for me since I was about seven. She told me about this school. At first, when she told me about it, it was kind of in one ear and out the other. It sounded cool and everything, but it was in England so I was like, "Yeah right, like I'm actually going to go to a school that far away." But then about a month later, I saw this imprint of the initials of the school kind of branded on my heart. I started getting really excited about it.

FamilyChristian.com: Where does the name V*Enna come from?

Sharnessa: Initially we chose it because it was kind of cute and girlie and fresh. We were thinking of European cities and that's a city in Austria. Recently, we found out that it means "white field," which means fields that are ready for harvest.

FamilyChristian.com: Tell me about your experiences performing at schools in Great Britain.

Lucy: It's amazing actually, because in England you can talk about Jesus quite openly. We actually got a chance to give our testimonies in school. I think the kids in England have not seen that it's cool to be a Christian. When we were presenting it in a more cool way, just letting them know it's all about life and love [and] it's not about giving things up and being a geek, it broke down stereotypes and became attractive to them.

FamilyChristian.com: How have the demands of touring and a busy life affected your relationship with God? How do you stay grounded in the Word?

Sharnessa: It is tough. I'm not going to say that it's easy, because it has gotten more tough. But it's something that we've committed to. It's something that all of us in V*Enna value so much and know that without that, we are nothing. V*Enna will fall flat on its face if we don't keep that up. Also it's just wanting to do it. It's not so much like God sitting there saying, "You need to spend time with me!" It's more like He's sitting there waiting for you every morning to spend time with you. It's more a love thing than anything.

FamilyChristian.com: How do you think your own experiences as a teenager influenced the way you relate to kids?

Lucy: Personally I totally understand where they're at. I turned my back on God completely for a few years. I thought it was really fun, but looking back now, it was nothing like what I'm doing now. I think when I was their age there were two things that I wasn't really taught. One thing is that I wasn't taught that I was making decisions every time I did something wrong. I wasn't just going along with the crowd; I was actually making a decision to turn my back on God and do the wrong thing. The other thing that I wasn't really taught was the life that Jesus gives. I wish people had told me about the life that He bought for us because I did feel that [Christianity] about giving up things. And that's not what Jesus says. He says that the things that you give up are only the harmful things that aren't going to make you happy anyway.

FamilyChristian.com: How do you hope to encourage kids through your music?

Lucy: We talk about a number of topics. We want kids to know that we all struggle and that Christianity is for real people with real problems. I think we try and get that across in what we say. We tell them about the fact that we're ordinary people and we mess up, but God is awesome and He takes over. He sorts things out [and] He's by your side if you let Him. In every single message we give, that's the underlying thing, just to really give everything to God and see how amazing your life becomes. It's been a struggle, but as soon as we give everything to God, the way He's blessed us back has been so incredible that we just don't want to keep it to ourselves.

Where I Wanna Be by: V*Enna

Sharnessa: We just want kids who don't know Jesus to come to Him. We also want kids who do know Him to go deeper. Being a teenager, it's so easy to get wrapped up in the fun of being a teenager. There's nothing wrong with the fun parts of being a teenager. We love going to parties and having fun and shopping and all of that stuff, but when that becomes the focus, it's just such a waste. I've seen teenagers waste their teen years because [they say], "Oh, I'll get serious about God later. When I'm out of high school, I'll get serious about God. When I grow up or when I'm married, or have kids." We want them to know that now is the time. God has something awesome in store for everybody and we just want them to start pursuing that now. God so desires to prepare them at this stage in their life. The thing is, there's no time like being a teenager. You don't have the responsibilities of having a major job; you don't have a family. What a more phenomenal time to get to grow in Him and prepare for what God has for them in the future and what He has for them at that moment.

We want to give them something in the concert to chew on; something that goes so deep that it changes their lives forever. We don't want to be a band that just entertains and we don't want to be a band that just gives them cool little cliché things to say about God, but rather we want them to walk home changed people.

Amy Meyering, a writer in Grand Rapids, Mich., originally conducted this interview for Family Christian Stores' All Access music catalog.

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