DECATUR - There really is "stuff" in Kansas.

Bryce Bishop, a member of the Central Christian College Concert Choir, said so when he asked Lutheran School Association students on Friday during the choir's performance if any of them had been to Kansas. A few hands went up.

And when choir director Mark Cagle asked who is involved in band or choir or drama, more hands went up, but tentatively and only about to shoulder height.

"Watch this," Cagle said, then asked, "Who's into sports?" Almost every hand went up high. "Be proud of the arts," Cagle urged the musicians and actors.

The singers in the concert choir are. As part of their spring tour, which takes them through Springfield, Decatur, Hillsboro and Alton, the choir performs at churches and schools, sharing their talent and their love of Jesus.

The choir's purpose is threefold, Cagle said: First and most importantly, sharing the Gospel; second, to promote a bonding experience for the students in the group; and third, to advertise the school and recruit.

Bishop did his part of the recruiting. After assuring LSA students that there really is "stuff" in Kansas, he told them about his college, the many options for majors ranging from music to psychology, ministry, natural science and many more; its accreditation, which is the same as the University of Kansas or any other institution of higher education; and the freedom to create your own major under the liberal arts degree program.

The college and the choir will celebrate their 125th anniversary next year, Cagle said.

Choir president James Bohnenblust is majoring in music with plans to serve as a church director or minister of music and already is doing that job in a church in McPherson, Kan., where the college is located. Married with a child, he said the choir fulfills one of his course requirements, but that's not his reason for joining.

"I would have done it, regardless," he said. "These types of things, we get to travel together and hang out on the bus, and I'm the A type of personality and love to be around people. It's a fun fellowship time. I get to sing and hang out with people at the same time."

Eighth-grader Ariana Shelton is in LSA's junior high choir, and watching the older students made her think about technique, she said.

"They have different ways of standing," she said, holding her hand against her diaphragm to demonstrate good posture. "And they have different facial expressions and ways of holding their mouths. You have to smile more and look like you're really into the song."

Valerie Wells can be reached at vwells@herald-review.com or 421-7982.