Charleigh Adams has been able to juggle an emerging career as a touring Christian musician with high school course work that has landed her near the top of her class.

Adams, 16, is a student at Eastside High School where her grade point average (GPA) recently was recorded as 4.1 — all A’s, said LaMoyne Brunson, principal of the Newton County Theme School and a family friend.

But she also has “an amazing story of her 2022 entrance into professional, touring music,” Brunson said.  

“She is kind, patient, and filled with enthusiasm for all things, from traveling to AP Calculus to mentoring student peers with special needs,” he said.

“Your description of this (GenZ) recognition is a perfect reflection of all she has accomplished and continues to do,” Brunson said.

Brunson shares a stage with Adams in the praise band at New Life Praise Center in Covington during Sunday services.

Adams, a Mansfield resident, is the keyboard player and the youngest member of the adult praise band at New Life. 

She also is the leader of the church’s Youth Praise Team, for which she sings and plays keyboards and guitar, and mentors younger musicians and singers, Brunson said.

All those musical distractions could take a toll on the academic careers of many young people like Adams who are working to gain admittance to top universities like the University of Georgia.

Adams, however, said her parents and her Christian faith have helped her stay focused on doing her best in school — where she excels in four Advanced Placement classes.

“(AP classes) are very challenging but very rewarding,” she said.

She is the daughter of New Life lead pastor and founder Justin Adams and executive pastor Tiffany Adams. Her brother, Levi, is an Eastside freshman,

Justin Adams is a former math teacher who founded the church in 2012 on Brown Bridge Road, while Tiffany also is a registered nurse who holds a master’s degree in nursing.

“I was always raised to try my best,” Charleigh said. “A lot of it goes back to serving the Lord.”

Brunson said the Eastside junior knew her GPA was 4.1 because she needed it for pre-admission consideration at UGA. 

She said she is considering attending either UGA or Free Chapel College in Gainesville where she would enter its ministry leadership certificate program.

Charleigh said she began learning the keyboards at age 12 and eventually began playing with the youth band at New Life. That experience led to auditioning for the adult praise band and becoming a regular performer on Sundays, she said.

Her work with Maverick City stemmed from seeing a Facebook post by the music collective seeking choir members.

Adams has traveled — with her parents in tow — with the Grammy Award-winning Christian music collective Maverick City Music as part of its Southeastern tour choir. 

She first performed with the Atlanta-based group at Lakewood Amphitheater in Atlanta, which led to shows at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee, and in Birmingham, Alabama, during summer break from school.

Performing with Maverick City in front of thousands is “just a rush of adrenaline,” Adams said.

“You don’t really have words,” she said.

She also has recorded overdubs with Maverick several times and separately recorded with the band Housefires based at Grace Midtown Church in Atlanta.  

“These are unheard-of experiences for a teenager,” Brunson said.