Contemporary Christian rock is making its way to the forefront of the music industry and to the Midwest.

Geoff Moore & The Distance and Jars of Clay, two groups that have been nominated for this year’s Dove Awards, will be bringing their original sounds and messages to Ames and Des Moines this spring.

Geoff Moore & The Distance began its Christian music ministry almost seven years ago. Since then, the group has been nominated for three consecutive Grammy awards, has produced several No. 1 singles and has had five hit albums including the latest — “Threads.”

Opening for Geoff Moore & The Distance will be Out of Eden and Small Town Poets.

Jars of Clay, will also be making a stop in the Midwest as part of its Bubblemaker’s Spring Tour. The second leg of the tour will be taking Jars of Clay throughout the United States and Canada.

When the 1998 Dove Award Nominations were announced on February 17, Jars of Clay was nominated for six categories including Group of the Year, Artist of the Year, Pop Contemporary Song of the Year – “Crazy Times”, Pop Contemporary Album of the Year – “Much Afraid”, Enhanced CD of the Year – “Crazy Times Maxi Single”, and Short Form Music Video of the Year – “Crazy Times.”

The group’s latest album — “Much Afraid” — has gone gold after five weeks. When released, the album was the No. 1 alternative rock album for its debut week with over 100,000 copies sold, setting a new record for the Christian music industry, according to the official Jars of Clay Web site.

Meanwhile, the band’s second album, “Jars of Clay Platinum,” has landed the No. 8 spot on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart, behind Mariah Carey, Busta Rhymes and Brooks and Dunn.

Jars of Clay will be in Ames May 17. Tickets go on sale Feb. 27 and are $19.50, $15.50. Tickets are available through the Iowa State Center Ticket Office and all TicketMaster outlets.

Geoff Moore & The Distance will be bringing its sound to the First Federated Church in Des Moines March 20. Tickets are $14.75 in advance, $12.75 for groups and $17.75 day of the show. Call (402) 449-2830 or (515) 255-2122 for tickets.