Iconic gospel artist Kirk Franklin has worked with Live Nation Urban to announce a music festival dedicated to the gospel music genre in hopes of countering the decline in gospel music. The announcement was made during the BET Soul Train Awards by Franklin along side singer-songwriter Erykah Badu on Sunday, Nov. 26.

"The (gospel) genre has never owned a spot in the pantheon of music festivals that have global behemoths like Coachella or Essence until now," Franklin said. "In 2018, I will unveil my new partnership with Live Nation to present the first ever festival celebrating the best and brightest from the community that represents the message of hope and love like none other: Kirk Franklin's Exodus Music and Arts Festival."

The Exodus Music and Arts Festival will feature performances from headlining act and host Kirk Franklin, Marvin Sapp, Tamela Mann, and Tye Teibbett. More performers will be announced soon. Additionally, gospel choirs from the Greater Dallas metropolitan area are also expected to perform at the event.

The weekend-long festival will kick off on May 26, 2018 over the Pavilion at the Toyota Music Factory in Dallas, Texas. Pre-sale tickets are already available with the general on-sale tickets set for Friday, Dec. 1.

In one of his Instagram posts, Franklin expressed his thoughts about why millennials are leaving the church. He said the new generation is distant from the church all because "we showed them our scriptures without showing them our scars."

Fellow gospel music artist James Fortune for his part backed Franklin and his statement. He wrote "I agree" on the comments section of Franklin's post.

With Kirk Franklin's Exodus Music and Arts Festival, the gospel artist hopes to draw the interest of the younger generation as well as spread his message to counter the decline of his genre and the Church.