Performing groups often say that they’re one big family, but in the case of the Tri-County Choir, that’s partially true.

The group got its start in 1998 when Judy Sanders returned after an absence and looked up family friend Ronnie Carpenter. In the late ’70s Sanders’ parents and Carpenter’s family would often perform together, and she was looking to rekindle the tradition.

“Her family was the Wood family, they were a singing family, some of the best harmony in the Tri-State area,” Carpenter said. “My mother was a Click, and all the Click boys, every time we’d get together, they’d want to sing gospel music.”

What started out as a plan for a simple family gospel sing in an Andis church quickly became a happening when the two families arrived to find a packed house.

After their unintentional debut, the families decided to make their little organization a little more formal. Carpenter, a former choir director with Sugar Creek Missionary Baptist Church, was asked to lead the bunch, and the Tri-County Choir was born.

“Different churches started inviting us, and we would sing together on the second Saturday of every month,” Carpenter said. “We were having such a good time that it’s pretty much how that got started.”

Carpenter prides his group on being a “no rehearsal” choir, in fact, the evening’s song selections aren’t known to the group until they arrive at whatever church they happen to be singing at.

The approach seems to work: Their original group of 23 has ballooned to more than 100. And Carpenter regularly creates over 200 letters to send out to fans eager to keep up with where the group will be playing next.

But aside from the easy-going atmosphere and the group’s supporters, Carpenter said that the real reason for the group’s success is far more ethereal.

“It seems like more of a down-to-earth church atmosphere,” Carpenter said. “There’s a spirit-lead atmosphere to it, it just draws people in.”

Locals can experience that atmosphere for themselves July 8 at Worthington Baptist Church in Worthington. To get on the church’s mailing list, call Carpenter at (740) 532-8396.