His parents, and other adult mentors, influenced Rice's Christian faith and his early work with youth and college students.
What began as weekend and summer work with youth and college students soon turned into a full-time career during his twenties and thirties, and prompted Rice to write and perform mainly on the guitar.
For those two decades, Rice spent his time as an itinerant speaker and songwriter/musician, playing for high school and college conferences and camps nationwide.
This schedule prepared Chris for his career as a signed recording artist, touring the country with a full band.
[citation needed] With the help of Monroe Jones' production skills, Chris Rice recorded Deep Enough to Dream for a September 1997 release.
[citation needed] His sixth album, Run the Earth... Watch the Sky, released in March 2003, Chris again joined the production talents of his longtime friend and collaborator Monroe Jones.
[8][non-primary source needed] The album, a mix of adult contemporary and country music and was officially released on January 4, 2019.
He claimed that they had occurred several times between 1995 and 2003 when Rice led worship at retreats for the youth and college students of Tates Creek Presbyterian Church in Lexington, Kentucky.