Josh Garrels, the indie Christian singer gaining national buzz, will return to Indiana in July for a couple of homecoming concerts of sorts.

Garrels will bring his folksy and deeply personal spiritual songs to Redeemer Presbyterian Church on July 2 for a 7:30 p.m. concert. Tickets are $10 and will be sold at the door starting at 7 p.m. Joining him will be Jason Barrows.

The next night he will headline a concert to benefit AIDS sufferers in South Africa, presented by Loving Accurately Ministries. The event will begin at 7 p.m. at Earth House Collective, the former Lockerbie United Methodist Church at 237 N. East St.

Tickets are $22.50 to $25 and available online. Know No Stranger will open the show.

Garrels might be what you’d get if you crossed the surf-infused folk of Jack Johnson with the gritty and insightful spirituality of Bob Dylan during his Slow Train Coming days.

It’s a sound Garrels began developing in Indiana, where he self-produced and recorded his first two albums, Stone Tree and Under Quiet.

Now based in Portland, Oregon, Garrels’ current album Love & War & the Sea In Between gained national attention late last year when it was named Christianity Today’s 2011 Album of the Year.

That’s quite a feat for a fiercely independent artist who self-produces and records all his own music on his own independent record label. He offered it for free on his web site and it quickly generated more than 100,000 downloads.

The free download offer ended June 15 and Garrels announced on his Facebook page that he will release a new 8-song EP sometime the week of June 18.

Garrels has deep Indiana roots. He was raised here, went to college at Ball State,  and pastored a church in Indianapolis.