Sisters, Erica and Tina Campbell, of the popular Gospel/Pop duo, Mary Mary, lost their father, Eddie A. Atkins Jr., to cancer yesterday. 

Atkins was the father of 8 children, including Erica and Tina, and was a youth minister and church elder. 

He and his wife, Thomasina 'Honey' Atkins, who is a choir director, and gotten the sisters into singing at an early age in the church choir. 

In the sisters WE Television series, "Mary Mary", they had shared issues with their father divorcing and re-marrying their mother three times. With that said, they are still family and still very much loved their father. 

The sisters went to twitter to share their thanks for all the fan support during this difficult time. 

They wrote at (@therealmarymary):

"Thanks 4 all the kind words & prayers sent today. Our Dad was a great man, but he's with Jesus now he taught us how to pray & trust God." 

"Our hearts are heavy but we can rejoice knowing our father knew we Loved him RIP Elder Eddie A Atkins Jr. Rest in the arms of Jesus Daddy.."

They hope their music can continue to be a positive light to their fans and they can grow even more from this experience and share it with others. 

"It's about spreading good news for the world but doing it in the Mary Mary way: banging beats and melodies, intertwined voices and messages of hope," Tina Campbell wrote on the Mary Mary website. "We're committed to our message and purpose."

Erica agrees with this purpose as well.  "It's not just about musical achievements, awards, charts and sales," she said. "That's not our guiding light. It's about connecting with people and offering them real hope...hope that, ultimately, changes lives."

Mary Mary's most recent release was Go Get It in 2012. 

Their TV show is on Thursday nights at 9/8pm Central on WE Tv.