Let it be known that Worship Central could have done things so very differently. There could have been more tours, bigger pushes for chart success and louder calls from the front to get out there and buy the album. There could even have been franchises.
But none of that is much use when it comes to building community. None of that fits with the plan of seeing local churches inspired, empowered and equipped to worship.
As they draw closer to the release of their second live album - Let It Be Known - Worship Central have something to say. They want to talk about something that happened a couple of years ago:
"We decided to collaborate much more with our songwriting, spending more time writing together," explains Tim Hughes. "These songs are the fruit of that passion."
These are not the words of someone interested in selling franchises. These are the words of someone who appreciates the value of team, of time well spent and of the need for church to be far service-oriented not performance-driven. And you can hear all that in the songs as well, from the intercession of The Constant, the rawest cries of Hallelujah to the outward-focus of the title track.
"I've been struck by the fact that songs which are about the cross often bring such power to the services," says Tim.
"They are the ones which often seem to lead to breakthrough. I was at an event in Manchester recently and had an image in my mind of a burning cross which sucked off and burned up chains and addictions from the people standing around it. It lead to the song The Cross Burns, and it's a reminder that the power of these songs that we play is only ever found in God.
"Then there's the song Our Generation. So many times I look out at our youth and students and I see so much potential for God to use them. But they lack confidence to see. We're desperate for God to turn things around - He's the only one that can."
Recorded live in London last autumn, Let It Be Known is not just the result of a growing UK team, but comes after a period of significant international growth. There are now Worship Central hubs in Honk Kong, the Netherlands, Singapore, Malaysia and South Africa - each of them devoted to empowering, equipping and releasing others to strengthen their own church's worship life.
This spring will see a debut tour of South Africa, an eight-date UK tour plus much more - all to the soundtrack of local churches singing louder and longer than ever.
The full album will be released on March 11. It will also be available as an LP on iTunes including exclusive content - videos, loop tracks and tutorials.
Source: Integrity Music
