Praise and preaching by gospel artist Rachel John

Worship and gospel singing: Rachel John says praise prepares the hearts of the congregation for the preaching

I am a child of the church and have been attending church since my conception as my mother was a Christian long before my birth.

Music, worship and preaching have played a central role in my life due to growing up in the  New Testament Assembly in Leyton, London, a black Pentecostal church.

As a young child, church services resonated with me very strongly and touched me deeply. 

I loved the music featured in Sunday morning worship services. It consisted of lively choruses, some with a Caribbean feel, which touched on different aspects of Christian living; classic hymns like Blessed Assurance, Great is thy Faithfulness, and How Great Thou Art and a song by the church choir. Their song choices were heavily influenced by popular gospel artists of the day who included Andrae Crouch, the Walter Hawkins Singers and James Cleveland.

The worship and gospel singing prepared the hearts of the congregation for the preaching – most of it done by the late great Pastor Io Smith MBE. My first pastor. 

Due to my age at the time, I don’t remember the themes of Pastor Smith’s sermons but I do remember her passionate oratory and the congregation’s response to it. They often reacted to her sermons with shouts of ‘Come On’, ‘Yes’, ‘Preach it’ as well as the accompanying hallelujahs when she made statements that resonated strongly with their beliefs.

My memories of growing up in church endure to this day, and although my lifestyle is busy due to my career as a singer/actor in theatre, I still make time to be at church and sing in church worship teams.

I have been blessed with a successful career and have been cast in some outstanding musicals including We Will Rock You, Sister Act, Memphis, The Bodyguard, and The Girl from The North Country and Hamilton.

I love modern worship songs but the hymns I heard in my childhood have a special place in my heart and some are featured on my soon-to-be released album From My Lips to God’s Ears. I fulfilled a lifelong ambition by recording the album live at NTA, Tooting, the church headquarters of the denomination I once belonged to.

I love hymns because they are God’s message in song and have played a major role in deepening my faith and connection to God as well as opening up my mind to receive his word.

It’s my prayer that as people listen to the songs, it will inspire them to reflect, think, and meditate on spiritual things as well as remind them of the beauty of hymns and how they succinctly capture God’s heart for humanity and prepare people’s minds to hear his glorious word.

Rachel John

From My Lips to God’s Ear by Rachel John will be released on April 8 on Westway Music.

Click https://bit.ly/preordRach to pre-order or pre-save the album.

Website: www.rachel-john.co.uk

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