Read the thoughts of Sarah Kawalsingh, Worship Director for Harvest City Church, on the launch of our very first live worship album: Salvation Is Here.

For the last few years I’ve felt the Lord put on my heart that we should record our own songs. Praise and worship at Harvest City Church has always been lively, energetic and ‘presence driven’ – in other words, the people at HCC love to worship so much that God just can’t help but show up!

Whenever friends visited the church they would say how they loved worshiping with us, and then the question would come: ‘So when do you think you are going to record your own album?’ I felt the pressure to do something but wanted it to all come together at the right time.

Last year I got sick and had to stay home and rest, and I really felt the Lord speak to me about putting things in place so that we could start recording. For the first time in many years I could feel the Lord leading me to start making arrangements and put rehearsal dates in the diary. We have been known as ‘the church that never sleeps’, so finding time to rehearse is normally quite a task, but this time it felt different and the schedule began to fall into place.

We are blessed with some wonderful musicians and singers at Harvest City Church, some of whom have started to write their own songs. It’s been really exciting to see people come together to hear what God is saying to us as a body and then write songs from their hearts and release them to the church.

The album is centred on the most wonderful gift that God gave us – salvation. It never ceases to amaze me that God, the creator of the universe, wants a relationship with us, and that in order for that relationship to take place He sent His son, Jesus, as the ultimate sacrifice on the cross.

The songs on the album reflect this, from the title track through to Amazing Grace, the glorious hymn that speaks out through so many generations of what God’s grace means to us as believers. Never Give Up encourages us to pursue God in spite of the hardships and trials we face, and Lord, I Long For You leads us to have that heart and longing for Him. Cast Your Burdens encourages us to give our cares to Jesus and let Him be the one to figure it out, and I Remember is simply about not forgetting all the ways in which God’s goodness works in our lives. For me, Greatest Miracle sums the album up; the greatest miracle that ever took place is when the ‘King of Glory saved my soul, touched my heart and made it new.’

One of the most exciting parts of this project was some of the younger members of the worship team getting the chance to work with Leroy Small (aka DJSS) to produce Thank God For the Cross (performed by Dwayne Chivi and Tisungane Enya). We are so blessed to have a vibrant youth group in YPs that adds a huge dynamic to the church, especially in the way they worship God. It’s infectious!

For me, the greatest joy is when people listen to these songs and feel a connection with God that draws them into His presence so they can experience Him for who He is, realise what He has done for them, and make the decision to accept Jesus as their Lord and saviour.

UPDATE: The 9-track CD album Salvation Is Here is now available to buy from the Bookshop or online priced at £10.