Over the last year or so, I’ve had the privilege of being involved with the Immerse Collective as a songwriter and contributor. The Immerse Collective is a group of creatives who lead worship, write songs, and create products that draw people closer to God. We believe that the Holy Spirit works through worship to transform lives to more resemble Jesus Christ.

It started with a simple request. My friend, Producer Chris Long (Deer Hill Music), had a vision for an alternative style of worship—one that is more orchestral, more intimate, and hopefully takes the listener on a sacred journey to the throne. And with that prompting, he asked me to help some aspiring songwriters develop some material. Over time, that idea turned into songs, orchestrations, videos, and ultimately into a collaboration of worship artists trying to do something different than what is currently happening in the modern worship scene.

Through the course of this project, we’ve had to re-envision how to create something different through the ever-evolving landscape of contemporary worship. The music business continues to evolve in ways that can be confusing, and the contemporary worship “industry” (for lack of a better word), is a subset of that change. It’s the age-old question for artists—how do you get your stuff out there?

Take a peek at the first official release of the first official worship video below. Interesting tidbit: Mark Gasparro, the immensely talented pianist and arranger on this project, was the pianist on the Award-winning Pixar movie, “Up.” I helped co-write this song, “Rain,” along with recording engineer, Josh Grenko (Velvet Tone Studios). We’ll be releasing further songs/videos of this project on August 2, 2024. Enjoy!

[Banner photo: The album cover for Immerse Collective’s first release. Photo 2: Recording the Hollywood Chamber Orchestra at Evergreen Studios in Burbank. Photo 3: Songwriter and featured vocalist, Jessica Bhugaloo.]