Gas Street Music
"When we first started Gas Street, one of the first words spoken over us was that we would be 'Woven in worship.' As a community, all we say and do would have worship at the heart of it.
These songs are woven together to reflect the full range of Christian experience in worship, from thanksgiving to lament, contending in prayer and longing for the glory of a God to fall. Our heart is that these songs would give voice to the community before us and beyond as we join the wider church woven together in unity by the Spirit to give glory to the Father through the Son."
The title 'Woven: Live from The Coal House' comes from a prophetic word spoken at the start of Gas Street as a church almost ten years ago. How has your church sought to stay true to worship being at the heart of everything you do as you all have grown and evolved?
Yes! At the start of our journey, a friend of our church gave us a prophetic word about everything we do being “woven in worship.” We desire to be a people who carry worship as the highest and most important value.
Everything we do as a church must enable and lead people to encounter Jesus, whether it's a Sunday gathering where we come together corporately to worship and minister to Him or serving our community. We desire our conversations and activities to be from a place of giving our everything to Jesus.
Why did you all choose this title for these particular songs? How do you think this spectrum of expressed worship weaves Gas Street together with the global Church?
This title is a full circle moment for us, seven years on from the start of the church, remembering our calling again to be woven in worship. It felt like it just made sense in our journey and the story that God has been writing.
We first and foremost write songs to serve our local church, expressing the diversity in the creativity of our community. Most of our worship community consists of volunteers and people who spend their time beyond the four walls of the church. We realise that when our work becomes a position of worship, we lose the separation between the sacred and the secular.
These songs are heart cries of what we long to see God do not only in our times of gathered sung worship but His presence impacting and changing our city, our workplaces, and our communities.
Tell us about the setting of the recording of ‘The Coal House.’
Typically, we have recorded our songs in a studio setting or captured them live from a Sunday gathering. This time, we wanted to express these songs in one of our favourite settings, together “in the round.”
The Coal House is a space in our building that historically was used to store coal previously used to power the street lamps across the city. We invited our church members for a beautiful night of worship and encounter, and you hear the sound of a unified body expressing their praise, thanksgiving and hunger to see more of the Glory of God.
The passion for Jesus was so tangible!
Tell us how Psalms 139:13-16 inspired the song “Woven.”
Psalms 139 is a stunning scripture — it’s deeply personal and speaks right into the heart of who we are. Being formed by God and known by him releases an overflow of praise. The works of God lead to a right response of worship.
It's like strands of fabric sewn together: they are linked and bonded to create something beautiful. The song ends with inspiration from Psalm 103:1: Let all that's in me bless your name, let all that's in me say, ‘You're worthy of my praise.’
What songs in particular have resonated the most with your congregation? Do you think it has something to do with the season your church is in or a collective season the global Church is facing?
We've been using most of these songs in our gatherings for quite some time now, particularly “Thanksgiving,” “Worthy Jesus,” “Broken Hallelujah (Not My Will)” and “Lord Let Your Glory Fall On Us.”
They have all brought us into beautiful encounters with the Lord. “Thanksgiving” gives melody to Psalm 100, where we read about how we can enter His presence by expressing our gratitude. We've seen God move in incredible ways this year, with so many people giving their “yes” to Jesus for the first time. “Worthy Jesus” has called us into simple faith, reminding us that He is before all things and holds it together, regardless of circumstances or our situations — that in every season, He is worth our worship.
“Broken Hallelujah (Not My Will)” has helped us navigate what we see in the global Church with the heartaches of the Christian experience and the devastation of what people are facing in the world. It's a beautifully honest song of lament. “Lord Let Your Glory Fall On Us” has become a passionate prayer to see His glory fall.
The bridge articulates the only response when we encounter Him: declaring how holy and worthy He is!
Gas Street Music | Woven: Live from the Coal House
Lead songs from Woven: Live from the Coal House with your congregation. Resources available at MultiTracks.com.