Austin Stone Worship, a ministry of The Austin Stone Community Church, releases its first studio album and eighth recording overall, Everflow, Nov. 17 through The Fuel Music. The 13-track album is available for pre-order beginning today at iTunes, Amazon Music and other digital retailers globally while the first single from the recording, “Singing In Victory,” will release Oct. 20.
Dedicated to serving and equipping the Church in Austin, TX and around the world with content rich in theology, mission and expression, Austin Stone Worship’s Everflow was crafted by the group’s 200-plus songwriters, musicians, photographers, filmmakers, designers and storytellers in response to themes of the book of 1 Peter.
“1 Peter is powerful and timely for today’s culture. It deals with suffering, enduring in the faith, and persevering no matter the cost,” says Austin Stone Worship Pastor Aaron Ivey. “It helps answer this question: How do we live in a world that is not our home?
“Scripture often uses the sea as an illustration of two dichotomous things: the perils of suffering, and the redeeming work of Jesus,” continues Ivey. “Both are true for believers. We may feel lost in a raging sea, but we know that God uses it to save us.”
Aiming to point listeners to the supremacy of Jesus in all things: through suffering and through redemption, Everflow intersperses instrumental “Selahs,” short pauses amidst the lyrical songs to give the listener a moment to reflect on the truths expressed in the lyrics.
For each of these instrumental pieces, Austin Stone Worship also offers poetry inspired by 1 Peter in a companion Everflow devotional to allow for reflection on who God is and what he has done. The devotional further explores the richness of the theology in each song and is meant to help worshipers understand what they are singing and why. The group’s desire with this new project is to exalt God and to be people who worship in spirit and truth.
“My hope is that Everflow will encourage believers to look to Christ through their suffering, trusting that though they are exiles in the world, they belong to Jesus and are His,” says the project’s producer, Kyle Lent. “Working on this record has forced me to look at the difficult circumstances of my life and see the movement of God even through, and perhaps especially through, those times. It’s encouraged me to see and experience the unity of the Church: that Peter’s words 2000-years-ago are still relevant and true for believers today.”
Along with the album and devotional, other practical resources for churches, such as chord charts, instructional videos and a curriculum, can be found at everflowalbum.com.
The full Everflow track listing follows:
01) Everflow
02) Singing In The Victory
03) The Center Of It All
04) Selah: The Desert
05) Jesus Lifted High
06) All Because Of Christ
07) Selah: The Sea
08) Your Mercy
09) You Can’t Be Praised Enough
10) Selah: The Air
11) Emmanuel God With Us
12) Jesus Is Better [Studio Version]
13) Benediction
About The Austin Stone Community Church:
The Austin Stone Community Church was established in 2002 and has grown from a small gathering of 100 to nearly 8,000 weekly attendees. The mission of the church is to exalt the name of Christ in Austin, the US and around the world, aiming to be a community who gives glory to Christ above all things and welcomes all people to join us in worshipping Him. Twelve Sunday services are held weekly at five different locations in Austin. For more information, visit www.austinstone.org.
About Austin Stone Worship:
Austin Stone Worship is a collection of worship leaders, musicians, songwriters, storytellers, and artists serving and equipping the church with content rich in theology, mission and expression. It exists to exalt the name of Jesus Christ here and now, always and forever. As a ministry of The Austin Stone Community Church, ASW is dedicated to proclaiming the beautiful gospel of Christ in their city and to the world, while challenging believers to live a fully devoted life to Jesus. They train worship leaders and artists, developing them in strong theology as well as practical skills through two-year worship leader residencies, internships, worship pastor intensives and online worship leader development. For more information, visit www.austinstoneworship.com.
About The Fuel Music:
Established in 2008, The Fuel Music & Management, LLC, is a leading artist management and artist solutions company that independently distributes music internationally. Based in Nashville, TN, the Fuel team brings nearly 70 years of combined music industry experience in record label operations, major label distribution and marketing, and artist management for artists ranging from upstart bands to GRAMMY Award nominated, multi-platinum artists. More information on the company can be found at www.thefuelmusic.com.
