All Sons & Daughters Provides Night of Worship, Worship Leader Roundtable at Walnut Creek

All Sons & Daughters leads worship at Walnut Creek Downtown on March 11. Photo by Graham Gardner.

As part of their “A Night of Worship” tour, popular Christian band All Sons & Daughters made a stop at Walnut Creek Downtown on March 11. Worshipers from around Des Moines filled the church for not your typical concert.

“I thought All Sons and Daughters did a fantastic job of leading worship, and not putting on a show,” said Darrin Miedema of Walnut Creek Downtown. “Honestly, I expected it to feel like a concert. And while the quality of music was professional, the flow and feel of the event was that it was a worship service.  It was a very enjoyable and refreshing time.”

Alex Mentzer, also from Walnut Creek Downtown, said it was unlike any concert she’s ever been to. “I appreciated that they recognized people worship differently – there were communion tables, a table with sketchbooks for people to write or draw, a table for people to give financially to an organization called Feed One. If people needed space or a place to kneel, they encouraged us to find some space,” Mentzer said.

The worship duo, David Leonard and Leslie Jordan, were joined by their pastor and friend Jamie George. Between songs, George gave a message on Luke 7 in which he shared the gospel and talked about how God meets us in our loneliness.

“I sat in the front row and got to watch people take communion,” Mentzer said. “It was beautiful knowing they were all taking time to remember what God had done in their lives, and it was a great time for me to reflect on how God redeemed me and revel in the deep love God has for me.”

Miedema said one of his favorite parts of the night was seeing so many Christians from different churches in Des Moines worshiping together at one event. “Different churches have different visions, different stances on certain issues, and different cultures, but ultimately we should look for opportunities to love and serve one another and be united in the advancement of God’s Kingdom,” he said.

Worship Leader Roundtable

Worship leaders from Des Moines area churches were invited to take part in a roundtable discussion with All Sons & Daughters at Walnut Creek Downtown prior to the show on March 11.

“It was encouraging to see other people’s passion for music and leading their congregation into greater affection for Jesus,” said Miedema, a worship leader at Walnut Creek Downtown. “It was also encouraging to know that there are many other people faithfully serving in this area and managing the sacrifices that it requires.”

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By Tim Laehn
Walnut Creek Downtown

Rend Collective Comes to Des Moines

Rend Collective performs before a full church on February 14 at Walnut Creek Downtown.

Rend Collective, an eclectic Christian band hailing from North Ireland, and Christian rock band Bellarive, performed two sold-out concerts at Walnut Creek Downtown February 13 and 14.

“Rend Collective had a lot of great energy. They seemed really genuine, and I appreciated their emphasis on community,” said Brett Stewart of Walnut Creek Downtown. “I loved the music, atmosphere, and people. It was great seeing so many people from our church and so many people not from our church.”

Part of their Campfire tour, the two concerts provided the more than 1,200 attendees with upbeat, new-folk music reminiscent of worshiping God with a group of friends around a campfire.

“I thought what they said about the campfire and what it symbolizes was very meaningful,” Stewart said. “We’re all God’s children and equally important. It doesn’t matter if we’re musicians, pastors, or missionaries. We’re all equidistant from the fire – no one is in the center.”

Audrey Van Lohn of Walnut Creek Windsor Heights said she has experienced the campfire atmosphere before and thought it was a great concept for the concert. “It really is a time to be real and share what is going on in life. To have that not only with the Lord but also with close friends is so important, because we can do so much for each other,” Van Lohn said.

Van Lohn added that her favorite part was when Patrick shared about the band’s partnership with the child sponsorship ministry Compassion International. “I think it's fantastic that they support children all around the world,” she said. “He brought to reality how blessed financially we are and how much we have to share.”

The following excerpts are from an Integrity Music review of Rend Collective:

With Campfire, a 12-track collection recorded live on a beach in Northern Ireland, Rend Collective Experiment dares us to re-imagine worship and community.

As Rend's Gareth Gilkeson states: "There are no outsiders in the Kingdom. That's part of why we chose to record around the Campfire. Worship is not exclusive or confined within the walls of a church. It's a flame for everyone to gather around."

Sonically, Campfire is a fresh and innovative take on the new-folk and indie genres, an acoustic project by virtue of the fact that there are no electrical sockets on the beach. The album is entirely driven by classic, retro folk instruments that could be played by the fireside and by the ocean. The result is an album that captures the raw, rootsy, foot-stomping energy of the Irish worshippers, which has been infectious among audiences across the globe, as well as the vulnerability and intimacy of home group worship.

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By Tim Laehn
Walnut Creek Downtown