Bethel Music Releases 'You Make Me Brave' Globally April 22

Bethel Music, the worship ministry of Redding, CA-based Bethel Church, releases the highly anticipated You Make Me Brave CD/DVD internationally April 22 through Fuel Distribution.  Chronicling the worship experience during a three-day women’s conference held at The Civic in Redding, CA, the album features songs that were written independently and later led at the conference by a gifted team of worship leaders, including Jenn Johnson, Kari Jobe, Steffany Frizzell Gretzinger, Kristene DiMarco, Amanda Cook and Leah Valenzuela.  Remarkably, although written at different times, the songs all bring a common message that God is present, forever and is eternally for you, to give you strength and to make you brave.

“I'm more excited about this than anything that we've ever done,” says Jenn Johnson, who serves as Bethel’s Senior Worship Pastor along with her husband Brian. “I also don't think this project is just for women. I think this is a message for the church.”

Eloquently giving voice to that message is the album’s title track, a song written from the heart of Amanda Cook. “The song took only a matter of minutes to write,” says Cook, “but it was the result of a long, dry season God took me through to reach the point where I was able to express what He had been doing…God has themes in all of our lives and I feel like bravery is something that He’s always called me into.  I’ve struggled with fear my whole life. You name it, I've been afraid of it. The song is a very personal statement to me because it's not written out of a place of declaration that ‘I'm so brave.’ I'm writing myself into that character, writing myself into the person that I really do feel called to be and want to be.”

While the songs on You Make Me Brave are very personal, the corporate nature of the event in which they were recorded shifted the focus away from the individual and toward the object of the collective’s praise. “What was celebrated was what God was doing, not who was doing what,” explains Johnson.  “I really hope that people feel that the highlight is what the Lord is saying through the whole album versus who sang what, who did what, whose name is on what.”

The accompanying DVD further defines that hope and provides vibrant visuals to inspire the worship experience.  The full You Make Me Brave CD/DVD track listing, with associated song leaders/writers follows:

1. You Make Me Brave – featuring and written by Amanda Cook

2. It Is Well – featuring and written by Kristene DiMarco

3. A Little Longer – featuring and written by Jenn Johnson

4. Forever - featuring Kari Jobe and written by Brian Johnson, Kari Jobe, Jenn Johnson, Gabriel Wilson, Joel Taylor, Christa Black Gifford

5. Joy of the Lord (Spontaneous) - Jenn Johnson

6. Anchor - featuring Leah Valenzuela and written by Kari Jobe, Brian Johnson, & Cody Carnes

7. Shepherd - featuring and written by Amanda Cook

8. Wonder (Spontaneous) - Amanda Cook

9. We Dance - featuring Steffany Frizzell Gretzinger and written by Steffany Frizzell Gretzinger & Amanda Cook

10. I Belong To You - featuring and written by Amanda Cook

11. Come to Me - featuring Jenn Johnson and written by Jenn Johnson & John Hendrickson

12. We Step into Freedom (Spontaneous) - Jenn Johnson

The new live album follows Bethel Music’s TIDES LIVE, which immediately shot to No. 1 on iTunes’ Christian/Gospel chart when it released Feb. 25, and Bethel’s first-ever studio album, TIDES, which released Sept. 3, 2013 and went on to become the biggest retail debut ever for the worship ministry, hitting No. 1 on the overall Top Christian/Gospel Albums and Praise & Worship Billboard retail charts amidst unprecedented international acclaim.

Taking the new music from You Make Me Brave, TIDES and worship favorites, like the 2013 Dove Award nominated “One Thing Remains,” to the masses, Bethel Music has seen capacity crowds across the West Coast in tour cities like Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Seattle and Portland, and begin a tour east of the Mississippi April 7.  Brian and Jenn Johnson will be joined by Martin Smith (Delirious?) and Amanda Cook for a major market “Worship Nights with Bethel Music and Martin Smith” tour into New York, NY (4/7), Washington, DC (4/8), Cleveland, OH (4/9), Nashville, TN (4/10), New Orleans, LA (4/12) and Atlanta, GA (4/13). For all the latest tour detail, go to https://www.bethelmusic.com/worshipnights.

“Our heart for Worship Nights is to partner with what God is doing in communities around the world and see heaven invade earth,” says Joel Taylor, Director of Bethel Music. “Join us for an authentic night of worship, encouragement and prayer as we love God together and pursue His presence.”