KB
Tampa Bay, Florida
Three studio releases in and KB is at his creative zenith. For years, the Tampa native has been something of an outlier in hip-hop, firmly placing a thumb print on the game while invoking the power of spiritual conviction. His lyricism is impassioned and astute, and he won’t be bent against his will. Given his commanding presence and consistent output, it comes as no surprise that the world has taken notice.
His last LP, 2015’s Tomorrow We Live, garnered both critical and commercial acclaim, earning a Stellar Award nomination for Rap/Hip-Hop Gospel CD of the Year and debuting on the Billboard charts as the No.1 Christian Album and the No. 4 Rap Album overall.
Now in 2017—with the world in a social and political frenzy—KB is redefining what rebellion truly means. Today We Rebel, his third full-length album with Reach Records, is an exercise in zeal and imagination. No-frills, no filler. Just raw, uncut transparency through and through. KB follows his artistic impulses to great effect, lending his take on terms that are dominating the cultural conversation.
“To me, resistance carries with it a certain posture,” KB says. “The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.”
When it’s said and done, Today We Rebel is KB drawing a line in the sand. It provides ammunition to help us confront the anxiety of the times. And KB lays it all out, serving as a reminder that we’re at our best when we are truly free, “I understand now more than ever that my allegiance is to the kingdom, first and foremost. Everything falls second to that.”
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North Point InsideOut
Atlanta, Georgia
North Point InsideOut is a student ministry in metro Atlanta where over 3,000 high school students gather every week. InsideOut’s goal is to “lead students into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ by inspiring them to Love God, Live Different, and Lead the Way.” Founded in 1995, it is a part of North Point Ministries, which is led by pastor, author, and communicator Andy Stanley. Today, NPM consists of six churches in the Atlanta area and a network of more than 50 churches around the globe that collectively serve nearly 90,000 people weekly.
The band is currently comprised of artists who consistently lead worship at InsideOut: Matt Adkins, Heath Balltzglier, Chris Cauley, Seth Condrey, Brandon Coker, Clay Finnesand, Jared Hamilton, Emily Harrison, Chad Russell, and Brett Stanfill.
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Caitie Hurst
Hendersonville, Tennessee
CAITIE HURST wouldn’t sing at her first voice lesson.
It’s a puzzling fact, because as anyone who’s since heard her belt a high note can attest, the 23-year-old worship leader has a voice that can stop traffic.
But flash back to 15-year-old Caitie, sitting across from her voice teacher, being asked to sing something, anything, paralyzed with fear.
“I just hummed,” she reflects with a laugh. “Hillsong’s ‘Hosanna’—I literally hummed the entire thing. Very, very awkward. I was super insecure about everything back then.”
A Hendersonville, Tennessee native, Hurst grew up in a musical family; her father was part of a touring Christian band. She looked up to female CCM singers and she loved singing, but her audience of choice?
“I would only sing into my pillow. I would never sing in front of anybody.”
But Hurst’s family and friends saw—and heard—something special in Caitie she didn’t recognize in herself. Even after she hummed her way through that first session, no one was giving up. It wasn’t long before leaders from her youth group at Long Hollow Church put her name down to lead worship. Hurst tried to get out of it, but found herself up front, leading music ministry for the first time.
One might expect this to be the turning point for Hurst, the breakthrough moment when she shed her fears and let her talent flow freely…But…
“I was horrible, honestly. I just stood there like a stick and barely opened my mouth. But they kept being persistent and had me keep doing it. Even a year into it, it still was so hard for me.”
Surprisingly, though, this wasn’t your classic case of stagefright.
“It’s not that I’m shy. I was just so scared of what people thought of me. I was so ruled by all these stupid little worries and anxieties.”
It took a conversation with her voice teacher and mentor that finally allowed Caitie to see things with different perspective.
“She told me ‘Caitie, this is a gift that God has given you. This isn’t about you. Your job is to point people to God, not to yourself.’”
While that didn’t change her hesitancy overnight, it did impact a change-of-heart for Hurst. She continued to lead worship and grow in her talents throughout high school. She wrote songs and dreamed of pursuing a music career. Then she attended a Passion worship conference. There, she felt direction from the Lord that musical ministry was where she was meant to carry out her gifts.
Caitie went to Liberty University, pursuing a path of worship-leading. After a couple years she found herself interning at a Christian music label back in Nashville, accompanied by another directive tug in her heart: to create and share Christian music as an artist. A pretty significant leap for someone whose performing experience began with humming. With one year left of college, Hurst already had a clearcut, good-looking path for her future. But she felt the possibility of another one, blurred, uncertain, yet important.
“I thought ‘I could never be an artist…’ but I prayed ‘God, if this is of you, what does it look like? If this is it, I’ll do it.’”
Hurst moved back to Hendersonville. She worked on songs; she endured moments of doubt; she trusted a calling that felt crazy. She got a job at Long Hollow leading youth ministry and traveling with the student worship band. This became an incredibly formative experience, the opportunity to mentor and support students the way she had been cared for.
These relationships also inspired Hurst in regards to the music she knew she needed to make. She realized that people, young people especially, could use more music with positive messaging that is also catchy and full of infectious beats.
“I want to bridge the gap between songs that sound like pop radio but contain meaningful lyrics. Music that communicates the Gospel in a way that doesn’t sound cliché, but sounds fun—something someone could jam to in the car.”
With her heart grounded in this mission, Caitie found her sound. She wrote and recorded new songs, often inspired by experiences with the youth she mentored. This includes her first digital single, “Nothing To Hide.”
“This song came from a conversation I had with one of my students, and it’s about this idea that we worry we can never come to God with the mess of who we are and the things we’ve done,” Hurst remembers. “Everything she was saying, I’d been there—the thought that God won’t love me if He really knew my heart. But God already knows my heart, and He loves me more than I can comprehend. Shame makes me want to hide from Him, but I don’t have to.”
She’d battled that shame monster before. She’d surrendered to it time and time again. Now, she was ready to surrender to the One who had already won the fight.
“It’s the same reason I was scared to sing. I wasn’t confident in who God says I am. I was overwhelmed by what people might think of me, if I was cool enough, pretty enough…I remember a couple years ago thinking of how exhausting it was to care what people thought of me all the time. I began asking God ‘What does it mean to be free?’”
“Then I realized all that stuff doesn’t matter. My walk with God—that rules everything I do. He’s given all of us a unique story.”
Hurst’s songs and worship-leading resulted in recording and publishing deals with Centricity Music in fall 2017. Since then, she’s continued to create songs with magnetic melodies and rhythm that come from the journeys she’s walked and how she’s found Christ in all of them. Anxiety; jealousy; insecurity; fear. Journeys all of us can relate to, but too often are afraid to speak about.
Caitie Hurst is done hiding. She’s singing loud.
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AC.jR & BradyJames
Anthony (AC.jR) and Brady (BradyJames) are, at the root of it, a Pop/EDM duo from Long Island, New York. The group's multi-dimensional sound is based in multiple genres spread across many platforms. At the heart of their sound you will find a passion for electronic music, often merging it with other contemporary tones, such as Jazz and Soul heading into 2019. The group met in the summer of 2015 while both pursuing solo careers. They came together musically for the first time on Anthony's initial solo EP song Gunna Get Better. After seeing the overwhelming response from friends and family, the group decided to start working exclusively together late 2016, releasing their first single under their group name, called Who We Are, in 2017. Shortly after, the group released their single titled We Were Children, featuring their talented friend Lindsey Shumaker, and received another overwhelming response—not only from those close to them, but from fans they had started gaining on social media. The group then went on to release their first EP, titled Vanity, that summer, and both realized the potential career they could have as artists.
Heading into 2018, the duo started releasing one song a month, along with im alone, an experimental, four-song EP which spoke on depression and relationships. The group began to see success they hadn't before. They toured around the country that summer, met some of their favorite artists, and their fan base began to grow. Songs like Vanity started to hit numbers upwards of 350,000 plays, along with having multiple 6 figure songs in their roster. People began really feelin' the suburban duo out of Long Island. The group's goal is to have people relate to their music in such a way that the songs become a soundtrack to life: going through the daily ups and downs, discovering their purpose, and showing them there's more to life. The group wants to show people that they are no different, they have the same struggles, problems, and issues everyone else deals with. Having just released their single Out of Place in August, the group will continue releasing singles every month in order to bring their fans new music consistently in 2018. AC.jR & BradyJames also plan on releasing an album late spring 2019.
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Awaken
AWAKEN is Briercrest’s very own touring worship team. Made up primarily of college students from across Canada, the group serves on campus at chapels and other events and travels to churches, schools, and retreat centres in Canada leading worship and giving workshops. The group’s primary goal is to lead others in recognizing and responding to the goodness of God.
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Jon Morrison
Abbotsford, BC
Jon Morrison ("Jonny Mo") knows how critical it is for high school students and young adults to understand the "why" behind what they believe. Jon has spoken at retreats, camps, and conferences all over North America, sharing the truth of the Christian worldview. He has authored two books (Clear Minds & Dirty Feet and Life Hacks), both geared at equipping Christian students for missional living in a post-Christian world.
Jon studied theology at Ambrose University College, Biola University, and the University of Oxford. Jon lives in Abbotsford, B.C. with his wife Hayley and their two girls. Jon also loves great coffee, hockey, the Reformation, and his iPhone.
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Randy Carter
Randy Carter has a passion for student ministry. In fact, he says, "Why would anyone choose to work with adults when they can work with students?" His unique blend of humour and direct approach to truth allows him to captivate the listener and drive home the truth in a relevant and meaningful way.
Randy has been involved in youth work since 1979, eleven years of which he served as a youth pastor with the Christian and Missionary Alliance in western Canada. Since July 1994, he has been involved as an itinerant youth speaker and a youth ministry consultant with Straight Talk Ministries.
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Kaitlyn Cey
Kaitlyn is a passionate joy chaser, beauty hunter, and vibrant learner! Kaitlyn is the Sisterhood Pastor in Saskatoon and a high school teacher. She believes relationships are the heartbeat of any powerful life, worthwhile cause, and thriving community. Kaitlyn is the founder of Inspire YXE, a network that aims to equip youth to overcome challenges and be influencers in their world to make impact for God's Kingdom. Kaitlyn grew up on a farm in rural Saskatchewan. She loves canola fields, sunsets, and learning from diverse people and voices.
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James Clarence
James Clarence serves at First Assembly Church in Calgary, Alberta as the Youth and Young Adults Pastor. He loves his city and nation, loves his church, loves people and is passionate about running alongside them to discover all that God has for them. He says, “Come say hi so we can be friends!”
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AJ Crocker
AJ has been Youth Quake Director for the last 9 years and involved in leadership for the last 14. After spending time in Vancouver and Toronto, AJ came back to Briercrest, graduated with a BA in Youth Ministry, married a Saskatchewan girl, and has been growing to love the prairies ever since. He and his wife Cheryl have two daughters named Brooklyn and Alivia. In addition to Youth Quake, AJ has been involved at Briercrest in building a discipleship program in the High School, traveling as a youth speaker, developing a young adults’ retreat and for the last 3 years, and leading the recruitment department. AJ loves Jesus, his family, youth ministry, his shoe collection, finding new music, eating fancy burgers, the Leafs, and his golden retriever, Rocky.
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David Guretzki
David Guretzki is Executive Vice President and Resident Theologian at the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada. He formerly taught at Briercrest for 24 years as a theology professor. He has two kids currently attending Briercrest College.
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Cody Matchett
Cody Matchett serves at Briercrest College as part of the team which oversees spiritual teaching, spiritual formation, discipleship, leadership training for our students. He loves books, coffee, music, and his lovely wife Brianna.
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Ken Moser
Ken Moser has worked in youth ministry for over 30 years. He is a professor of Youth Ministry at Briercrest College. He is married to Julie, a veteran youth minister and youth ministry consultant.
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Grace Nation
Grace Nation developed a love for social justice and theology while spending time in Europe doing mission work with refugees. She completed the Kaléo Program on Vancouver Island and is currently studying theology at Briercrest College. She hopes to pursue counselling and assist people in recovery from trauma.
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James Simpson
James Simpson has been speaking to youth for over 15 years and is passionate about young people. He serves at Rock Solid Refuge pouring into lives which have been devastated by substance abuse, anger, and pornography addiction. He is married to his beautiful wife Julie and has three amazing daughters, Rachel, Cara, and Petra. He is also pursuing a Master’s degree in Counselling.
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Riley Trithardt
Riley Trithardt is an adventure seeker with a love for biblical learning. His passion is to see young people understand the demand of the Gospel and to spur others on to live it out daily. Riley will be graduating from Briercrest College in the spring with a B.A. in Biblical Studies. He plans to do further study and to one day serve the Church in pastoral ministry.
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refined/undignified
Refined/Undignified is a powerful and effective discipleship program that seeks to equip students to be godly leaders, excel in dance and lifestyle for the glory of God, and engage a hurting world with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
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Mallory Starkey & Caleb Brown
Caleb grew up in Prince Rupert, BC and moved to Victoria after he graduated high school. He encountered Jesus in Victoria and was eventually called to Briercrest. Now he is working on a BA in Biblical Studies with the desire to enter pastoral ministry.
Mallory grew up in a Christian family on a farm in Northern Alberta and lived there until she graduated from high school. She graduated from the Psychology program at Briercrest and is currently working on a MA in Marriage and Family Therapy.
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Steve Frew & Dallas Block
Dallas Block is the Founder and Executive Director of Rock Solid Refuge. For the past 20+ years he has worked with teens in various church and para-church settings. He is happily married to his wife, Marla, and together they have four children, one of whom is now married. Dallas’ great joy in life is to see teens and their families find true hope for the future.
Steve Frew is the on-site counselor at Rock Solid Refuge. He has worked with youth in a variety of organizations, both in Canada and overseas. He has served as both a Director and Course instructor for several youth programs, with certifications in Therapeutic Crises Intervention and Non-Violent Crises Intervention.
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