Royal Anthems: Q&A with Joel Auge

Q: What inspired the creation of the “Royal Anthems” project?

Joel: The growth team at Crossroads is tasked with exploring new initiatives, and we were inspired by John 17:23, which emphasizes God’s desire for unity among believers. Worship songs are a powerful unifying force across denominations, and research from CCLI (Church Copyright License International) highlighted that Canada is the fourth largest consumer of congregational worship music globally. This begged the question: where are the Canadian songs? Crossroads saw an opportunity to innovate in worship music. We identified key problems we could address:

1. There’s no infrastructure in Canada to develop, record, and distribute worship songs.
2. Canada’s vast geography leads to a “loneliness issue” among worship leaders, who often feel isolated.
3. Media is crucial for songs to travel, requiring video, social media, charts, stems, and more. Major labels handle this, but there are none for Canadian worship songs. By addressing these issues, we aim to create a trusted destination for new Canadian worship songs and foster a supportive community for worship leaders.

Q: How did you select the 22 worship leaders and songwriters who participated in this project?

Joel: With the help of our partner and consultant Matthew Grieve, who brought extensive relational capital to the endeavor, we defined a number of specific goals. Firstly, we wanted to fully utilize the Crossroads Unity Commons (formerly the Crossroads Centre, recently purchased by YES TV in December 2023). Secondly, we aimed to build relationships through songwriting, so the group needed to be small and composed of local church worship leaders and pastors. We wanted the songs to be inspired by real experiences at the local church level. Additionally, we aimed for a national representation that reflected the rich and diverse nature of the Canadian church, gathering individuals from various provinces, church backgrounds, denominations, and cultural backgrounds. With seven writing rooms and to avoid overwhelming the sessions, we decided to invite 21 worship leaders. In the end, we invited 22, and all 22 came.

Q: Can you describe the atmosphere and experience of having so many talented worship leaders and songwriters together for three days?

Joel: Truthfully, it’s very difficult to describe how humble, how caring, how beautiful everyone’s attitudes and hearts were in this unified experience. We already have a tremendously dedicated group of workers and worshippers on our internal teams at Crossroads. In addition, the evident talent from these worship leaders from across Canada clearly demonstrated purity and purpose throughout the event. It was a unified and uplifting atmosphere.

Q: What are some of the key themes or messages that emerged from the collective songwriting sessions?

Joel: We imagined we might create two or three decent songs, since few of us had ever written songs together before, but what happened was truly miraculous! We were amazed to hear 16 songs presented, each one moving us to tears as we played them for each other. The common threads were gratitude and God’s kindness. I would add though, with so many songs, many themes were captured.

Q: How do you envision the songs from “Royal Anthems” impacting the Canadian church and the global Christian community?

Joel: I foresee these songs bringing countless individuals to know Jesus through the unity of local churches singing them. This national initiative is unique globally, and I believe that as our hearts turn towards Jesus in worship, we become bolder in sharing His love. These songs will empower Canadian believers to bring Jesus’ love into all aspects of their lives. I think these songs will embolden believers in Canada to bring the saving love of Jesus into the homes, streets, workplaces, schools, and institutions of our nation.

Q: Can you share any behind-the-scenes stories or moments that stood out during the songwriting and recording process?

Joel: With more songs written than we had anticipated, we formed a team who deliberated until 2:30 a.m. to select four songs to record live, which was incredibly difficult due to the high quality of all the songs. Ultimately, we chose songs that included as many voices as possible from a broad selection of churches. The four songs we selected are amazing, but we also have 12 more amazing songs we hope to release in the future as part of a full album!

Q: What makes the Canadian sound unique in worship music, and how is this reflected in the “Royal Anthems” project?

Joel: This is an interesting question. I think what makes up a sound has a lot to do with how good an “ear” you have to listen to what God is saying and doing. I think since these songs are written by local church worship pastors, many of whom have been serving in their local churches for a decade or more, you’ll hear an innate authenticity. These are words which are born out of a local church experience. The ideas and aches inside of the lyrics and voices are a reflection of just how dynamic the Canadian church is – and yet – there is a cohesiveness to it which points to the unity we sought.

Q: What are your hopes and goals for the future of “Royal Anthems” and similar collaborative worship initiatives?

Joel: I think Royal Anthems will play a key role in developing infrastructure for worship songs and worship leaders to keep serving in their local churches, with an opportunity to discover and delight in new songs created in unity with other worship leaders across the nation. We have a deep desire to resource local churches across the nation to develop their worship leaders into songwriters who can write the songs of the nation – and we’re doing everything we can to resource that. As we unify in worship nationally, we anticipate God will open more opportunities for growth and impact.