A few weeks before Easter, our Lead Pastor Mike P. and I were talking about how we wanted to do a Night of Worship event. Mike and I have shared a passion for doing some type of worship celebration at the Carolina Civic Center, an 83-year-old historic theater in downtown Lumberton. The theater recently underwent a multi-million-dollar renovation, and I’ve been itching to get in there ever since.

God provided the opportunity to do just that, and this past Friday night, May 20th, He made it happen. The purpose of this event was twofold. First off, as pastors with hearts for worship leadership, Mike and I have a passion for authentic, unadulterated worship. We both led worship in other churches and at other events prior to the Vertical movement (nice ring to that, huh?), and once we found out just what God was bringing to the table through Vertical Worship, we knew it couldn’t just be contained to Sunday mornings.

Second, this event was organized and presented for a specific purpose, in alignment with the vision of Vertical Worship. We want to instill the notion that worship isn’t just a Sunday morning thing – it’s a Friday night thing. It’s a Tuesday afternoon thing. It’s a Thursday evening thing. It’s an EVERY DAY thing. Breaking down the paradigm that God can only be worshiped during a specific hour of the week is my desire. See, Friday nights aren’t typically what you’d consider “Worship God times.” But man – was He ever glorified in that place.

We had all of our worship leaders taking part in this massive event. They included:

• Justin – vocals/keys/guitar
• Rhonda – vocals
• Jon – vocals/guitar
• Karla Beth – vocals
• Robby – guitar
• Chris – bass guitar
• Bob – bass guitar
• Mike P. – vocals
• James – drums

It was so amazing to witness these talented musicians lay it all down at the feet of Jesus to proclaim His glory.

Now for the set. We did 13 songs, most of which we’d done in worship at Vertical already, so the crowd knew most of them. Here’s the complete rundown for you:

• Forever Reign – Hillsong
• A Mighty Fortress – Christy Nockels
• Everything – Tim Hughes
• Yahweh – Hillsong
• Stronger – Hillsong
• Give Me Faith – Elevation Worship
• Revelation Song – Jennie Lee Riddle
• Fire Fall Down – Hillsong
• Lead Me to the Cross – Brooke Fraser
• Hosanna – Brooke Fraser
• Your Love Never Fails – Jesus Culture
• Healer – Hillsong
• With Everything – Hillsong

I know, right? Whew.

I have to thank the Carolina Civic Center, our leadership teams, our AMAZING volunteers, our sound and technical crew, our setup crew, our worship team, and all others who were involved in making this such a successful event. I can’t wait to do it again.

Here’s a video recap of the event with some of the music recorded. What a glorious night it was!