The Worship Initiative Writers

Marshall Segal

@marshallsegal
Marshall Segal is a writer and managing editor at desiringGod.org.  He’s the author of Not Yet Married: The Pursuit of Joy in Singleness & Dating (2017).  He graduated from Bethlehem College & Seminary.  He and his wife, Faye, have a son and live in Minneapolis.

Shane Everett

@shaneandshane
Shane is a worship leader, songwriter and co-founder of The Worship Initiative, and is a worship director at Watermark Community Church in Dallas, TX. He desires to see people learn and grow in the knowledge of God and in their craft to help strengthen their lives and ministries in the local church.

Jonathan Parnell

@jonathanparnell
Jonathan Parnell is the lead pastor of Cities Church in Minneapolis–St. Paul, where he lives with his wife, Melissa, and their seven children.  He is the author of Never Settle for Normal: The Proven Path to Significance and Happiness.

Karli Venable

@venablefour

Karli and her husband serve on the executive team of the Antioch Center for Training and Sending (ACTS), a missions organization that trains and sends young pioneering leaders committed to extravagant worship and making disciples among unreached people groups in the 10/40 window. She has served in ministry for over 20 years, and her heart is to see the Church come alive with the beauty and worth of Jesus Christ. Karli and Stephen, and their two little boys, live in Colorado Springs.


Jeff Mathena

@unhinderedvoice
Jeff is the founder and lead vocal coach at The Unhindered Voice, a vocal studio dedicated to helping people sing the way God intended–which offers private lessons, master classes, and worship team workshops. He is also a worship leader and songwriter currently located in Dallas, Texas.

Michael Armstrong

Michael is the co-founder and former worship leader at The Well Church in Argyle, TX. He has recorded a dozen albums and has lead worship at Breakaway Texas A&M, METRO Dallas, and for the Song of Solomon Conferences with Tommy Nelson.

Jimmy Needham

@jimmyneedham
Jimmy is a singer/songwriter, contributor for desiringGod.org, and the worship director at Stonegate Church in Midlothian, TX. He serves the church, equipping and developing worship leaders to hone their craft and know their God. Learn more at jimmyneedham.com.

John Elmore

@johnaelmore
John serves as the Men’s Director of re:generation recovery at Watermark Community Church in Dallas, TX. He is a graduate of Baylor University and holds a Master’s in Ministry from John Brown University and a Master’s in Theology from Dallas Theological Seminary. He and his wife, Laura and their two children live in Dallas, TX.

Jonathan "JP" Pokluda

@jpokluda
Jonathan “JP” Pokluda is the lead pastor of Harris Creek Baptist Church in Waco, TX. His passion is to share the gospel with anyone who will listen and equip others to do the same. He also feels called to challenge Christians to multiply their faith by discipling others. He and his wife, Monica, have three children.

Ryan Kennedy

@ryankennedyband
Ryan Kennedy is an internationally touring Christian artist and worship leader with People & Songs. When not on the road, Ryan serves as a resident artist at the People & Songs Headquarters in La Porte, Indiana. To find out more about Ryan & his ministry, check out ryankennedyofficial.com.

David Mathis

@davidcmathis
David Mathis is executive editor for desiringGod.org and pastor at Cities Church in Minneapolis.  He is a husband, father of four, and author of Habits of Grace: Enjoying Jesus through the Spiritual Disciplines.

Greg Morse

Greg Morse is a content strategist for desiringGod.org and graduate of Bethlehem College & Seminary. He and his wife, Abigail, live in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Stephen Venable

@stephenvenable

Stephen serves on the executive team of the Antioch Center for Training and Sending (ACTS), a missions organization that trains and sends young pioneering leaders committed to extravagant worship and making disciples among unreached people groups in the 10/40 window. His passion is to see the knowledge of the glory of Jesus fill the earth through frontier missions. Stephen and Karli, and their two little boys, live in Colorado Springs.

Adam Westlake

Adam is a Producer, Mix Engineer, and Guitar Coach at The Worship Initiative. He holds a Master of Arts in Biblical Counseling from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and serves in the Worship and Counseling ministries of Northway Church in Dallas, Texas.

Shane Barnard

Shane is the husband to Beth Barnard and the father to their four daughters.  He is a worship leader, songwriter, and co-founder of The Worship Initiative.  His heart is to disciple and train people in their craft and in the Word so that they may reach others for the Gospel. He also serves as a worship leader at Watermark Community Church in Dallas, TX.

David Marvin

Aside from being called servant of Christ, David would say his greatest title is "Calli’s husband".  Calli is his wife, ministry partner, and daily example of godly living.  David has the privilege of serving at "The Porch", the Young Adults ministry at Watermark Community Church, in Dallas.  He loves this age group, and he believes it is crucial in its influence, and limitless in its potential impact.

Sean Carter

@scartermusic
Sean is a leader in the Dallas / Fort Worth metroplex. As a worshipper, he has an unquenchable love for the Church. He is a uniter of hearts and has been very successful in founding and building a community of local worship leaders that is now over 400 members strong through the DFW Worship Leaders Network. Sean is involved with Dallas Art House, is a part of the People & Songs community, and is a teacher/coach for The Emerging Sound, a summer intensive for youth. He, his wife Christi, and daughter Vail, reside in Rockwall, TX.

Ethan Wright

Ethan Wright is the Pastor of Ministries and Worship at Lakepointe Church White Rock in DFW. By the grace of God, his passion is to see the Church become alive to the riches and pleasure they have in Jesus Christ. He lives in East Dallas with his wife, Dinah, and their daughter, Corrie.

Scott Hubbard

Scott Hubbard is a graduate of Bethlehem College & Seminary and an editor for desiringGod.org. He and his wife, Bethany, live in Minneapolis.

Bethany Barnard

Bethany is the wife of Shane Barnard (Shane & Shane) and mom to their four daughters. She is also a singer/songwriter and worship leader in Dallas, TX. She has a heart to minister to the church through song. Learn more at bethanybarnard.com.

Caroline Cobb

@carocobbmusic
Caroline is a singer-songwriter and worship leader particularly interested in telling the stories of scripture through her music. Her album the "Blood + the Breath" traces the biblical story of redemption, with each song parachuting into a different scene from scripture. Her newest album "A Home & A Hunger: Songs of Kingdom Hope" is available now. She and her husband Nick live in Dallas, TX with their three kids. Learn more at carolinecobb.com.

Jayme Thompson

@jaymethompson
Jayme is a publisher, consultant, and a conference co-coordinator. She directs the Linger Conference and oversees Dallas-based WellHouse Entertainment as well as analyzemysong.com. Among other ventures she is a managing partner alongside Christian artists, Shane & Shane and she owns two small publishing companies. Jayme regularly teaches, judges, and critiques at conferences and events.

Jennie Lee Riddle

@jennieleeriddle
Jennie is a certified gold, multi dove award winning, top CCLI song-writer best known for authoring "Revelation Song." At heart, she is a community builder. She has used her platform and resources to found and lead movements like People & Songs, The Emerging Sound, GodSpotNow, and GMA Immerse ReViewYou. The passion of her heart, evidenced by her work, is a devotion to strengthening the Church. She uses the tool of music to train servants, encourage unity of the brethren, and enable bible literacy. Jennie and her best friend, Darrin Riddle married in 1988 and together have four adult children and reside at the People & Songs headquarters in La Porte, IN.

Logan Walter

From 2003 to 2012, Logan led at home churches in Waco [UBC '03-07], Richardson [The Heights '07-11], and Austin [Austin Ridge 2012], while maintaining an itinerant ministry as the worship leader and songwriter for the band, Dutton.

At the end of 2012, Dutton disbanded and Logan began serving on staff at the Austin Stone Community Church, where he led worship for the next five years. In October 2018, the Lord led Logan and his family to Frisco, TX, where Logan now serves as director of worship at Providence Church.

Jarryd Foreman

Jarryd Foreman (@JarrydForeman) is a worship leader at the Austin Stone Community Church in Austin, TX and has been leading and pastoring people in worship for over a decade. With a passion to declare the saving message of the gospel through song, his heart and desire is to see lives changed by the power of Jesus. Jarryd also has the privilege of overseeing the Worship Residency program at the Austin Stone where he loves getting to pour into and raise up the next generation of worship leaders. He lives in Austin with his wife Jessica and their 3 children, Liv, Landry, and Charlee. www.jarrydmusic.com

Ryan DeLange

Ryan is a worship pastor at Bayou City Fellowship in Houston, Texas. He serves there as a worship leader, pastor, and songwriter.

Grant McCurdy

Grant McCurdy grew up in a missionary family that moved back and forth between the United States and several countries in Southeast Asia. Grant and his wife, Soledad, have now settled in Flower Mound, Texas where he serves as a worship minister at The Village Church. They love to travel, read, and spoil their dog.

Josh Duncan

Josh Duncan serves as the Worship Minister at Northway Church in Dallas, Texas. He holds a Master of Arts in Worship Leadership from Dallas Baptist University. He and his wife, Laney, are passionate about their city and finding the best BBQ in the state.

Josh O'Neal

Josh O’Neal is the College and Student Worship Coordinator at Watermark Community Church in Dallas.  Originally from the beautiful state of Virginia, Josh pursued his undergrad at Texas A&M and stuck around Texas after graduating. He and his wife got married in October of 2018 (also an Aggie!!) and they have a son, named Ben, born in July of 2020. Josh loves his role at Watermark, which also includes helping run auditions, volunteer development, and team shepherding.  Josh is passionate about equipping the next generation of young Worship Leaders because he was once invested in, shepherded, and developed when he was a student in High School and College. 

Dinah Wright

Dinah Wright has the joy of first being Ethan's wife and Corrie's mom, and second, being a Content Creator for The Worship Initiative. She has been leading worship for a decade, and currently serves with the worship team at her own local church alongside her husband.

Robbie Seay

Robbie Seay lives in Houston, TX with his wife of 22 years, Elizabeth. Together they have 5 children. He is widely known for his songwriting, worship leading and recording music, which still play a big role in his life & ministry. Robbie serves as Director of Liturgy and Development at Risen Church. His heart for the church, the music of the church and worship leaders has led him to devote much of his time to mentoring and encouraging young leaders and songwriters as they enter the intersection of worship, church and art.

Davy Flowers

Davy Flowers is a The Worship Initiative fellow and a worship leader at Watermark Community Church in Dallas, and is driven by a passion to see people from all walks of life encounter Jesus for themselves in authentic and transformative ways. She is passionate about worship, not just because God in His grace has given her gifts of music and creative expression, but because He is more worthy than we could ever comprehend. You can listen to her music here.

Jake Ferrell

Jake Ferrell has been leading worship and encouraging worship leaders for over twenty years. He serves as the Worship Director at Valley Church in Des Moines, Iowa. Jake and his wife Lacy have four children. He loves Jesus, his family, and the Chicago Cubs... until mid-July every year.

Macie Snowden

Macie Snowden is a born-and-raised Oklahoman turned Texas resident. She is a Worship Fellow at Watermark Community Church in Dallas, where she helps plan services and lead worship for Sunday mornings and Student Events.

Jason Waller

Jason Waller is a YouTube worship artist, pastor, and leader developer based at Crosspoint Church in Kansas City. His goal is to produce videos and other resources that put God's glory on display and equip the local church all over the world. Check out Crosspoint Church, or find Jason on YouTube and Patreon.

Jon Gilley

Jon Gilley is the Worship Pastor at Pinelake Church's Reservoir Campus in Brandon, Mississippi. He is happily married to his wife, Heather, and has two sons, Graham and Baylor.

Chandler Moore

Travis Warren

Travis Warren is the VP of  Content here at The Worship Initiative, where he spends his time overseeing live productions, album recordings, and all visual content. Having previously served as a worship leader at Watermark Community Church in Dallas, Texas, and as the Production Director at Harris Creek Baptist Church in Waco, Texas, Travis' greatest passion is using visual arts and music to glorify God and encourage Christ's Church to worship Him with their whole lives.

John Marc Kohl

John Marc is a worship leader, songwriter, and musician dedicated to glorifying God through creativity. From being on staff at a few churches, to supporting other artists and ministries, John Marc has always loved to lead others to connect with Jesus through worship. As a result of releasing music in different genres, he also realizes the need for worship music to be as creative and as beautiful as Jesus is. John Marc and his wife Lila live in Dallas, TX.

Scarlett Campbell

Scarlett Campbell is the Project Manager for the Artist Community here at The Worship Initiative. She is currently pursuing a degree in Biblical Counseling from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and serves in the Worship and Counseling ministries of Northway Church in Dallas, Texas.

Bryan Fowler

Bryan Fowler is a Grammy and Dove award winning songwriter and producer living and working in Franklin, Tennessee. Over the past decade he has written and produced 20+ number one hit songs at Christian radio as well as many songs being sung in churches all over the world. With a desire is to pair rich, timeless, historic theology with relevant, modern, compelling melody and feel, he has truly made a lasting impression on the Christian music industry. His credits include songs with artists like TobyMac, Chris Tomlin, Steven Curtis Chapman, Shane & Shane, Laura Story, Owl City, Koryn Hawthorne, Matt Maher, Keith & Kristyn Getty, Kari Jobe, Newsboys, We Are Messengers, Anne Wilson, Zach Willams, Benjamin William Hastings, Mack Brock, Matthew West, Cody Carnes, and Gabby Barrett.

The Worship Initiative

Britton Hardcastle

Britton Hardcastle was a Resident in The Worship Initiative Fellowship during 2023 and is featured on the Album "Psalms From The Well". He currently lives in Dripping Springs, TX.

Carrie Hardcastle

Carrie Hardcastle was a Resident in The Worship Initiative Fellowship during 2023 and is featured on the Album "Psalms From The Well". She currently lives in Dripping Springs, TX.

George Koehl

George Koehl was a Resident in The Worship Initiative Fellowship during 2023 and is featured on the Album "Psalms From The Well". He currently lives in Dallas, TX.

Laela Dasher

Laela Dasher was a Resident in The Worship Initiative Fellowship during 2023 and is featured on the Album "Psalms From The Well". She currently lives in Nashville, TN.

Mac Hays

Mac Hays was a Resident in The Worship Initiative Fellowship during 2023 and is featured on the Album "Psalms From The Well". He currently lives in Dallas, TX.

Tad Daniels

Tad Daniels serves at Northway Church in Dallas, Texas, where he leads and launches new community groups, serves on the worship and production teams, and leads worship and Bible studies for kids in the children's ministry. 

Aaron Williams

Aaron is a worship leader and songwriter passionate about seeing a spiritual awakening in this generation. Aaron has had a heart to write worship songs from a young age, and now, more than ever, seeks to write lyrically rich and musically beautiful songs that help the Church voice its worship to Jesus. Over the past few years, Aaron has invested more and more of his time and energy into building up and training worship leaders and worship teams in various settings. Whether it’s investing in a small group of leaders in a living-room setting or leading with a band in a large auditorium, Aaron’s leadership is consistently thoughtful, creative, and Christ-centered. Aaron is the co-founder of Dwell, a parachurch ministry serving both the individual Christ-follower and the church.