Long before it was the norm for church worship bands to release their own music, Jesus Culture was among the first collectives pioneering the live worship landscape. Birthed out of a youth-oriented movement founded by pastor Banning Liebscher in 1999 in Redding, Calif., Jesus Culture was simply a group of believers chasing wholeheartedly after Jesus before it was ever a globally renowned musical entity.
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Describing themselves as “a community of worship leaders and musicians whose heart is to see a generation impacted by encounters with the presence of God,” Jesus Culture unveiled their first album, “Everything,” in 2005. In the mid-2000s, the record introduced a fresh sound of passionate live worship few congregations were capturing and sharing at the time.
Since their debut, Jesus Culture has gone on to release a total of ten collaborative albums and more than 20 solo recordings from their stable of respected artists, including Bryan & Katie Torwalt, Chris Quilala, Kim Walker-Smith, Chris McClarney, Kristene DiMarco and Derek Johnson. Moreover, behind the scenes, Jesus Culture has quietly helped launch Quilala as an in-demand songwriter, who’s penned notable selections recorded by Kari Jobe, Phil Wickham, Passion and more.
In 2013, the worship collective relocated to Sacramento, Calif., where they planted a church that started in a high school and has since grown to include an annual conference, a podcast network and a school of leadership. In addition to leading worship on Sunday mornings at their home church, the members of Jesus Culture continue to write, record and tour — both collectively and individually.
Known for anthems sung in churches around the world like “Your Love Never Fails,” “Holy Spirit” and “Set a Fire,” among many others, Jesus Culture received a GRAMMY® nomination in 2019 for their acclaimed 2018 album, “Living With a Fire.”
The group’s latest offering, “Why Not Right Now?” is a bold declaration of faith in tumultuous times that boasts 14 original tracks recorded live in Costa Mesa, Calif., and features additional worship leaders like Brett Lee Miller and Lindy Coffer, among others.
“Very few albums over the past 18 years of Jesus Culture have stirred my heart at the level that ‘Why Not Right Now?’ has,” offers Liebscher of the project. “Our heart has remained the same since the very beginning. We want to see a generation encounter the presence of God and lift up the name of Jesus on the Earth. We’re believing for revival in our day! Our heart is to see the Church ignited with a greater passion for Jesus and for a world that doesn’t know God to encounter Him.”
