The Porter's Gate was founded in 2017 by Isaac and Megan Wardell with a mission to be a "porter" for the Christian Church - one who looks beyond church doors for guests to welcome. It started as a group of 50-plus songwriters, musicians, scholars, pastors and music industry professionals from a variety of worship traditions and cultural backgrounds gathered for meaningful conversation about worship and vocation. The result was the release of Work Songs.

 

They hosted a second gathering in Nashville in January 2019; but this time, they intentionally curated a select group of greater diversity boasting more than 50 songwriters, theologians, pastors and worship leaders from a variety of cultures and worship traditions. The intent was to cross lines of difference in order to facilitate healthy conversations. The album covers an array of current topics in which we can all learn to better love our neighbors. Some of these topics include uplifting and lamenting with women in the church who have been silenced or abused ("Daughters of Zion"), loving the least of these as we love Jesus ("He Is Among Us [The Least of These])" and welcoming others of difference rather than fearing them ("Nothing To Fear"). 

 

“More and more of our friends and loved ones, for very legitimate reasons, are becoming disenfranchised with the Church and are looking to be spiritually nurtured other places outside of the Church,” Wardell contends. “We want to double down on our commitment that God is at work in the worship of the Church, and we want Neighbor Songs to be just one of the thousands of things going on in the world that are all about the renewal of worship in the Church.”

 

For more information, visit www.theportersgate.com