Christian artist takes on new role with Liberty Worship Collective
Kevin Huguley believes one thing when it comes to his new role as executive director of the Liberty Worship Collective: “While I love where God has me and my family now, when this opportunity and ministry becomes nothing more than a job for me, then I want to turn in my resignation.”
To Huguley, it’s all about seeing worship as a way to reach both believers and unbelievers, and that’s what he hopes to teach the future worship leaders on Liberty’s campus.
Huguley is no stranger to the contemporary worship scene. He is one of the founding members of Rush of Fools (known for their 2007 No. 1 hit “Undo”) and the former worship pastor for Christ City Church in Lipscomb, Ala. He spoke at Liberty’s Convocation in March and soon felt God leading him and his family into “a new season.” He began his new role at Liberty this past summer.
“People joke with me that my Convocation visit was a test run,” he said. “But it wasn’t. I had no desire to leave Alabama, but after that trip here with my family, it was apparent to us that God was doing something new and exciting on this campus, and we wanted to be part of it. This role is one I would’ve never dreamed of a decade ago but is now one that I consider a high honor.”
The Liberty Worship Collective began four years ago as a chance for students to lead their fellow classmates in worship each week during Convocation and Campus Community and to travel around the country and the world to lead worship at various churches and large events. The team is comprised of more than 60 students (including production staff) who rotate for events. Sounds of Liberty — the university’s flagship music group — also falls under the Worship Collective umbrella and has an extensive traveling schedule.
More than 1,200 students audition for the Collective each year. But it’s not just about finding the next great talent, Huguley said.
“I don’t want to see us be another modern music band. I don’t want our students to believe that the sole purpose of the Collective is to just go and lead worship at the next cool church. I want to commission them to all sorts of churches, to ones with 80-year-olds, soccer moms, and teenagers. I want them to go to urban environments, the suburbs, and multicultural cities, even outside of our country.”
Worship Collective members attend practice sessions with Huguley twice a week. They also participate in songwriting sessions with prominent worship leaders and bands who visit campus. Students have worked with Elevation Worship, Phil Wickham, Hillsong NYC, Tasha Cobbs, Chris Tomlin, Kari Jobe, and Cody Carnes, among others. From those sessions came the Collective’s first two original songs: “Run” (produced by Shane and Shane) and “Victory.”
“I would love to see us release a song once a semester,” Huguley said. “We want God to use our team to create content that is not only used on our campus but for the global church as well.”
As a mentor, Huguley continually encourages students, whether that means helping them sharpen their music skills or learn how to balance work with school and their personal lives.
“I’m not just a worship pastor, but I’m also a husband and a father,” he said. “I want them to know that in their next season of life, if God calls them to be worship leaders, it’s possible that they’re going to be husbands or wives, fathers or mothers. They will have to learn that balance in ministry life. That’s why I want them to know my wife and my daughter so they get to see that firsthand.”
He also stresses the importance of being authentic in their worship.
“I was far too naïve as a worship leader, thinking that everything was always going to feel fresh and new,” he said. “At some point, they’re going to sing ‘What a Beautiful Name’ seven times a semester. There’s a muscle memory that can come into existence. Like, ‘Hey I can just sing this song. I can raise my hands this way, and I know what it’s supposed to look like.’ It is a dangerous place to be in, and it can cause us to be like the church of Ephesus; we can know everything, have the answers to everything, have the right posture, and sing the right melodies, but not have the right attitude. You want to be proactive in your spiritual walk with Jesus and do everything you can to avoid that cruise-control temptation.”
To learn more about the Liberty Worship Collective or book them for an event, visit
Liberty.edu/WorshipCollective.
