Singer/songwriter and worship leader Patrick Mayberry never truly understood the power of worship music until he experienced it firsthand at a Passion conference. For many, Passion is a multi-day spiritual wake-up call to the things of God. For Mayberry, Passion was a transformational awakening to the intersection of faith and music.

"I grew up in a small conservative church that I didn't like very much at all," said Mayberry. "Instruments were not allowed. They were technically illegal, so it made me not like it even more because I loved instruments. I loved guitars, pianos and drums. And so I was super not interested in faith at all."

Mayberry says he considered himself a casual kid who went to church here and there but didn't have any faith of his own.

It wasn't until later in high school that he got involved with a ministry where he felt like he heard the gospel presented for the first time. 

A couple of years later, Mayberry was invited to a massive college gathering in Atlanta, a Passion conference. 

"I remember that was my first exposure to worship music, Christian music and people like David Crowder, Chris Tomlin and Matt Redman. And I remember standing there. My jaw was on the ground," Mayberry explained. "I just fell in love. I couldn't learn enough about worship and music."

He began leading worship at his local college ministry. Eventually, a call to Soul City Church in Chicago led him away from Tennessee, but still, the husband and father continued to write and soon began building an arsenal of demos initially intended to teach his church band how to play the original songs he was crafting.

Following an offer from a friend, Mayberry attended Centricity’s invitation-only artist retreat in Washington, held every two years. It was there that he met some kindred spirits and future collaborators.

“It’s like I found my people. It was like Niagara Falls to my soul,” he says of the week-long event. “I had all these things in common with these people. They were into the same recording gear I was into. They were interested in the same music. It was unbelievable. I didn’t want it to end.”

A publishing deal with Centricity followed a few months later, affirming his talent as a lyricist. Eventually, he was signed on as an artist. 

"It's been a wild ride, just trying to follow the Lord and thinking it was gonna look one way. It's been a blast, and I feel like the Lord is teaching me a ton about a new perspective on how our relationship works. So it's been a lot of fun."

Mayberry recently released a new single, 'Easy to Praise', with more new music expected in the coming months. 

"I just feel like the Lord is so in it, and I am so fired up about all the songs. I believe in all of the songs and the heart of all these songs."

Mayberry is set to release a new full-length album, Wild Faith, this fall. 

Today on Connections, Patrick shares more about his musical journey. He'll also chat about his latest single and full-length album due out this fall.