By Casey Combest of The Collective

This month we will take a quick look at the new release from North Carolina-based Elevation Church, entitled Nothing Is Wasted. For this listener, this is one of the best corporate worship albums released in the last six months. Their big band feel is accessible to all ages, and their lyrics truly encourage and nurture to the core. Tracks like “Greater” feel lyrically familiar but still fresh. Tracks like “In Your Presence” are delivered soulfully without being cheesy. It’s clear from the songs that Elevation Church has been through a time of struggle and difficulty. The listener will be reminded of God’s faithfulness in their own lives to use those times of struggle to strengthen us and draw us closer to him. Unique to this project, Elevation Church released all of the studio versions of the songs at the same time as the live versions. The reason for this was they felt the studio versions didn’t capture the energy of the lyrics. For this reader, the live versions dominate the studio versions as a worship experience—but both are extremely enjoyable. Find out more about Elevation Church at elevationchurch.org or check out their albums on iTunes.