Engage Worship, a music-centered ministry run by Enrollment Management at Southern Adventist University, will soon begin uploading music to its new Spotify and Apple Music accounts.
Previously known as Engage Ministries, the musical group changed its name earlier this year to more accurately state its mission, according to Ministry Coordinator and Admissions Counselor for Enrollment Management Ryan Becker.
Although it is run by Southern, Engage does not operate to serve Southern’s students, according to Becker. Rather, it seeks to minister to young people who do not attend Seventh-day Adventist schools. Engage is also used as a recruitment tool, as it helps students to hear and learn about the university, Becker said.
Engage’s Student Director Austin Bates said high school students are the group’s target audience, and they are constantly listening to music, which opens the door for recruitment opportunities.
“There’s a big difference between promoting Southern from our social media accounts, something only accessed in people’s free time, and putting content on a platform like Spotify that can be consumed during almost every activity and task,” he said.
Engage performs worship music for various venues. According to Becker, the group has performed in and out of state, and it makes between 30 to 40 trips a year. Becker said Engage focused on creating music videos for churches to use for their livestream and Zoom programs when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. This experience proved that Engage could record and produce high quality music, according to Becker.
Becker said Engage produced 11 songs last year, and the group is hoping to release all 11 songs by September 17.
Engage typically performs and records covers of popular Christian songs, but each of its student-led teams plans to write its own worship song this year, according to Becker. Though aimed primarily at high school students, the ministry needs university students to help promote the content, Becker said.
“The best way [for students] to support Engage would be to follow us on Spotify and social media and to let [their friends] know about it as well,” Becker said. “If they can help us get the word out about this, and if we can make this as successful as possible, it means that we can do even more next year. And it may open a path for us to add additional positions in the future.”
Engage’s Instagram account is @engageworshipsau, and students can find the group on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, Deezer, Pandora, Yandex and as a sound on TikTok under the name “Engage Worship.”
To find out more about Engage or to apply to get involved, go to southern.edu/engage.
Amanda Blake also contributed to this report.
