Soulfire Revolution is from Bogota, Colombia. Their debut single, "Revival," features Jesus Culture's Kim Walker-Smith and is the first song from the album. The song and debut album of the same name is very worshipful and Spirit-filled, which are my favorite types of worship albums. 

 

I love how the Lord is bringing up worship leaders who are unashamed of the Gospel and are about proclaiming the Truth of God's Word. A revival is something that God wants us to pray for, and biblically we are commanded to spread the Good News of the Gospel in the Great Commission. 

 

In Mark 16:15, Jesus commands: "Preach the Gospel to every creature." There are no conditions or exceptions in that command. It's more of a lifestyle that Jesus calls us to live as Christians. I had the opportunity to interview Lorena Castellanos about her worship song "Revival." 

 

Please tell me about the message behind the song.
 

"Revival" was the first song we wrote for the album. We wrote it about two years ago. We were in Nashville with some friends, and they came up with the idea for the song. They showed it to me and my husband, and when you start listening to the lyrics, we could really relate to the chorus a lot. What we are seeing in Columbia is a true revival. Thousands of people are getting saved every week. We could totally relate to the message of the chorus. We started to work on the lyrics of the verses like, "The world is a desert dry and thirsty, Your love is the answer full of mercy." The song is a message for people that you can start a revival wherever you are. All you need to do is speak out and tell someone about Jesus. The first time we played the song at our church in Bogota at our youth services, the response was amazing. It's a really upbeat song, and people were jumping up and down and really having a good time. We realized that this song is powerful.

 

How did Kim Walker-Smith get involved?
 

After we decided who would produce the album, we chose Jeremy Edwardson and he has produced all of the Jesus Culture albums. The last part we wrote for the song was the bridge, "Send Revival Fire." We were listening to that part of the song in the studio and we were thinking it would be awesome for Kim to sing that part. Then, since Jeremy is really good friends with her, he asked her to sing that part and she recorded it in three languages and did a great job. For us, because we really admire her and how God is using her, it was a privilege to have her sing on our song. It adds something really special to the song. When we play this song at conferences, we sing that part "Send Revival Fire" over and over again. It's a really powerful part for the Church.

 

Mark 16:15-16 (NKJV): "And He said to them, 'Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.'"
 

Matthew 28:18-20 (The Voice): "Jesus came forward and addressed His beloved disciples. I am here speaking with all the authority of God, who has commanded Me to give you this commission: Go out and make disciples in all the nations. Ceremonially wash them through baptism in the name of the triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then disciple them. Form them in the practices and postures that I have taught you, and show them how to follow the commands I have laid down for you. And I will be with you, day after day, to the end of the age."
 

Psalm 57:8 (The Voice): "Wake up, my glory! Wake up, harp and lyre; I will stir the sleepy dawn with praise!"

We are not just worship leaders but we are also very involved in ministry as Pastors and leaders in the church. Our heart behind the album is for people to really encounter God through every one of these songs. In their prayer time, we hope that they could listen to these songs, and have an encounter with God. We don't want people to leave it there. We want people to do something for a revival, and believe that they could do something. You can bring revival to your friends, because it has already started in your own heart. The album has songs like "Awaken My Heart." That's the first step to experiencing God, asking Him to "breathe life on the dry bones" that I have. Just one drop of the blood of Jesus can heal any circumstance or sickness. We've seen miracles as we've played these songs live. Our prayer is that as people listen to these songs, they will experience miracles as well in their own lives. We believe that God wants to bring a message of joy and that church services should be something fun for everyone. We like to keep people dancing and praising God with our songs.

 

 

I've long enjoyed the female vocal style of the charismatic worship leaders like International House of Prayer's Misty Edwards, Worth Dying For's Christy Johnson and Jesus Culture's Kim Walker-Smith. Lorena Castellanos from Soulfire Revolution really displays a similar vocal style for me on this solid album. I love listening to this album during my commuting time when I want a pick-me-up album that glorifies God and gets me pumped about my faith. 

 

Lorena knocks it out of the park with her stellar lead vocals on the powerful song "Revival" which is a stand-out worship anthem and has a very catchy and convicting declaration: "Revival, Hands up higher, Holy Spirit rain down, Change us from the inside, Singing, We need revival." 

 

As Lorena explained, the song reflects the conviction and strength we can all have as the armies of the Lord as prophesied in Ezekiel 37. One day we will have a new heaven and a new earth and we need to all pray for our Savior to send His presence to this dying world. Together as the Church, let's all pray "Send revival fire, Fill this place!" Amen.

 

(Here's the music video.)