Joe Frey is a small-town guy with a big vision. Growing up as a pastor's kid in Southern Vermont, church life wasn't always easy, but it was rewarding. Now that he's older, it is Frey's goal to equip and encourage other churches like his own across the country with heartfelt music, nights of worship, and a simple reminder to hold fast through the storms of life.

I had the privilege of speaking with Frey about family life in one of the least-churched states in the country, how to write a worship song, as well as the release of his most recent album Hold Fast.

You're from Vermont. Did you grow up there?

Yeah. My mom and dad went to Columbia Bible College when he was in construction, and he felt called to be a pastor when he was already married, and he went to South Carolina and had all three of us. We all moved to Vermont when my dad got a church in Southern Vermont. So I was around two or three when I moved to Vermont.

Being the son of a pastor, how has that impacted your faith and your music personally?

For me, it's one of those things where I was so immersed in the Christian culture that I think it was really good for me. But as I grew older I had to shape different views and opinions about what I thought about God and what I thought about the Bible. But I think it was really cool because, for me, I had a firm belief system. I put my faith in Jesus when I was five. I remember praying with my mom, actually. And for me, it's just one of those things where it gave me a solid foundation. I listened to Keith Green and all the classic CCM stuff--that's all we could listen to--and that was good. It helped me have a good, firm foundation.

You're a worship leader. What's the process for you when you write a worship song? Is there an added weight as opposed to when you're writing another style of music?

There is. You know, being in Vermont, it's one of the least churched states in the country. I have a lot of friends that ask me that: "How do you write Christian music? It seems like it's always about the same thing." For me it is a whole different weight because you're trying to connect scripture--it's infallible and it's the Word of God--and you're trying to write something that the local church, and the Church in Vermont, and the Church wherever God sends me can respond to and connect with. That's a lot to think about. 

Each time I dig in to write, I just focus on a scripture and focus on a theme that usually I've been struggling with in my own life or trying to get better at, then I go after it. And it's really fun to co-write. I write by myself quite a bit, but when I co-write, different people can bring in their own stories from their own lives and shape it and make it something cool.

Is there anyone in particular that you co-wrote with on this last album?

Yeah. Joel Rousseau, who plays guitar now for Carrollton--he produced it and we wrote all the songs together except for one. That's why I think the project came together, because Joel and I had a good vibe. There's a rhythm to writing together and all the songs seemed to fit.

Talk about Hold Fast. What was the vision behind the project?

Initially it was just to put out an EP, and then as we were figuring out what songs to do, "Hold Fast" was one that we really liked. It's one of those things where that song seemed to be pushing its way forward. And then the vision behind it, kind of what we've come to is where the world is at. This world needs hope and it's messy, and it's not that it hasn't been these last ten years, but it seems like it's progressively getting worse. 

So, for us, it was like this song is hopefully something that the local church will grab onto--and it has. Over the summer, that song was by far the one that people really worshiped and connected with and wanted to get a copy of. That was really encouraging because that's what we hoped, and when we went ahead and finalized the name, it seemed to all fit. 

Each song is a walk through of how God is the anchor. "Your Love Won't Be Denied" shows how God's love is steadfast and no matter what kind of walls the world might put up against God and faith and his love for us, His love is never denied. It doesn't matter what kind of weapons are formed; nothing can stop His love for us, and He's faithful. Each song adds to that overarching theme of putting our faith in Him because He's faithful. He'll whisper into our hearts and love us and speak into our hearts if we're open to it. It really is neat how it comes together. Sometimes it comes together and sometimes it's just God making it happen.

Tell us about your church worship gatherings you're putting on.

I grew up in Bennington, Vermont--a town of about 3,000 with a handful of churches. For years we struggled to reach people; we'd struggled to connect with people. And when I started leading worship at the church, I saw the power of music and the power of God's Word in those songs and those prayers to break down a lot of walls that people had in our area. I also saw as I started to play out in these last four years that my church was not the only church that was struggling. There are so many little churches like that all over the region and all over the world that need to be encouraged to know that God loves them. So these nights are catered to small churches coming together as one church, and hopefully in that hour they meet new people and learn new things. Part of the thing that we're trying to do is a quick equipping workshop for those churches, whether it's arranging worship sets or music theory. It's pretty exciting.

You're also a Compassion artist. How did that relationship come about?

I was touring with Phil Wickham a few years ago and we did a little weekend in New England and Canada. I was playing with him, and his tour manager Brandon wanted to connect me with Compassion because I really had a desire to have another way of giving back. It's kind of interesting, my first son Isaac and my wife Sara, they both almost died when he was born. That was a crazy, tough time. I remember praying, thanking him for sparing my wife and my child. I'll do whatever you need me to do in this moment to to give back.

I saw Compassion as a way to give back to God in a big way, the way He gave my family another chance in that moment. And today we've gotten around 80 kids sponsored, which on the big scale isn't a lot like a lot of these artists, but I'm going into churches of 30 and getting one or two kids sponsored, so it's a different process than playing in an arena. It's been really cool to see God work through that.

Going forward, how can people be praying for you?

I have four kids who are 9, 7, 5, and 2 1/2. God has done a great work in our marriage to make sure that we're giving everything we need to our kids and to each other and our relationship so that we can continue to flourish. Pray that God can continue to encourage us and give us wisdom. I love touring--I could tour all the time and play--but that's not always the makeup of what was best for our family. Pray that God gives me discernment of what to say yes and no to.

Buy Hold Fast here.