Combining five people from different backgrounds, different age groups, and different
churches wouldn’t seem to be the best way to create a worship band, but it appears that’s exactly what God had in mind when He thought of Elevate.

In 2002, Elevate began as a simple desire to bring modern worship to First United Methodist Church in Clanton, Alabama. With Tommy Lenoir on lead vocals and Mike Graham on drums, along with a guitarist and bass player, the worship band at FUMC was born. Over the next 18 months, guitar and bass players came and went. Finally, in 2003, Mike “Stroke” Bailey, settled in on the bass, with Trent Tatum on acoustic guitar and Derrick Hopper on electric guitar.

As the band progressed, opportunities to share at other churches began to present themselves, and they soon found out “the worship band from First Methodist” wasn’t really a name they could keep, and the name Elevate stuck.

The vision of Elevate is simple. “We just want to take what God has allowed us to do on Sunday mornings and use it for His honor in as many venues as we can”, says Lenoir. Those venues include student rallies, camps, conferences, weekly student services, and general worship services for churches looking for contemporary or modern worship.