Worship Musician Magazine September 2020 | Page 21

moment in my life was when I was probably
around 17 years old and I was studying a lot
of science at college, and feeling enlightened
by my understanding, I did begin to question
whether God was real. I really wanted to see
some evidence (although I knew I wanted to
believe more than anything). So, I asked God
to show me He was real. I am after all, named
(doubting) Thomas! Shortly after, I got dragged
along to one church meeting with a guest
speaker who I’d never met. I remember being
called up to the front and being told in front of
everyone, that I was a musician! I was, but no
one really knew, especially the guest speaker.
I could only play a couple chords (nothing’s
changed!) He told me that he felt that God
wanted to use me in music and worship to bring
His glory to people. That was pretty interesting,
and definitely felt like a really key piece of
evidence for God’s existence. Especially now
I’m here chatting to you about worship many
years later!
I came to University in London to study, but
mainly as an excuse to get to London to pursue
music and met Pete Hughes at a church we
were both at. He told me about his plans to
church plant to Kings Cross in London, and
I was sold at the first word! It’s been one of
the greatest privileges of my life to have been
involved with worship there and to be able to
lead the most incredible worship team I’ve
come across
[WM] I must admit to “my heart burning within
me” as I watch videos online of your church
family. I want to be there! Please tell us about
your church community King’s Cross Church
(KXC), and its ongoing efforts and impact in the
King’s Cross area of London?
[Tom] Maybe it’s God telling you to come
and join us? Ha! Yes, so the church just had its
tenth birthday and it has been on an incredible
journey. London is a very international and
transient place, but the way that KXC has been
a community to so many people in the middle of
all that, is just mind blowing to me. The church
is involved with a lot of local charities in Kings
Cross. Some of the ministries and partnerships
include a food bank, women’s drop-in, debt
clinics, a co-working space for those who want
to work alongside others in community, alpha
courses, student and youth work, a community
cafe, occupational therapy for young children
and supporting the chaplaincy team in the local
prison. We've actually been able to send our
KXC online services to the inmates, who have
been joining in from their cells.
“As a worship
team, leading
people into God’s
presence is the
fuel for all the
other ministries
that we run. The
more we worship
Jesus, the more
we become like
Jesus, and the
more we love our
neighbor.”
As a worship team, leading people into God’s
presence is the fuel for all the other ministries
that we run. The more we worship Jesus, the
more we become like Jesus, and the more
we love our neighbor. We hope what we do
serves all of the other things that are going on.
[WM] Your pastor, Pete, cites authenticity
and adventure as key elements within the DNA
of the church. He also has said that KXC is
“safe enough to heal”, yet “dangerous enough
to grow”. I love how you serve your city and
the concept of “hubs”. As a worship pastor,
how do those distinctives manifest within the
worship team’s lives?
[Tom] I think authenticity is a pretty key one
for us as a worship team, and I could talk
about it all day [although I’ll spare you!]. It’s
all so easy to get distracted by comparison
of others and it can be quite crippling. I think
musicians especially can fall into that trap. But
ultimately, you can’t lead people into a place
you’ve not first been yourself. The song God
has either given you, or the song you connect
with God through, is the song you should be
singing in worship. Sing about what God is
doing right now in your circumstance, even
the struggles and challenges - your testimony
is always powerful for yourself and for others.
In Revelation 7, when it talks about every tribe
and tongue and people group worshipping
the Lamb, that does not sound like people are
being inauthentic. It sounds like everyone is
letting a true, real and raw song of praise erupt
in whatever what way they can. Sometimes the
most adventurous and risky thing we can do is
be ourselves.
[WM] And how have your worship community
teammates been doing during the pandemic?
I don’t know of anyone that has perfected
streaming worship better than KXC.
[Tom] It’s been a slog! But thanks, I’m glad
you’ve liked it. During lockdown, we asked
the band to play and record themselves
worshipping from their homes, which was quite
a powerful way of modelling how to worship
from home. It was a learning curve for many,
but they responded incredibly well and I’m so
proud of the worship times we managed to
provide to serve the congregation. We’ve now
started live streaming from our church offices
which has been a refreshing reminder of how
wonderful it is to play and worship in a room
with other musicians. Over here in the U.K., the
latest government regulations are that we’re
only allowed one singer at a time when we’re
inside, so we’re not even allowed to harmonize.
That certainly is a challenge, but we’re making
September 2020
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