ANDREWS' DEBUT HOLDS ITS OWN
As
the worship leader of Chicago’s
12,000-member Harvest
Bible Church,
Meredith Andrews is accustomed to performing her
own work. This experience is reflected in her debut album—characterized by her
sweet, confident voice—proving she can hold her own in the Christian music
industry.
The Invitation showcases her singing and
songwriting talent in 11 songs, all of which she wrote or co-wrote. “God is extending an invitation to
you, to you personally, calling you by name. He knows where you’ve been, and He
knows your background. He knows your family situation. He knows the things you
struggle with, but He’s calling you by name, and He’s inviting you to come in
and to meet with Him and to know Him,” says Andrews
of the title.
While
most of the songs have a light melodic pop sound, the lyrics reveal a
thoughtful expression of the universal struggle to draw closer to God, as in
the album’s centerpiece, “You Invite Me In,” where lyrics explain,
“I’ve been...ashamed of the shape I’m
in/Afraid you’ll see who I really am, but you invite me in.”This
young singer/songwriter is on her way up—she was highlighted as one of Billboard’s 2008 “Faces to Watch” and
just completed a tour with “New
Artist” Dove winners Aaron Shust and Brandon
Heath this spring.
–Emily Wenstrom