Imagine a room big enough to hold every voice that has ever cried out to God. For centuries, God’s people have called out in adoration and praise, and if such a room existed, it would be the most diverse and God-dependent place in history. SEU Worship, the worship movement of Southeastern University, has added their voice to this room, remembering the voices of old while raising up those for the future.
After graduating from SEU, Dan Rivera and David Ryan Cook came back to the university to lead this movement into its next stage. Dan and Dave took up the leadership mantle in hopes of carrying on the goal of SEU Worship of reaching young people with the gospel through worship music.
In a writing session with Dave, Dan added a drum sample over the song they were creating, and as the new beat mixed with the melodies they already had, thus was born what they now call “prophetic pop.”
“The Prophetic Pop theme encompasses our dedication to the people we regularly lead worship for, 16 - 26 year olds,” said Dan Rivera, “and also our unique Pentecostal, charismatic background. Believing that God wants to prophesy, speak, and to create spontaneous moments of worship. The prophetic is always going to have a tendency to lean on what is not yet
established.”
So this imagined room of God’s people grows even larger. Not only is it filled with the voices of old, but with the voices of His people yet to come. With a rich history of worship grounding them, SEU Worship feels God calling them to reach their audience with something not yet established, a unique pop sound.
They are confident in bringing the sounds of pop music into their worship services, knowing that simultaneously they are bringing worship into the pop world. It is the mixing of tradition with the future.
A Thousand Generations, SEU Worship’s latest album and first in their new partnership with Provident Label Group/Essential Worship, is the culmination of stepping into these new, prophetic pop roots. The album is an anthem of praise recalling all that God has done and looking ahead to what He is going to do.
The lead vocals are a mixture of core artists and students from Southeastern University. Looking ahead to the future of SEU Worship Dan Rivera said, “We want to grow our core artists and make that a bigger pot of people. We want to continue to create a worship sound that is more reflective of the community our artists are coming from.”
This room grows larger and larger as each generation comes and goes. And we know it is not an imagined room, but a place being prepared for us by our Savior. It is a tangible kingdom that is coming. It is SEU Worship’s goal as they press forward into the future, to look behind and ahead of themselves to see what God is doing, and looking forward to the day when all His people are
finally together in one room.
SEU Worship’s core artists are:
Dan Rivera
David Ryan Cook
Kenzie Walker
Sydney Wilson