Worship singer/songwriter DAVID GATE started in ministry at the age of 16. Elizabeth Cook reports.

David Gate

There can be few worship leaders who get thrust into the international spotlight at the tender age of 16. But it was then that the worship singer/songwriter David Gate first led worship at Soul Survivor and had Martin Smith and Matt Redman record two of his songs on Survivor's 'The People's Album' (1997). Now in full time worship ministry in Belfast, David's 'Unapproachable Light' album was released last year by Survivor Records.

On a visit to Cross Rhythms, Stoke-on-Trent the still young songsmith spoke to Tony Cummings about recording his first full album with producers Paul Burton and Tom Mills at Paul's residential studio in Littlehampton, G2. David remembered, "The first week that we spent recording was really just myself and the band. We would stick the tape on but we were really just getting what we felt were Godly vibes. There was really a worship atmosphere, as we spent time together developing the songs. Obviously the songs have all sprung out of a heart of worship, they're songs that we'll do at church and various events. But then after we've got the initial songs down a lot of it then is just hard work really, trying to honour God in making it the best we can. I think some people imagine it being a really spiritual experience where you just spend your whole time praying and waiting on God! Then there are people who think it's a totally godless experience where we just go in and churn out an album! But in fact neither is true, it's somewhere in between. You've got to work hard because financial constraints mean that you've got to work well and quickly."

David did emphasise that all the people who worked on the album are "real godly people. I hand-picked them because of their worshipping hearts and their worshipping attitudes." He admitted that most of the songs on the album have already been "road tested" in terms of acts of worship. The huge opportunity of having his songs put on the two Soul Survivor 'The People's Albums' was just the encouragement needed for David to continue in worship ministry. Said David, "I think writing has always been a natural thing for me, a way of expressing myself. I find it a real creative output and if I've got spare time and there's a guitar lying around or a piano that's what I'll look to do, to write some songs."

After 'The People's Albums', David was very keen to record singing his own songs. He explained, "It was fantastic seeing other people sing my songs, but I think as someone who is really into music and really enjoys making music and being creative, there was a part of me that really wanted to get in a studio and see what it was like. I'd never done that. By that time I was starting to want to record a little bit. But it wasn't too long before I got to record 'Redemption' on the Emerge series, at the end of 2000."

At this time David was still living in Harrow, West London, where he was born and raised by his Christian parents. David himself became a Christian as a teenager and soon began to get involved at church. Music was not David's sole focus at that time and he enrolled at Bible College in London, now the London School of Theology. Once his year had finished at College, David started to work for the evangelist J John as a worship leader and shortly afterwards got married to Emily.

Home for the couple though was destined to be in Ireland. David took up the story. "When my wife and I got married we were at Soul Survivor Watford. My wife had been there previously and so when we got married we moved there. But we knew in the long term that wasn't what we wanted to do. Soul Survivor Watford is full of gifted people and musicians and worship leaders and we felt a real burden on us that we had to go and share what we'd learnt at Soul Survivor in terms of values of worship and intimacy in worship and teaching and ministry and really encourage other churches to do it. So during the first year we were married we were constantly thinking and praying about where we should set up our home. We almost ended up in Manchester at one point. Then we almost went off to California, having been invited out there. But neither of those things felt like a God thing. Then we were visiting some friends of ours in Northern Ireland who live in Carrik Fergus just outside Belfast. I reluctantly was brought round to the idea that maybe Belfast was what God wanted. I'd never had any plans to move to Northern Ireland, especially Belfast. But you know God's funny like that. He just softened my heart to it and it became obvious to me that's where we were to be. So we moved there."

Gate has been involved in the New Wine events which take place in Ireland every year. Having adjusted to the culture shock after such a big move the worship leader began working on the 'Unapproachable Light' album. One of the outstanding songs on 'Unapproachable Light' is "Hands On The Cross". It has special meaning for David. "One day I just got inspired and 'Hands On The Cross' was such a quick song it flew out. It was almost complete I think in about 10 or 15 minutes, partly because there's not much to it but partly because it had been brewing inside me for a long time, especially the second verse. I'd been thinking a lot about the second coming and how we don't really sing much about Jesus' return in worship songs and so I really wanted - as soon as I'd written that first verse and chorus I just knew that the second verse had to be about the resurrection and about Jesus coming again and what that would be like. And so it flowed, a little bit of crafting and a little bit of pondering."

Other outstanding songs on the album are "All The Kings Will Bow" and "To The Ends Of The Earth", both of which have received considerable radio exposure on Cross Rhythms Verticality worship programme. One thing is certain. We'll be hearing a lot more from this talented worship songsmith.