Belfast worship leader Ryan Griffith continues his remarkable journey

‘Refuge’ is a musical treat – all towering choruses made mightier still by bleeps and tricks embedded in some high-end production.

But it is more than the sound that gets you; at the heart of the album – and of Ryan himself – is a wholesale commitment to worshipping God with all the passion and integrity he can muster.

Just 25-years-old, yet having already shared a stage with Delirious?, Casting Crowns, Paul Baloche, Ben Cantelon, Hillsong United and Bluetree, Griffith finds himself in the early stages of a remarkable journey – one that started with a prophecy and an obedient response.

Director of Worship at Exchange Church, Belfast (home to fellow worship leaders Bluetree), his debut album was recorded at Windmill Lane studios in Dublin, mastered in Nashville and produced by Paul Mills (Third Day, Robin Mark, Bluetree). Ryan has delivered a powerful range of songs, some co-written with Aaron Boyd (Bluetree).

From the colossal film score intro that opens up the album with the song ‘Can’t Contain’ to the timeless truths bound up in ‘God Of The Impossible’, ‘Refuge’ and ‘Faithful To The End’, Ryan’s songs are already being sung in churches across the world.

The title track is written out of a profoundly challenging personal experience – the sort where trusting God is both utterly essential and incredibly difficult – and the rest of the album reverberates with a sense of God’s trustworthiness, power and grace, helping those epic, anthemic musical highs make perfect sense.

Two songs on the album are co-writes: ‘Can’t Contain’ and ‘Lightens Up’, as Ryan explains:

“Can’t Contain came from a personal time of reading (2 Chronicles) about God’s glory not being able to be contained by anyone and anything. Aaron (Boyd, Bluetree) and I got together sharing melodies and thoughts, reworked and edited them into the song.” “Lightens Up was fun. Aaron’s daughter (Lily, age 4) was telling us about a memory verse she was learning from Sunday School. It is important to remember to take our eyes off ourselves and fix them at all times on Jesus, the One who lightens up the darkness.”

Whether inspired by the world of hand puppets and Sunday school craft activities or hospital waiting rooms, Ryan Griffith knows the truth about our real source of refuge in this life: the Lord himself. These songs have the power to open up eyes and hearts the world over to a greater understanding of the same.

Refuge is out 18 october 2010

Christian Today