Lauren Daigle draws crowd for first U-church of 2017

Students of Lee University and the surrounding community showed up en masse to hear Lauren Daigle sing for the first U-church of 2017 on Saturday, Jan. 14.

Although the doors opened at 7:00 pm, students lined the sidewalks leading to the Conn Center at Lee University hours before for a chance at a seat to the much-anticipated show.

Daigle's music recently won the artist her second Grammy nomination in contemporary Christian music, according to her website, and she appeared on Good Morning America at the end of last year.

"One of the things I've learned through my career is how creative God is. He's given us this luxury to create sounds for people to enjoy and encounter his presence," said Daigle. "The weight of that is massive, he's entrusting his people with music."

Daigle said that, while it is a grand display of trust, the Lord also desires an intimate relationship with his people.

"He wants to be so relational with us. He's wired each person with something different, for me I love to write, I love to sing. That's where I feel most connected with him," Daigle said of her music. "It's this beautiful unity where I get more of him and I also get to see other people encounter him through music."

Preparation for worship is nearly as important as the act itself, according to Daigle. Before each show, she and her band meet and have a quick roundtable discussion to see if the Lord has placed any messages on their hearts.

Silence and listening, said Daigle, can be just as powerful a tool for preparation as prayer.

"God can download so much when you just position your heart to be still before him," said Daigle, "I feel like a lot of times I get caught up in, 'I gotta do something to be still before Him,' but sometimes being still can be the most effective way to connect with Him."

Regarding her listeners, Daigle said during a performance she hopes she fades away and people can focus on experiencing God.

"I really just want my listeners to encounter Him, whatever their need is. Whatever their desire is, I want Him to come and be the antidote. Everything that would satisfy whatever they're desiring or are desperate for," said Daigle.

Daigle said the greatest reward for her is getting on stage and giving the night up to God.

"If music can be that channel to approach Him for whatever they need when they don't even realize what they need, that's probably the greatest reward," said Daigle. "Like all right the purpose has been fulfilled, everything that needed to happen happened because you met the Lord."

After three years on the road, Daigle is looking forward to getting more of balance between her personal and professional life. In 2017 she said she is looking forward to keeping to a healthy diet and routine.

Ashley Morgan, Daigle's road manager, said that it is fulfilling to help an artist achieve their dream.

"I love growth. Since I started out with Lauren, we started out with just one guitar player. That was a year ago, and now we have ten people playing," according to Morgan.

Morgan said it is fun to tour with other teams, like Hillsong United in the summer of 2016, for the learning opportunity it presents.

"We've been blessed to travel with a lot of bands we respect," said Morgan.