Photos by Ralph Freso / Slideshow
Illuminated by the warm glow of vintage Edison lamps, Jordyn Beldman sang in front of the Grand Canyon University worship arts community, debuting her self-penned song, “Who Am I,” at Monday night’s Spring 2025 Songwriters Showcase.
She wrote it two years ago after summer camp, when she was inspired by Zephaniah 3:17:
“The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you by His love; He will exult over you with loud singing.”
“The theme really resonated with me,” said Beldman after her performance in the GCU Recording Studio lounge. “A lot of times in this society, people have to constantly do something to prove their worth … as His children, that’s where we get our worth. It’s not by anything else.”
“Wow!” belted someone in the audience at the end of her performance.
“That was like a Disney princess sang a worship song,” said event host Vanessa Torres, who the audience met with an explosion of applause as she kicked off the 10-song gathering of songwriters.
Beldman was just one of the performers at the spring showcase, which traditionally focuses on music being considered for the program’s annual Canyon Worship album.
But this time, it was more of a celebration of new music – a first listen at songs written both in silos and in collaborations to honor two important anniversaries.
GCU's Center for Worship Arts opened in 2014 and, through inspirational music that would lilt through the center’s hallways, changed the landscape of the university.
To celebrate the worship arts program and also the 10th anniversary of the Canyon Worship albums in 2026, “We’re bringing back five alumni to cowrite with 10 current students. They’ve been songwriting since January, all the way to the end of March. … Today is the first time we get to hear five of those new songs,” said Center for Worship Arts Director Moises Felipe.
“I thought they were super good; I LOVED them,” said Shailen Stewart of hearing all the new compositions. “I’m very excited for the next album. That was just a taste. We have a lot more songs than that … but so far, that was encouraging – and exciting.”
Stewart turned in vocals for “Greater Things,” co-written with one of those GCU alums, Harrison Russell.
“Working with an alumnus, it was super refreshing to look at a new perspective in a way that I really never thought of myself,” Stewart said. “I learned just how to embrace new ideas the most and how to collaborate on a vision with other people.”
Russell, a 2018 graduate of the program and now a worship pastor at Dream City Church, said it has been nostalgic returning to campus.
“It’s cool to see the way the program has changed, and it’s cool to work with them (the students) because it’s clear that they’re always writing. … When you get to your everyday, there’s not as much attention, I guess, that you put on it (your songwriting).”
Russell, busy now with not just his job but the recent addition to his family of twin girls, recalls himself as a student doing the same – always writing, always in a practice room.
“It was cool just to kind of get their perspective and know where they’re at … to be a little more in tune with what’s happening."
Noah Bjorkman, a sophomore majoring in worship arts and music education, performed his song “I Feel Your Peace,” and a second track, “Only You, Jesus,” on which he collaborated with Nevaeh Watkins and GCU alum Aaron Bolton.
“I love hearing all of the stuff my classmates have been working on and getting to share some of the things I have been thinking about and dwelling on,” Bjorkman said. “To get to share that with my community, that’s really my favorite part about it.”
In working with Bolton on “Only You, Jesus,” which ended the evening, Bjorkman said, “They (the alumni) bring a wisdom to songwriting that I appreciate. It helps us have a more refined song by the end of things. It’s cleaner, in some ways – the core of the song is really good.”
Bolton, who graduated from the worship arts program in 2018 and was the worship pastor at Pillar Church for 10 years, said getting to write songs with students is “really special.”
“I feel like I’m always trying to write better, and so it’s been really cool writing with Noah and Nevaeh. They sharpen me before I sharpen them, and it’s really been fun to collaborate with them.”
For Beldman, the only one to take the stage solo, “It’s been really quite a blessing, because I’m just a freshman this year, to be able to put myself into the worship arts community and just befriend people here and be able to share music with each other.
“That’s a really special thing.”
Manager of Internal Communications Lana Sweeten-Shults can be reached at lana.sweetenshults@gcu.edu or at 602-639-7901.
