How God Transformed This Worship Leader’s Life
By Movieguide® Contributor
Worship leader Sarah Kroger explained how God transformed music from a secret talent into a gift she freely gives to help others build their faith.
Kroger was intimately involved with music from a young age. Growing up with parents who were both involved in music ministry, Kroger has loved music for as long as she can remember. This, however, made her stand out in school, and she faced heavy bullying — causing her to hide her musical talent in order to fit in.
“I knew that music was a special thing to me, and so I didn’t want it to be torn down like the rest of me had been torn down. And so I just kind of built walls around it, and it became this thing that I entered into only by myself,” Kroger told the “Jesus Calling” podcast.
“I just kind of locked away this gift and threw away the key and was like, I will never, ever sing in front of anybody,” she continued. “It’ll just be something that I do for myself.”
Kroger lived with this policy for years, refusing even to sing in front of her family. Her hiding of this gift, however, was challenged when she felt God calling her to lead worship.
“I felt like God was lovingly tapping me on the shoulder and just saying, ‘Sarah, I gave you this gift not just for yourself. I gave you this for my kingdom. I gave you this gift for my glory. And by you hiding it, it’s not doing anyone any favors. So will you step out in faith? Will you say yes to me?’” she recalled.
“I went back to my church, and I started leading worship on Sundays,” Kroger continued. “[I was] absolutely terrified. It wasn’t like I said yes and everything fell into place. I was still shaking from head to toe, probably sounding like some dying animal every time I got up on the podium to sing.”
“I taught myself early on when I first started singing in front of people how to close my eyes and forget the people in the room and just enter into it as a prayer,” Kroger added. “Like, literally, I had to just kind of recenter myself and be like, this is not about me. This is not even about the people in this room. This is about glorifying God and giving back to God because He asked me to do it.”
Now that worship has become her job, Kroger continues to lean into this truth and works to keep God’s glory at the center of everything she does. She’s also especially careful to make the music she’s leading approachable for anyone, rather than making it a performance centered around her.
“In a lot of ways, it’s like being able to create spaces where people feel safe enough to come to God just as they are, and feel safe enough to bring their questions and whatever they’re walking though into a worship set,” she said, “into a session that we’re having, into whatever it is that we’re doing, to be able to foster that kind of environment through music.”
Kroger also leans into the pain from her past to help others going through similar situations now, encouraging them to continue the good fight and live for the Lord rather than living in fear.
“The suffering in my life has led me to deeper revelations and freedom and joy than I could have ever anticipated. I’ve also recognized that there is fruit on the other side of this season that I would never got to, and would never have gotten to if I didn’t first walk through it,” Kroger said.
“And that God has met me in it, even if He’s been silent,” she added. “Silence does not equal absence. It’s not the same thing. And we are never alone. He says,” I am here with you always.’ That’s a promise of God, even in the midst of the darkness.”
Her latest album, A New Reality, released in May.
“I hope that through listening to A New Reality, people feel encouraged to bring their imperfect, questioning, doubting selves to God. I want people to be reminded of the beauty of His presence in the world. He’s more real than we can comprehend,” Kroger said of the album.
“My new album, ‘A New Reality’ explores two sides of the same coin,” she added on Instagram. “Being lost in wonder and feeling lost in my wondering. When it came to choosing a location to capture the art for this record, I knew it had to be a place where the majesty and grandeur is simply undeniable. It doesn’t get more epic than Big Sur, CA.”