Saturday 23rd July 2011 saw us visit an area in Greater London called Croydon for the album launch of Expressions Of Worship’s (E.O.W) debut album ‘Spirit Of Praise’.

There had been lot’s of people talking about E.O.W and their music over the last 5-6 months and there was a real sense of excitement and expectancy from the album and also from the live ministry of the group.

When we got to the venue there was an excitement in the air. People were gathering and there was lot’s of smiling faces and a very welcoming team of ushers/stewards that made us feel right at home and comfortable.

As the room filled up videos were playing re-introducing us to E.O.W, the group, the vision behind it all and of course the album really helping to set the scene for what was to come.

Budding worship leader, Joseph Perry was the supporting worship leader on the night and took us straight into an intense session of praise and worship. He started with ‘Chasing After You’ (Vashawn Mitchell) which had the whole congregation up on their feet in vibrant, energetic high praise. He also sang ‘Let It Rise’ (Stephen Hurd) which continued with more of the same.

By this point there was a very worshipful atmosphere in the room making it easy to worship.

As soon as Joseph started singing ‘Hosanna’ (Sidney Mohede) the congregation turned into a choir with everyone singing the worship anthem and the presence of God becoming more tangible in the room… He then went on to sing ‘I Will Exalt You‘ (Hillsong) which brought a peaceful, calm and sweet fragrance of worship in the atmosphere leading into ‘Agnus Dei’ (Michael W. Smith) which lead us to a place of pure worship and adoration.

By this time the presence of God was thick in the room and when Joseph handed over the mic to the host (Anthony ‘Pass Da Mic’ King) it was awesome to see that his hosting responsibility didn’t stop him from flowing with the worship and allowing the ‘Spirit Of Praise’ in the place to continue.

There was a brief intermission and during it we had the chance to look around and see that the majority of the people there were young people which was wonderful to see… The ‘Spirit Of Praise’ continued even through-out the intermission where Joseph Perry continued to lead worship allowing those who wanted to stay and bask in the presence of the Lord to do so.

After the intermission it was time for what we had all been waiting for and after an old time medley from Anthony ‘Pass Da Mic’ King and few laughs, Pastor Tony Clarke started revealing the vision and the process behind E.O.W and really expressing the journey they had all taken to get to this day and it was clear that the hand of God was on the whole project with the favour they experienced and how God used the gifts that He had already entrusted to them to make the vision come to life.

E.O.W sang their first song  but it was clear at that point that they weren’t there to entertain but really just to praise. We didn’t quite catch the name of the song but it had the line ‘We love you Lord, we love you; we worship and adore you’ which was set to beautifully arranged music and had a vocal melody that made it very singable and easy to learn. The whole room erupted in spontaneous worship and that worship didn’t stop… In that spirit of worship people were being delivered, restored and reconciled to Christ… It was an atmosphere for miracles.

The power of God was moving in an awesome way, so much so that they didn’t make it past the first song… Or not until we had to leave which was approx. 45 minutes after the first song started.

All in all, it was a great time of worship. The P.A system didn’t do them justice as the vocals just didn’t cut through and were often over powered by the music… Also the media side of us was disappointed that we didn’t get to hear the rest of the album ministered live to get a full appreciation of what’s on the album.

With that said though; E.O.W are a group of people in pursuit of the King, aiming to usher people into the presence of God because it’s in the presence of God where real change happens and a ‘Spirit Of Praise’ is birthed in the lives of those who experience the fulness of God’s presence.

E.O.W’s ‘Spirit Of Praise’ album can be purchased on iTunes and Amazon