Brandon:  Do you feel that you’ve been given that [prophetic] gift and sensitivity?

Kari:  I do, especially over the last couple months. My pastor prophesied over me before my CD release. He just said, “I feel like the Lord is saying the time is now, and He’s opening your voice, your mouth, to share what He wants you to share.” And I’ll be in the middle of leading worship and feel like the Lord is giving me wisdom that the congregation needs to hear. I’ll share it, and people will start weeping. It’s just been really cool to watch [the results of] being sensitive to His voice in the middle of worship.

Brandon:  I guess that with prophecy comes authority, because you have the responsibility to share it. And it also comes with discernment. When is the right time [to share]? You can’t just blurt out everything—there’s timing—and [it depends on] a trust that you have to earn with people.

Kari:  It helps me being a worship pastor at my church, Gateway, and not having just the title—because God’s not about titles—but more of a mantle of leadership and getting to go out and minister in other churches. [Because people know] I’m a worship pastor, I have a trust that I have been put [in that position] by my pastor. I love that people trust me in that way.

Brandon:  Being at Gateway, you certainly have that mantle. And now your mantle and platform have gotten much bigger. Talk about that. Who did you sign with?

Kari:  Integrity. I’m with Gateway as well, which is my church’s label. It’s really cool for me being a worship leader more than just an artist. In the last year, it’s gotten a bit crazy, really exciting. God is opening doors, and I am just buckling my seatbelt for the journey ahead. People are responding in a way that I wasn’t expecting—hoping for, but not expecting. [I wasn’t sure] if they would see it as, “Oh, this is pretty music,” or if they would respond with, “I’m using it to minister to my family,” or “My mom’s in the hospital, and we have been able to pray in the hospital.” We’re getting some pretty cool stories that it’s being used for ministry. And I love that.

It’s more about the lyrics than the music. [The lyrics] came from those moments in my life when I had to cry out to God and live life surrendered to the Lord. We’re able to write these songs that are like, “Oh my goodness, what are You doing? Why are You making me walk through this?”

Brandon:  When I first heard about you, Kari, it was through my friend Ed Cash. I asked him what he was excited about working on, and he said, “I’m working with this girl Kari Jobe.” I happened to meet you the next week. What was it like working with Ed?