Our Story

Rory and Sarah on their wedding day. They are sitting outside surrounded by guests. Rory's back is toward the camera and he is wearing a black suit and which shirt. Sarah is wearing a strapless white wedding dress, sitting to rory's right.

In the summer of 2003, I was invited to attend a gospel meeting at the famous 'Moriah Chapel' in South Wales, the birthplace of the Welsh Revival. I'd been asked to prepare and play some songs before and after the preaching of the word.

Three days prior to the meeting, I felt led to fast and pray as the Lord was going to show me something that would shape the course of my future. I arrived at the Chapel, this humble, hallowed hall from where the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Wales had begun in 1904. During the evening I was listening closely intent on hearing that still, small voice that would speak into my spirit and cast a light on the path of my life. It was one of the most powerful gatherings I had experienced.

An image of the inside of Morah Chapel from the stage. There are many rows of wooden pews and a balcony from left to right.

Loughor Moriah Chapel. Moriah is known throughout the world as the birthplace of the 1904 Welsh Revival. Photo taken from www.nationalchurchestrust.org

It wasn't long before the preaching had finished, the last songs had been sung and the worshippers had left the hall. As I was sitting on a pew near the front of the Church feeling a little deflated, an elderly woman approached me and asked if she could share something the Lord had laid on her heart, she had my full attention. She explained that she had only become a Christian six months before and had never shared a word like this. The lady went on to say 'I believe The Lord has spoken to me and He said that He will take your music around the world, He will make it gold and glorify for His name's sake'. I sat there stunned.

I shared that word with my pastor friend who had preached that evening and he said, "Rory, that's not for now, put this on a shelf and the Lord will bring it to pass at the right time". The seed had been sown that evening and I was excited for how this would develop in the years ahead.

After meeting in church in 2004 Sarah and I became engaged and were married the following August. We quickly realised we had a shared love of music, myself a songwriter and Sarah a vocal coach and worship leader. Soon after our wedding, we became involved in ministry together, pastoring a church plant in Bromsgrove, U.K.

The church rapidly grew and after two years we were asked to move to South Wales to serve in ministry at a drug rehabilitation centre, leading worship and holding bible studies. Through the transformative power of God’s Word, we saw many lives changed.

A black and white image of Rory singing and playing guitar, standing at a microphone.

We moved back to Solihull and In 2011 our first son Fynn was born, followed by Oscar in 2014. It became clear to us in 2018 that the Lord was calling us to home-educate. This has given us the freedom to explore a Christian-based education and the ability to truly go where He calls us.

By 2022, we had a feeling that the Lord was uprooting us and to draw a line under the life that we were living. We spent 6 months seeking God, praying, and studying and in June of 2023, the Lord led us to take a step of faith to go to Colorado. So, we sold our belongings, left our jobs, sold the business, gave notice on our home and headed to Colorado. It was during this time, on August 10th the Lord gave us a vision for a music ministry that would touch people with the love of God through intimate acoustic worship and the truth of His word. As the Holy Spirit was speaking this into our hearts, the dormant seed of that prophecy given 20 years earlier suddenly sprang into life. The Lord led me to a scripture in Zechariah 4:10 NLT 'Do not despise these small beginnings, for He rejoices to see the work begin' and so 'Chapel Song Ministries' was born.