Ashley Davis Shares About the Joys of Hearing Heaven Worship

Ashley Davis, the worship leader of Calvary Chapel Mountain Home, has released her new single. "This is What Heaven Sounds Like" is released via Homegrown Worship. The song is a powerful reminder of how heaven will be a place where people of many colors gather in unsion to lift up the name of Jesus. 

Davis sings: "This is what Heaven sounds like/All the saints lifting up one song/A melody of many colors/A tune we've known all along/And now we'll sing it out forever In your presence here on earth/This is what Heaven sounds like/All the saints lifting up one song."

Listen to the song HERE.

We are honored to catch up with Ashley for this exclusive interview.

Q: Ashley, thanks for doing this interview with us. Let's start with yourself: tell us about your upbringing and how music influenced you while growing up.

Thanks for having me! My parents divorced when I was an infant, so I spent a lot of my life going back and forth between them.  I also spent a lot of time with my grandparents on my mom's side and would attend church with them, which is where I was saved when I was 5.  My dad got custody of me when I was 9 and I moved to Idaho to live with him and my stepmom. 

My parents weren't Christians when I was growing up, but let me go to church, so I bounced around to a few different ones growing up.  I might have not had a Christian home, but my parents did have a love of music and were very supportive of anything musical I did.  I spent many hours watching music documentaries with my dad and grew up on classic rock and oldies.  I also listened to what was current at the time, classical music since I played clarinet most of my school years, and enjoyed music from every genre.  My parents got me my first guitar at age 16 to learn and to accompany the songs I was writing.  Music was the common thread in most of my relationships, it helped me through life, and connected me to God.

Q: How and when did you start writing and singing worship songs?

I started singing worship songs when I was in youth group in junior high, but joined my first worship team in high school. In the past 20 years, I've only had a few years where I wasn't on a worship team.  I've written for a couple Christian Rock bands I was in before this, but 6 years ago I wrote my first congregational worship song.

Q: You are currently a worship leader at Calvary Chapel Mountain Home. Tell us more about your ministry there.

I have been at CCMH for 11 years now.  I've been involved in many places as needed, children's ministry, youth, women's ministry, and worship.   I was on staff for a bit in admin/events, before Covid hit.  Once that happened I had to pull back on most of what I was doing besides worship to focus on helping school my 5 kids from home. The shift to home helped me to step into a new season of focusing more on my songwriting and releasing songs. I'm now focusing on music full time instead of all the other areas I was serving in outside of worship.

Q: How did you get to work with wonderful folks at Homegrown Worship?

I was sharing songs on my instagram and did a week long daily posting of the songs I write, when someone from Homegrown Worship reached out.  I was a little hesitant at first, because you never know if something on social media is a true thing or spam. After prayer and chatting with them, I joined up with them to release  two songs and took part in a lot of the training they offer.  It has been an amazing time of growth and encouragement!

Q: I believe your first song with them is "1 Kings 19." Tell us a little about the song and how it came about.

The song taken from 1 Kings 19, where Elijah is feeling hopeless and needing to hear from the Lord.  He expects to hear God's voice in the storm that passes, but God instead speaks to him in the stillness after the storm.  It's the refreshment he needs to keep going and I think that section of scripture should give us a lot of encouragement. Everyone has times of discouragement, even when we have just seen the Lord work in mighty ways, but God is always faithful to care for us and remind us that he is there.  He's on the throne and deserves our worship.

Q: Your latest single is "This is What Heaven Sounds Like." How does this song speak to you?

I wrote the chorus of this song when I was attending a worship leaders conference.  There is really nothing like a room full of worshipers lifting their voices in song and then if you have a bunch of musicians/worship leaders it takes the whole thing to another level. There are so many harmonies and melodies,that it blends into one wall of sound.  I thought "this is what Heaven must sound like." I've had glimpses like that over the years, but I'm excited for what Heaven will actually be like, when the whole body of Christ is united in song.

Q: In terms of the near future, what can we be expecting? Are you working on an album? 

Right now I've been working hard on putting together an EP campaign that I will be starting soon, using Resound Media's Rocket Fuel.  I'm hoping to fund a 5 song EP, as well as release a couple songs through Homegrown Worship this year.  I'd love to get back to some live events, once we are allowed to!

Q: In serving God through the ministry of worship, what is it about this ministry that gives you the greatest joy?

One of my favorite things is when I'm on stage and I can hear everyone singing and worshiping.  I have to work hard not to let my emotions overtake me, because it is such a beautiful sound of unity and devotion.  Worship leaders really have a privileged point of view from where we are standing.

 

 

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