At the heart of Nashville Christian Songwriters lies a growing creative force: the NCS Collective. Born from a desire to bring songs to life in community, the collective unites a diverse network of worship leaders, songwriters, and artists from around the world. Spearheaded by founder John Chisum, the initiative transforms retreat-born ideas into powerful, live-recorded worship moments-bridging generations, styles, and voices. Through releases like Nothing But The Name and collaborations featuring artists such as Clark Beckham and Dara Maclean, the NCS Collective is carving out a unique space in today's worship landscape-one defined not by a single sound, but by shared faith, creative freedom, and a unified mission to point the Church to Jesus
Q: NCS Collective brings together songwriters and worship leaders from diverse backgrounds and nations-how would you describe the heart and vision behind the collective, and what makes this collaboration unique within today's worship music landscape?
The NCS Collective was created by and for songwriters. After 10 years of growing Nashville Christian Songwriters as a global entity to empower Christian writers, we found ourselves with numerous songs we didn't really have a place for. Some of these were written for a specific purpose and some were just great songs that didn't necessarily have an artist to carry them.
After releasing a couple of studio projects, the president and founder of NCS, John Chisum, had a vision of bringing worship leaders and songwriters together to do a live recording where we could bring some of these songs to life all together in the same room. We gathered some of our coaches and NCS songwriters to record and capture the songs and that became the live album Nothing But The Name.
Q: "Can You See It" carries a powerful message of recognizing God's faithfulness even in uncertain seasons. What inspired the spiritual theme of this song, and how did the writing process unfold during the NCS writers retreat?
"Can You See It' came from a single line that was written at our retreat. Dara Maclean was leading a cowriting session, and they just started vamping on this idea: "Can you see it, can you see it, can you see it, He's in everything" and it was so catchy! When they played it that night at the song share the whole crowd joined in and it really was a special moment, so we knew there was something to that idea.
After the retreat, the writers got back together via Zoom and finished out the lyric to be produced and recorded live with the other songs. Then, what happened in the room during the recording confirmed exactly what we felt at the song share that night-the full band and all the singers really took it to the next level, and it became a special moment on the album!
Q: Dara Maclean's vocal performance adds deep emotional depth to the track. How did her involvement influence the sound, atmosphere, and worship expression of the song?
Dara is an amazing vocalist, worship leader, songwriter, and performer. Anything she sings is just incredibly well done and intentional. It was an easy choice to have her lead this song and champion it all the way from the writing room to release day and beyond. She blends pop sensibilities with gospel vocal chops and that combination creates the belief and emotion that drives this song.
Q: The NCS writers retreats emphasize mentorship and creative formation. Why is community such an essential part of developing emerging Christian songwriters and worship leaders today?
We often talk about a condition that we have aptly named LSS, or Lonely Songwriter Syndrome. We believe that everyone was made to be in community with other people-we desire it, we crave it, we need it to thrive in this world and dig deeper into our faith as Christians. When we get together with other like-minded writers and creatives to chase an idea, it's nothing short of supernatural. We are constantly blown away by the songs that come out of our retreats and from our NCS Community members.
Q: Following releases like "Your Kingdom" and "Mystery," how does "Can You See It" reflect the evolving musical and ministry vision of NCS Collective in this new season?
NCS Collective will always be eclectic and unique because it's made up of different writers from different backgrounds, styles, genres, and callings. The idea is to showcase the beauty that is the Body of Christ, and it doesn't really look or sound one certain way. We will continue to record and feature songs that we believe the world needs to hear, songs that will build up the Church.
Q: With a full-length live worship project arriving later this spring, what can listeners and worship teams expect from the upcoming NCS Collective release, and what impact do you hope these songs will have in churches around the world?
We want to write songs that point people to Jesus. It's that simple. NCS Collective is a space where ideas can come to life that might not have a direct path to being heard but still deserve to be shared with the world. We also have a "core group" of worship leaders and songwriters who are going to be writing more intentionally toward future releases, so we'll see how that unfolds!
For further information, visit nashvillechristiansongwriters.com or turningpointpr.com. Follow NCS Collective on Instagram.
