Foundry Songs Volume 2 – By the Light Here is another installment of Foundry Songs. These are the songs that we received that actually began to touch and change our lives. Some of them came to us during the spontaneous combustion of Friday night worship. We knew that they were gifts from God. They came to us at a time when worship wasn’t cool or popular, yet they cut to our hearts and became anthems of inspiration. We hope these will also bless and inspire you to go to new heights in the Lord as they have us! The History of The Foundry: 15 Years – Countless Lives What is the Foundry? The Foundry is an historic brick building located less than five minutes from downtown Nashville, TN. It was actually the original foundry where metal parts were made for Marathon Motorcars factory (of 1912), which now houses an arts community situated just down the street from The Foundry. So what makes The Foundry so special? Aesthetically, it is a very cool, artsy, earthy building that was renovated into a coffeehouse/music venue. But what really makes this facility so remarkable is that God has been working in this old foundry since 1993, forging and refining His people into useful pieces for His Kingdom. This unlikely place has tons of history... His Story is in it! The journey all started out of a men's Thursday night prayer meeting, made up of mostly musicians with a few business guys mixed in. They gathered in an upper room with no furniture… just Bibles, candles, guitars and hand drums. These young “twenty somethings” were searching for what God had in store for their lives, and in this intimate and honest setting they became stirred and challenged by the revolutionary words of Jesus. As they stretched to follow His words they found that they were beginning to escape from their mostly self-serving life styles to venture into a life that included the poor. One night they decided to take Jesus at His word and go and try to “minister to the least of these.” (See Matt. 25:31-46) So they grabbed their guitars and bongos, some food and a van to pick up some homeless folks. With hot dogs, beans and coffee they served about a dozen lonely men. Then they all worshipped the Lord together. Something mysterious and eternal happened that night, something that has never stopped. After experiencing this one obscure outreach on the “wrong side” of town, a vision was birthed: to serve the poor and the lost with the specific purpose of “giving to those who cannot repay.” (See Luke 14:12-14) But the vision that was evolving and burning in these young men was twofold… the vision also included redeeming music and the arts and using these gifts for God's glory. The young men began to see that God desired to use the combination of these two elements “creativity and compassion” for the salvation and sanctification of men and for ushering in the last day Harvest. As downtown outreaches increased and expanded from the streets to nursing homes to prisons to tackling Nashville’s inner city, the vision developed into a non-profit ministry called Provision – it was simply about “meeting needs.” The Foundry became the home base for Provision International. The Foundry opened as a coffeehouse where artists sang their songs, and at 10PM every Friday night an all-night worship vigil would begin. These days and experiences were beyond description. God ambushed many people in this intimate and unusual setting. During these Friday nights a type of “musical prayer” began to evolve which was an intensely individual and yet corporate experience. The result of these divine encounters was that an extraordinary wave of compassion washed over multitudes of the poor and the lost, starting with Nashville’s inner city and then into the nations! Although in the early years of the Foundry we experienced the Kingdom of Heaven touching earth, there is another wave coming... the big one is still coming! As this creative community gave themselves to serving the poor, the Lord began to give them songs... many songs. These simple songs became somewhat of an underground movement, but they have been waiting and fermenting for such a time is this. These songs, known simply as The Foundry Songs, have touched our hearts and changed our lives. They have been fuel to our fire. We hope they touch you as they have us. It is a joy to share them with you! Testimonies - Foundry Songs Volume 2: By the Light “This CD brought me peace in a world that never rests. My favorite part of this CD is that I can sit and listen and play along with my guitar. I always find myself wanting to play along with other CDs but it’s too hard. This one allows me to join in the worship.” --Jay, Canada “Foundry Songs Volume 2 takes you away into the Light! Full of user-friendly songs that can be sung and used anywhere. Don't hesitate, get them, sing them. You will love it!” --Zoe, California