Canyon Worship

Current and prospective students are invited to take part in our celebration of Christ with the Grand Canyon University worship arts initiative. At the Center for Worship Arts, we affirm God’s grace and love through contemporary Christian music that honors our unwavering commitment to our faith.

Music has been a pathway of communion with God since time immemorial. At GCU, we are blessed to continue Christ’s mission through creative discipleship.

Our Mission

GCU’s Center for Worship Arts exists to educate and equip students in the discipline of worship arts, and to engage students in a life of discipleship in Jesus Christ in order that they might serve the church faithfully and imaginatively at home and abroad. We go beyond helping them as students or artists. Our goal is to equip and educate how to reverently praise and worship our Creator.

Our Vision

Within the Center for Worship Arts, we seek to form theological artists who are equipped for gospel ministry. By God’s grace and power, this ministry will facilitate the life-changing, sin-healing, bondage-breaking, world-changing Word of God through psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. We seek to be a thriving and growing community of creative followers of Jesus who transform the world as agents of reconciliation, justice and peace who embody the gospel in art, music and worship.

Canyon Worship

The Canyon Worship project is a co-curricular recording project that is carried out yearly by the Center for Worship Arts. The project entails the production and release of a full-length, original album of worship music created by students in the Grand Canyon University worship arts program. Recording occurs on campus in GCU's Recording Studio.

Under the guidance of experienced Christian worship music professionals and instructors, students write, rehearse, record and perform post-production work on each annual album in the Grand Canyon University Recording Studio. The collaboration among fellow students and professional musicians and producers is one that both educates and inspires. Listen to our students’ latest worship album and explore past releases by visiting our worship albums page.

Center for Worship Arts

The Center for Worship Arts represents a collaborative achievement for GCU that stems from a partnership between the College of Theology and the College of Arts and Media. The vision for this innovative center and its academic programs were a direct result of conversations with industry professionals, members of the faculty and seasoned worship ministers who worked together to launch the center in the fall of 2014.

The Center for Worship Arts entails the BA in Worship Arts program and the creative, Christ-centered culture that accompanies the program. The GCU worship arts ministries program includes courses and experiences in:

  • Theology
  • Music
  • Worship
  • Events connected to the academic program
  • Canyon Worship project

The university has provided incredible facilities to cultivate artistry and collaboration within the program, including the GCU Recording Studio and Songwriters’ Lounge.

Worship Arts Degree Programs at GCU

The Bachelor of Arts in Worship Arts degree is designed to prepare students for careers in contemporary worship ministry and the Christian music industry. Worship arts refers not only to worship leadership within local churches but, more broadly, to performance, visual media and production aspects of the contemporary Christian music industry. Students who graduate from this program will have been taught a strong foundation of biblical and theological knowledge and skills in worship leadership, musical performance and production. In addition to the program’s core courses, students choose one of two emphasis areas: Worship Ministry or Media and Production Ministry.

The Grand Canyon University worship arts degree programs comprise dynamic curricula, informed by industry and student learning outcomes, that blend theology, music and worship experiences. These programs also encourage hands-on learning activities. Our facilities support our student artists and enable them to flourish. These facilities include our GCU Recording Studio and Songwriters’ Lounge.

Grand Canyon University is an interdenominational Christian school that welcomes all who seek to love and know Christ. At the Center for Worship Arts, we serve the next generation of young Christian leaders who feel called to lead others as creative worship artists.