Acclaimed husband/wife singer/songwriters and worship leaders For The Fatherless return July 16 with Poetry, an autobiographical four-song set hallmarked by vulnerability and hope. Co-penned by the duo’s Brian and Christa Yak and brimming with vibrant pop production from Bryan Fowler (TobyMac, Gabby Barrett) and Austin Cannon, the EP celebrates God’s faithfulness in every season.
Thematically rooted in the title-cut—an ebullient groove inspired by Ephesians 2:10, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do”—Poetry chronicles both the tragedy and joy the duo has experienced in recent years.
Featuring the deeply personal “Never A Day,” a testament to His sustaining peace as the couple grieved a miscarriage and later celebrated the birth of their son, the EP also includes “Faithfully Mine,” a reminder that God will never stop calling His children back in love and forgiveness, and a remix of “Immeasurably More,” the signature worship anthem penned and first released by For The Fatherless in 2018.
“These songs are special because they were written and recorded in one of the hardest, most beautiful seasons of my life,” For The Fatherless’ Christa Yak explains. “Becoming a mom during a global pandemic was overwhelmingly isolating, and sometimes I wondered if I would ever get to sing again. Singing is different now and these songs are different because we are different now. This music marks a new season of singing.”
“Creating this new music is a reflection of the joy we’ve felt welcoming our first son into the world,” the duo’s Brian Yak echoes. “I hope when others hear these songs, they feel inspired to take a step of faith closer to Jesus. Whatever questions we’re wrestling with or struggles we’re facing belong at His feet, and it takes a lot of faith to bring them there. Hopefully these songs help inspire that kind of faith in all of us.”
“I hope Poetry can bring joy to others after this isolating and often depressing time so many of us have experienced,” Christa adds. “I also hope our songs remind others of these truths: when the world around and within me is unstable and uncertain, God is steady and unchanging; when I am struggling with anxiety and fear, God is constantly inviting me into His presence to be covered by the perfect Love that casts out fear; when I doubt myself, God says I am fearfully and wonderfully made and He has a purpose for my life and loves me with a faithful love.”
Offering hope for those without an earthly father is a foundational platform of Brian and Christa Yak’s ministry as For The Fatherless. Having experienced fatherlessness firsthand—Brian was abandoned as an infant by his biological father, while Christa lost her dad to cancer during her childhood—today they proclaim the wholeness and healing found in our ultimate Father, God. Bringing their journey full circle, the couple became parents to a son, Jonathan, last year.
Their eponymous 10-song debut, For The Fatherless, released in 2014, followed by 2019’s Worship Sessions live recording. The duo’s music has been featured on various Spotify playlists, and they have served as worship leaders at churches in New York and Tennessee. Currently, Brian and Christa Yak regularly lead worship at Fellowship Bible Church near Nashville, where Brian also serves as associate pastor of worship & arts.
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