Hope Darst
Hope Darst is a singer, songwriter, and worship leader who desires to see people encounter the love of Jesus while being restored and set free in His presence. Whether through sincere, artful expression or congregational praise music, Hope’s goal is always the same – to worship God in everything.
While known for her powerhouse vocals, her ability to lead worship with authority and conviction is what marks Hope the most as a worship artist. Her passion drives her to write candidly about every aspect of her faith, from struggles to victories, mountaintops to valleys.
Following the signing of her first record deal in 2019 at the age of 39, Hope debuted her album Peace Be Still in 2020. The album included the chart-topping singles “Peace Be Still” and “Promise Keeper,” while also garnering her 3 GMA Dove Nominations in 2021. These included Worship Recorded Song of the Year, Inspirational Recorded Song of the Year, and New Artist of the Year.
“I wrote my first album, Peace Be Still over the span of five years and it was one of the most rewarding times creatively for me and we made music that I am incredibly proud of,” she says. “This time around, it was a wildly different experience, one that stretched me and pulled new things out of me. I had to dig deep for these songs and in the end, I am so glad that I did because I am equally proud of this project and excited to share it with everyone.”
In December 2021, Hope gathered some of her closest friends together for a songwriter retreat for the new project. “For more than a year, I kept showing up day after day expecting that new songs would just come easy and fast, but they didn’t. I had to dig really deep and for a long time for new songs. And at the end of 2021, I was ready to quit trying, but I felt God ask me to gather a few of my favorite friends and collaborators and give it one more shot.”
The songwriting retreat indeed proved fruitful with four of the songs making their way onto this latest project, including Hope’s most recent single which bears the EP title, “If the Lord Builds the House.” The first song boldly declares Joshua 24:15 with the lyrics, “As for me and my house we’re gonna serve you Lord / So here’s the keys / Come on in / Everything we have is yours.” Hope says, “This single felt like the right song to start with. It was a new song that circled back both sonically and lyrically to styles of music that have always influenced me but maintained the goal of writing songs that are rooted in God’s word.”
Hope currently lives in Nashville, TN with her husband, David, and their two daughters. She is a Fair-Trade Services recording artist and serves as a worship leader at The B
