The album draws from Matthews’ musical background, and is a joyful expression of worship that blends R&B, soul, pop and even a little country, all written by Matthews and the Bethel Music team.  

“William’s music is refreshing and joyful. It is filled with grace, wonderfully revealing the pleasure of the Lord,” says Bill Johnson, Senior Leader of Bethel Church, author of When Heaven Invades Earth, as Shawn Bolz, Director/Pastor of Expression58, author of Keys to Heaven’s Economy, reveals that “William Matthews is my pick for favorite new sound of 2011. He is breaking out of the traditional music and worship scene we are used to…”

“His songs evoke high praises and powerful, unified corporate worship!” adds Suzy Wills Yaraei, MorningStar Worship Leader, founder of Holy Spirit Adventures, while Bob Hartley, author of Hope Journey, founder of Deeper Waters Ministry in Kansas City, MO, exclaims, “In this day, God is releasing a fresh revelation of Hope across the nations of the earth. William has heard the sound and has written a song called ‘Hope’s Anthem.’ Not only is this one of my favorite songs, but I believe it is one of the most important songs of this generation!”

“I can still remember the very first time I heard him sing at the International House of Prayer,” recalls Julie Meyer, Worship Leader at The International House Of Prayer in Kansas City. “I literally had to look around the stage to find out who was singing. William sings with passion. He sings with skill and his songs literally break open faith in a room. He sings the ‘not yet’ into the ‘now.’ William is a worshiper that lays hold of the kingdom of God and brings the whole room with him.”

Born and raised in the heart of Detroit, MI, Matthews’ mother directed the church choir and he was constantly surrounded by soul singers and talented vocalists. When he was twelve, his parents accepted a ministry opportunity and moved to Raleigh, NC to pastor a church. During those years, he started writing songs and, in 2007, he moved to be a part of the International House of Prayer in Kansas City, MO, leading worship alongside Justin Rizzo, Misty Edwards, Cory Asbury, Julie Meyer, Matt Gilman, and others. During this time, he was part of worship teams leading for The Call and wrote several songs on various albums and compilations for Forerunner Music, a division of the International House of Prayer, before meeting Brian and Jenn Johnson and joining the leadership team at Bethel Church in Redding, Calif., where he currently resides.

In addition to leading worship at Bethel Church services, Matthews’ current tour itinerary includes:

June 15 - July 8, 2011, Redding, CA, Bethel Church,
- Bethel School of Worship with Brian & Jenn Johnson, Jeremy Riddle, Ray Hughes, etc

July 21-23, 2011, San Francisco, CA, Collide Youth Conference

July 26-28, 2011, Redding, CA, Bethel Church
- Revival Lifestyle with Kris Vallotton, Chris Overstreet, Kevin Dedmon, Joaquin Evans, etc.
 
Aug. 13-14, 2011, Folsom, CA, Lakeside Church with Gabe Wilson

Sept. 18-25, 2011, Brisbane, Sydney, and Perth, Australia
- Bethel Music Australia Tour with Brian and Jenn Johnson and Jeremy Riddle, etc.

The full Hope’s Anthem CD track listing follows:

1) I'm Free
2) I Just Want You More
3) We Believe
4) This One Thing
5) So Good To Me    
6) My Great Reward
7) Hope's Anthem
8) The Lord Is My Shepherd
9) Deep Cries Out
10) Bridge Over Troubled Waters

More information on William Matthews can be found at www.bethelmusic.com/artist/william-matthews, www.kingswayworship.com.

About Bethel Music:
Bethel Music, formed as an organic extension of Bethel Church, represents the worship of the church, which leads a rapidly growing “Global Legacy” association of nearly 2,000 churches around the world. The heart of Bethel Music is to be a steward of the worship being created and released at Bethel church, making it a resource available to the world. In addition to the thousands of people that attend Bethel Church’s weekly worship service, another 50,000-plus people tune in each week via the internet to stream portions of the service at www.ibethel.org. More about Bethel Music and Be Lifted High can be found at http://bethelmusic.com.

About Kingsway:
Tracing its music heritage to 1969, Kingsway today is known as a leader in Worship Music. As the creator of Thank You Music, and later in partnership with EMI, its catalogue includes songs such as “Here I Am to Worship,” “In Christ Alone,” “Everlasting God” and “Blessed Be Your Name” to name a few.

Kingsway’s songs are sung in more than 300,000 churches worldwide accounting for over 30% of CCLI’s (Church Copyright Licensing International) bestseller list. With writers and artists like Tim Hughes, Matt Redman, Delirious?, Graham Kendrick and Stuart Townend, Kingsway is dedicated to feeding the Church with songs that will change the world. As the music arm of David C Cook, a nonprofit organization located in Colorado Springs, CO, a significant portion of the profits that Kingsway and David C Cook generate are used to provide discipleship and music materials free of charge to church leaders in developing parts of the world who wouldn’t be able to get them any other way.