Hope Darst is a Fair Trade Services recording artist, songwriter, and worship leader at The Belonging Company 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.

Following the signing of her first record deal in 2019 at the age of 39, Hope debuted her album Peace Be Still in 2020. In 2021, Darst garnered three nominations at the 52nd GMA Dove Awards, being nominated for New Artist of the Year, Inspirational Recorded Song of the Year for “Promise Keeper”, and Worship Recorded Song of the Year for “Peace Be Still”.

In 2022, Hope released her newest project: a seven-song EP titled If the Lord Builds the House. It includes all new songs written both by Hope and her longtime collaborators (Jonathan Smith, Mia Fieldes, Andrew Holt, Ethan Hulse, Jason Ingram, Sarah Reeves, and Casey Brown), while also including new additions such as David Leonard, Austin Davis, Jon Reddick, and Reuben Morgan.

While this new EP may have come together with new collaborators and sounds, the project still rings true of Hope’s signature heartfelt lyrics and powerful vocals that deliver worship songs for both the church to sing and believers to declare.

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.”