Worship leader, singer and songwriter Ben Cantelon releases his debut full-length album, Running After You, on March 23 via Kingsway.

Writer of “Love Came Down”, “You Are” and co-writer of “Happy Day” with Tim Hughes, 26-year-old multi-instrumentalist Ben Cantelon recorded Running After You with producer Dwayne Larring (SONICFLOOd, Tim Hughes).

With Cantelon on vocals, acoustic guitars and keyboards, as well as a crew of other musicians that includes Michael Guy Chislet (Hillsong United) on electric guitars, the songs on the new album take the listener through a journey of celebration and praise alongside honest declarations of struggles commonly faced.

“They’re not all songs that will necessarily be sung in church,” says Cantelon, “but I think that we need to take risks and push boundaries and let God do the rest. We might have found a formula that works – a way of reaching the masses – but I’d love things to get messy, for people to have their preconceived ideas about what a worship song should be challenged.”

“Here are a collection of some of the most exciting worship songs I’ve heard for a long while,” says Tim Hughes of the songs on Running After You. “Musically inspired. Lyrically honest. There is rawness and passion in these songs that is both fresh and worshipful. Many of these have become ‘classics’ at our church.”

“Ben is one of the most gifted, authentic, worship songwriters of the emerging generation. I love his songs, and I love his heart,” adds Starfield’s Tim Neufeld.

Cantelon, a Canadian who was recently married and now resides in London, England, joined the Worship Central team, which was started by Tim Hughes and others from Holy Trinity Brompton in London. Like others on the team, Ben’s hunger for a more honest dialogue with God in worship is not just about personal preferences or musical tastes; it’s a question of life itself.

“I think in part it comes down to the fact that we can let church drift away from real life,” says Ben. “People are looking for something they can believe in, something they can grab on to, but at the same time they’re dealing with rapidly increasing pressures and responsibilities. Turning up at church when you can’t get a job only to be told week in and week out that God is Good – it can make things harder than they should be.”

Running After You draws the listener in that is desperate to follow and connect with God. From the longing in the title track to the Prodigal-themed song “Coming Back” to the fearful walls that hold us back in “Jericho”. Cantelon is captivated by a deeper journey that brings him closer to God.

“I think there are a great bunch of songs out there that resource the church and fire up congregations, and that’s great, but I wonder whether we might have missed some of the ways in which we can use worship to deepen our personal relationship with God?” questions Cantelon. “This is a real journey album – full of songs of total praise, lament, trial and hardship.”

Leading crowds of thousands in worship at conferences, festivals and numerous appearances on Soul Survivor’s live albums, Cantelon is also featured on Daylight Breaks Through, an EP released under Survivor’s Emerge label back in 2007. Raised in Vancouver, Canada, Cantelon was nurtured by generations of Christians who have known how to put their faith into action. His father, Brent, is pastor of Christian life Assembly (Vancouver), a position he took over from his own father, Don Cantelon, who was the first television evangelist in Canada.