Sara Groves explores in her music what she has learned over the past two years: defiant hope in the face of insurmountable odds.

Community: Kamonyi, Rwanda >

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Who We Are

Sara Groves explores in her music what she has learned over the past two years: defiant hope in the face of insurmountable odds. “I believe God invites us to add to the beauty of his plan, letting us participate in his redemptive work. I had groomed my personal faith, but to what end?” Her answers came in a series of global experiences, from the flood-ravaged gulf of Louisiana to the genocide memorials of Rwanda to the testimonies of sex trade survivors. “One of the main inspirations behind this album is a girl named Elisabeth,” Sara says. “I knew about human trafficking and modern day slavery at some sort of global level, but I didn’t truly understand the personal stories behind what was happening until I met Elisabeth.” Elisabeth had just finished grade 10 in South East Asia and went to work in a neighbouring community to save money for Bible college. Tragically, she was betrayed by a traveling companion and sold to a brothel owner. Days later, she was in a foreign country, unable to speak the language and forced into prostitution. Sara relates her story: “Elizabeth prayed every night for God to rescue her. After eight months, an International Justice Mission operative was able to secure her freedom. While retrieving her belongings, they saw Psalm 27 written on the wall above her mattress in her tiny room: ‘The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid?’” “The phrase ‘social justice’ can be loaded,” Sara explains. “To some people it is a political or a liberal conversation, but to me, it is a Kingdom conversation. There are people behind these stories and statistics, and God’s heart for justice burns on their behalf. There is a commonality in all of these friends, and that is the perseverance of hope.” Sara’s interactions with International Justice Mission, as well as recent trips to Rwanda and New Orleans, re-ignited Sara’s life-long Christian faith in a whole new way. Her songs detail hardship and injustice while defiantly and exuberantly celebrating hope. “Much of what I had done before along the lines of service was guilt induced. When I would hear a horrific story, I would want to write a check and be done with it. But if I understand scripture at all, I have to know that to enter into the suffering of the poor and the oppressed is to know Christ and his suffering.”