The Soil and The Seed Project, an arts ministry of Virginia Mennonite Missions, has released its musical collection for the 2024 Lent-Easter-Pentecost season. The 12 songs follow scripture and themes in the Revised Common Lectionary and come with a booklet of Little Liturgies that can be used in family or small-group settings.

Begun in 2021, The Soil and The Seed Project seeks to nurture faith formation through art and music.

Seth Crissman, project director, said the project grew out of his work with kids clubs and a desire to present scripture in an engaging way. His love of music also played a role.

Crissman is a member of The Walking Roots Band, a folk band based in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. Many of the band’s members collaborate with other musicians for The Soil and The Seed Project, although the band and the project are officially separate.

The Soil and The Seed Project releases three collections of music over the course of the church year: Advent-Christmas-Epiphany, Lent-Easter-Pentecost, and Ordinary Time. Crissman said the project must work three to five months ahead.

“We start early with a team of people who work on different pieces of the project,” he said.

There is a director of operations and an artistic director, as well as writers and musicians.

Crissman said 800 households or churches signed up to receive the project’s first Advent musical release in 2021. The project produced 3,000 physical copies for Advent 2023, and most are gone. Physical copies for Lent 2024 are also going fast. The music goes to churches, Christian schools, households, colleges, camps, even airport chaplains — and has been shipped to 35 states and streamed or downloaded in over 100 countries.

Art is powerful, Crissman said. “I care a lot about how our faith is lived out. I can’t help but be excited about art and music in that . . . pedagogical sense . . . in the shaping of individuals and communities as they turn toward Jesus and believe the good news.”

The Soil and The Seed Project is supported by a grant from the Lilly Endowment Inc. as well as many churches and individuals who partner with the project. The music is free to anyone who would like it. Sign up to receive a physical CD or a download at thesoilandtheseedproject.org.