We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Adura. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Adura below.

Adura, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I was reared in church from birth and exposed to music through ministry at a very young age. I joined the children’s choir when I was 10 and it was then I realized I had some sense of vocal ability to offer. I loved singing in the children’s choir and one day mustered up enough nerve to try out for a solo. It was then my creative gene was sparked! As I got older, I started dabbling in writing music and picked up the acoustic guitar. Over the years I became an intricate part of the church worship team and a lead vocalist. However, when I was alone I wrote and sang music God would fill my heart with and developed a very intimate relationship with worship music. It became very dear to me and lyrics, melodies and rhythms would flow through my heart. Throughout the years opportunities presented themselves in various ways; singing competitions, writing contests, etc., and I pursued without hesitation. This just proved that singing, writing and music creativity was still a flame that burned deep inside. It was Jan 2022, 4 years after my husband and I, along with fellow Pastors and leaders, planted a new church in the city of Houston, where I was positioned as the Sr. Worship Team Leader with responsibility to establish and grow a worship team. It was then I knew it was time to go after my ministry as a Christian artist and creative full-time and professionally. I had nothing to lose. I very clearly heard the call of God to perfect and develop all of my gifts and abilities and grow and establish myself as a Christian worship leader and artist. It was time to gather all of my experiences from childhood to adulthood, refine them, build and establish the praise & worship team at church and bring my contribution of Christian music to the “church” at large. It was time for me to become what God purposed for me and I felt His lead. This journey has been exciting and scary at the same time. It can be a bit scary not knowing what God is doing, but it is so exciting and comforting to know He is walking with me through every step. Today I am excited to say I am preparing to release my first music project in 2023! I am committed to the journey and looking forward to witnessing God’s glory revealed in my life.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers?

Sure. My artist name is Adura. I chose that name because it means prayer and is a constant reminder of my daily relationship goals with Christ. I am a Louisiana native, married with one son. As I mentioned, I started serving the church in worship since I was a child. After years of serving and committing to the praise & worship team, I was tasked with growing and establishing a praise and worship team with Life Change Church and it was then my journey of an artist began. I have always been the type to be the best at whatever I do and when I was singing, training singers, listening to music, praying, leading worship services and ministering in song, it definitely made me ask myself, “should I be doing more to contribute?”
As a Worship Leader and long-time creative I have worked diligently to continue growing a network with other Christian creatives. It’s been a slow and steady build, but since committing to my ministry as a Christian artist and creative 4 years ago, I have connected with some great creatives all over the world! So many have helped me get to the best places to launch my artistry vision! One piece of advice, never underestimate the power of social media and networking! As I continue to grow, I am dedicated to writing heartfelt and impactful Christian music that will evoke a deeper relationship with God. I also hold a special place in my heart to serve people who do not have easy access to church and worship experiences. I plan to do this by visiting senior living facilities, prisons, nursing homes, orphanages, human trafficking recovery homes and many other non-profit organizations and creating environments for praise & worship experiences. As I look back over my life, I am proud to say that I have embraced who I am in God and have surrender my entire life to the call He has on my life. I am looking forward to new followers and fans experiencing only Jesus. All of His hope, love, peace, inspiration and motivation trusting they will find something they can hold on to give the boost they need to continue their own journey in God.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Well, Covid-19 was a huge pivot! As a worship leader and entrepreneur I had to learn how to be flexible and do it rather quickly. As a worship leader we were unable to bring our team and musicians together, so I (like many churches) had no other choice but to learn how to use worship tracks. I had never used worship tracks before so I had a steep learning curve. I educated myself day and night so that I could be prepared each week to serve God’s sheep. God is so faithful! He opened up my understanding, gave me wisdom and patience with myself to learn so many new things. I look back and those times now and see how they were so important to my development as a Christian artist. Not only was I positioned to learn new ways to execute worship service, I also developed a more personal relationship with Jesus. I learned to depend on Him more than I ever had before. It was these moments that made some of my hardest times my best times.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I found social media to be a great place to meet and connect with other creatives and business owners. I was able to connect with some really successful professionals who have already been through some of my initial struggles and offered me some great advice. Building a social media presence was not an easy task for me as I am a mother, wife, worship leader, pastor and entrepreneur. With my life demands coupled with the consistent presence of content social media takes, I was definitely in for a challenge. I would say to anyone working on their presence to engage a marketing professional if you can. That really helped me along the way. Otherwise, stay consistent with your posting and connecting. Also, visit in person some of the events and people you see on social media. Visiting different worship conferences, churches, recording sessions, etc. helped me to have a realistic view of what social media can sometimes inflate or skew. These in person experiences helped me to stay sober and consistent as I was not overwhelmed with what things appeared to be, instead I was very clear with what actually happened in that photo.

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.aduraworship.org
• Instagram: @aduraworship
• Facebook: @aduraworship.official
• Twitter: @aduraworship