Decades after first making their mark in Christian music, the members of Newsboys are still going strong with their new release “Worldwide Revival Pt. 1.” Featuring the songs “Heaven on Earth,” “He Lives,” and “In God We Trust,” the project showcases the bold lyrics and rock melodies the band, comprised of Michael Tait, Duncan Phillips, Jeff Frankenstein, Jody Davis, and Adam Agee, is known for. Frankenstein, keyboardist and music director, shared insights on the album and the band’s journey.

“This one is really good, and it’s the first of two volumes,” said Frankenstein. “The second part still has a little bit to go. But, you know, with the way the music industry is now, I think people like a bit more of a steady stream of music instead of just one thing every two years.”

Frankenstein, who joined the band 30 years ago, said that instead of resting on their laurels, the band realized the need to constantly improve to remain relevant and accessible.

“For us, putting out a new record is like reapplying for your job every couple of years,” he said, adding that the group wrote “probably 40 to 50” total songs. “The quality control that we put on ourselves was very high, and sometimes that can cause a lot of stress within the group. But this is the fun part—after all that hard work is done, getting people’s reactions, doing promo stops, and playing new music on the road.”

Speaking about the songs that didn’t make the cut, Frankenstein jokingly made a link between the unpopular entries and the mental health of musicians.

“If you ever wonder why artists are so can be so emotionally weird, it’s because, like most of the songwriters, life is failure,” he joked. “You might write 100 songs and have one that gets recorded or one that sneaks through. The audience sees the successful ones, but they don’t see all the other ones that didn’t make it.”

With the song “In God We Trust,” Newsboys once again provides a tie-in to the popular film series, “God’s Not Dead,” appearing in the new entry releasing in September.

“They asked if we would be more involved with this one, and we put our very substandard acting chops out there, but it was fun to film.”

Regarding the title of the project, “Worldwide Revival,” Frankenstein explained the vision. “As a band who travels a lot like we do—we’ve been to 48 countries over the last 30 years of touring—you feel like you get a feel for the pulse of where our culture is. After the pandemic and with our culture in general, it’s not hard to see that things are not headed in a great direction. People are really hungry for truth, and they don’t feel free. As Christians, the Bible says that the truth will set them free. The album can be summed up as a humble prayer to God, asking Him to intervene. The whole album touches on themes of asking God to turn the ship around.”

Frankenstein was only 19 when he joined the popular Christian group in a whirlwind, surprising turn of events. The Michigan native was a “runner,” driving the band from their Detroit concert to the hotel for his friend who was the concert promoter. Little did he know, his friend was conspiring with the band to draft him into the group.

“Three months later, I got a phone call from Peter (Furler), the lead singer at the time, asking if I’d be willing to join,” he remembered. “I studied all the music, drove to a show in Holland, Michigan, and the band put me on stage during soundcheck to listen to me play. The manager asked if I would play for the show that night, so I did. Two days later, I dropped out of college, packed up my car, and moved to Nashville. Within that first year, in 1994, we did 280 shows and went overseas. I thought, ‘This is crazy, but this is not going to last.’ Here we are, three decades later.”

Despite the longevity and success, Frankenstein cherishes the personal memories the most. “The memories for me that I will always cherish are the personal ones. The ones where people come up to you on the road and tell you how your music touched their lives. At some of these meet-and-greets, every single person that comes through has a story. Those are the things that make you feel like it’s all worth it.”

“Worldwide Revival Pt. 1” is now available in stores and digital outlets. The lead single of the project was released in March, along with a music video co-directed by Frankenstein.