Citizens

Citizens found quick endearment in the hearts and ears of people worldwide with their energetic alternative hymn arrangements. As their friendship grew, so did their storytelling. Original songs sung out of overflowing wells of joy and dark depths of pain began to surface and the full force of Citizens began to really take shape. 

Citizens has never just been any one thing. Over the years they have received a welcomed embrace in a variety of genres primarily attributed to their commitment to honesty. While every song has not always found itself in the spaces of corporate church singing, Citizens (now Citizens & Saints) has stayed true to telling the stories of God’s grace in their life. It’s always been about writing for more then just the Christian’s but for the world to hear and know that they are loved no matter what.

Zach Bolen never saw himself working in ministry. Not only was he nowhere near envisioning himself on staff at a mega-church, he never imagined himself as a worship leader. 

Hailing from the Northeast, Bolen moved to Georgia to attend the Savannah College of Art and Design. He began volunteering at a church nearby, and after graduating, accepted a full time position as the student ministries worship leader. Rounding up students to play and urging them to actively worship, Bolen felt his heart for ministry completely shift.

It was there that he started to develop the sound you’ll love as much as we do. Bolen began to cultivate passionate ideas about what worship could look like; noticing how musicians engaged and motivated their fans, Bolen was inspired to do the same. Instead of pursuing the crowd for his own sake, however, Bolen wanted to engage people through music for the glorification of God. Enter Citizens. 

Bolen began working at the Mars Hill U-district campus. He started reconstructing the worship teams that played there, and in the process built a band of his own. Together with Nate Garvey, Adam Skatula, Nathan Furtado, and Tom McConnell, Citizens was created. Born out of Ephesians 2:19, the name Citizens brings to mind every Christian’s allegiance to God. 

Bolen notes, “He made us citizens, and in that He has chosen to abide in us. In song, we’re all lead by the same spirit. We’re singing as one body, one family; we’re all conjoined together by Christ.”