Worship Rebels is the worship ministry of husband and wife duo, Alex and Brandi Castillo, based near Savannah, GA.   Alex and Brandi have led worship together at their local church and evangelistically on the road since they were married in 1999.  They have two boys and have always done ministry as a family.   In 2016, God opened up a whole new path of ministry and life to them when He supernaturally  woke up Alex’s indigenous identity (Arawak Taino) within him and simultaneously opened doors for their family to begin to minister in First Nations (Native American) circles.  Since then, YAH has brought them into close relationship with indigenous and non-indigenous leaders alike across Turtle Island (North America) and bound their hearts to the mission of releasing the ancient sound of healing and redemption to EVERY nation, tribe and tongue.  They travel as the wind of the Spirit blows to lead worship and minister at gatherings across the nations, and when they are home, they stay engaged locally leading worship at their home church, other churches and outreaches, rehab centers and various community events.  

“Our heart is to release His redemptive sound wherever we go, however He uniquely leads and allows in each place.  We may be in a church or in a teepee - on a reservation or at a music festival - at a family ceremony or at a national prayer gathering - at a powwow, around a sacred fire or in a shady spot among the pine trees.    The gathering may be large, or it may be small and intimate.   It doesn’t matter.  Our intention doesn’t change based on any of that.  We simply purpose to listen, follow and obey our Papa (ABBA) in every moment by being true to who He has created us to be and to the sound He has given us to release.  No more.  No less.  It’s not about us, our song, a certain tone of music or a specific message – it’s ALL about Creator YHWH, His son Yeshua and His Holy Spirit Ruach Hakodesh.  It's about the song, the frequency, the message and sound flowing from His heart in the kairos moment and place we find ourselves in.   It's about bringing a humble and pure song-offering before Creator that honors Him and opens up more space on earth for the kingdom and will of heaven to rush in like a mighty wind and cause His sons and daughters to come alive to who He has created us to be, so that we may release the ancient sound of His glorious freedom that all creation has been eagerly waiting to hear."

~Alex and Brandi 

STORY OF OUR NAME

The name Worship Rebels came to us early on and unexpectedly in our new season of ministry in 2017.  During one of our first family mission trips to the northern Cree Nation (reservation) of Mistissini in Quebec, Canada, we found ourselves sitting around a kitchen table with friends in the home of Warrior Chief Kenny Blacksmith, where we were staying, discussing God and all the radical things He had been doing in our lives at the time.  As a part of that conversation, Alex pulled out A.W. Tozer’s book entitled “Worship and Entertainment” and began to read us an excerpt that said:

“Why did Christ come? Why was he conceived? Why was he born? Why was he crucified? Why did he rise again? Why is he now at the right hand of the Father? The answer to all these questions is, ‘in order that he might make worshipers out of rebels; in order that he might restore us again to the place of worship we knew when we were first created.’”—A.W. Tozer

That quote immediately resonated on the inside of us as Holy Spirit opened our eyes to see it in the context of our own radical redemption shifts from rebels to worshipers.  That was us!  We were  “Worship Rebels" - once rebellious to God doing our own thing, going our own way, even worshiping our own way, but then Christ came and loosed us to live for Him in this untamed and unconventional way that our spirits knew from when He first created us.  No longer could the world or the enemy of our souls call the shots concerning our worship.  No longer could the rules and regulations of man’s religious habits control, define or suppress our most authentic expressions of worship. 

Moreover, we saw in that moment that not only was this unconventional path ours to walk, but it was ours to share.  Creator had called us to go forth with this new song of freedom on our lips that would help others break out of the conventional definitions of worship that have been imposed upon them by the world and religious systems, holding them back from stepping into the fullness of their own gifts and callings - robbing them of their identity in Creator.  So, after that moment, whenever anyone asked us what our group name was, we just started saying “Worship Rebels" and, turns out, people really loved it and got it, because it resonated with them too.  They could see the radical redemptive shift in their own lives, and they could feel Him drawing them into greater spaces of freedom, faith and trust - outside the boxes, beyond the edges - where they have HIS permission to BE who HE created them to be and do what HE is calling them to do.