An Interview with Singer Maddie Rey
Hello Tirzah ladies! I recently had the priviledge of interviewing Christian recording artist/youth pastor - Maddie Rey. She's a 19 year old lady from Waukegan, Illinois who has a passion for Jesus and ministry. Check out her website maddierey.com to learn even more about her.
First, tell us a bit about yourself!
Let’s see, here’s some fun facts about me:
- I love CAKE (Seriously, if you invite me to your birthday party I am going for one reason and one reason only. And that’s CAKE lol!)
- I love shopping! I am a total fashion guru. You will never find me leaving the mall empty-handed. Also, I’m really into online shopping right now. Because now I don’t even have to leave my house to get my shop on!
- I love Church! I’m a pastor’s kid and I’ve grown up in the church my whole life. Even though I’ve seen the good, the bad, and the ugly of the church, I still absolutely love it. I call it “the most perfect, imperfect place to be”.
How did you find your voice in singing?
Well, I’m actually not the one that found it. My dad did. I was always very theatrical and creative growing up, from dancing, to dressing up, to performing, to acting, to rapping, and then eventually to singing. It was my dad that was really the one that pointed out my gifts. And helped me cultivate 
them. Before I started doing music I had my own kids TV show. Through this show I would teach kids about Jesus through puppets, crafts, cartoon characters, and eventually song. I was about 12 when we started the show. As I got older my voice started to develop. But, before I started performing as a solo artis,t I was in a Christian rap group of four girls that my dad put together. So that’s when I started rapping, singing, dancing, and performing as an artist. Then I got a little older and started writing my own music. From there, I became a solo Christian recording/performing artist with a music style of pop and hip hop.
Tell us more about your current music projects you’re working on!
This past summer I released a single called “Cruizin” which is accompanied with a music video. I am about to release another single called “Fire” accompanied by a music video. Also. I am in the process of making a full length album that will release in the spring of 2018. I’m so excited for this new project and can’t wait to share with everyone!
What is your favorite passage/verse/story from the Bible?
My favorite verse in the Bible is:
One thing I desire, this only do I seek, is to DWELL in the house of the Lord all the days of my life… Psalms 27:4
This is the verse I base my life and ministry off of. It’s the base of my Dwell message.
What does a set-apart young woman look like to you?
A set-apart young woman looks like Romans 12:2, “ Do not conform to the pattern of this world…” and 2 Corinthians 6:17 “Come out from among them and be ye separate”. A young woman that is set-apart has decided to go against the pattern of the world. Or as we would say today the”trends” of this world. I remember being very set-apart when I was in high school because of my stance to not date in high school. It’s not that dating is bad but, my parents set a standard that I was not allowed to date in high school. Instead of being a young person that bucked against my parents and spoke against their standards, I added my agreement to it. Seeing all of my friends date and having boys come up to me, it would have been easy to just conform to what everyone else was doing but I held to my standards.
The way God honored me in that is he sent other young people to me that said they were encouraged by my stance and respected my decisions and life of not compromising. As young women we don’t have to fall for things of this world. Dress as a modest young woman of God. See yourself with value and worth knowing you are a daughter of God. Don’t compromise just so you “fit in”. Be you - the young woman God created you to be!
What is your number one tip for girls who want to grow their God-given talents?
The gifts that God has given you are to be used to glorify Him. So as you develop your gifts you must keep Him as the focal point . And know that if He is the one that gave them to you. Then you need to keep Him in loop of what you’re doing. One of the saddest things I see all the time is young people that have these amazing gifts, but they sell out to the world and their gift becomes misused. So I say to all you girls, DON”T SELL OUT! The more your gifts grow, the more they will stand out to others. Standout, but don’t sell out.
In one of your songs, you sing about how you grew up knowing God and you never want to leave Him. What are your tips for girls who have grown up in the church on continuing to follow God?
You know there’s this trend that kind of floats around with church kids that if you’ve stayed in the church and haven’t really experience the world, then you don’t have a testimony. That is the biggest lie from satan himself! When I was younger and my dad heard this trend going around, he sat me down one day. He said “Maddie, let me tell you what the greatest testimony is…”. He told me that the greatest testimony is when a young person grows up in church, stays in the church and never leaves. Going on to live their life for the Lord all the days of their life using their gifts and talents to glorify God.
That’s why Psalms 27:4 is my base scripture for my life and my ministry. It says that the one thing I desire or aim towards doing is to DWELL in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. So everytime I go out to minister at events, youth groups, conferences, and even festivals I say these exact words,
I can’t tell you what it's like to get drunk. Can’t tell you what it’s like to do drugs. I can’t tell you what it’s like to be with a boy or out in the world. But I can tell you how to stay in the church loving God passionately using my gifts and talents to glorify God all the days of my life.
After I say that, I look out and ask if there’s any “Dwellers” in the room, encouraging young people to Dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of their life.
You mentioned you are currently attending Bible college. What made you decide to go to Bible college?
The Bible College I attend is founded by my dad and our ministry ‘Church of Joy’. It’s only 5 to 6 years old and we are still growing it into what we would like it to be. Now, I did very well in school, I was always on the honor roll. Received the cords for high GPA. I had scholarships for large universities. Received awards and all that stuff. But,I knew I needed to honor God, my dad, and our ministry by going to our Bible College, helping grow it, and add to it to make it better. Being in my second year now, I am so grateful that I am apart of our Bible College. It is giving me the foundation I need in my ministry and provided me with truth to stand on in the times we’re living in. With all that is going on in the world today and the confusion that is trying to come into the church, you need a foundation of truth to stand on. I recommend to any young person attending a Bible College for the first part of your life to receive all that God wants to deposit in you before you go out and do HIs work.
Speaking of the Bible, how do you use the Bible to influence your music?
Well, it’s a huge influence in my music as a Christian artist. I always try to use scriptural references in my music. Because that’s where the power is, where the anointing is. It's in the Word of God. I can write all I want, sing all I want, say all I want. But it won’t have the same impact that the Word of God has. When you use God’s word that’s when chains are broken, people are set free, and you can feel the atmosphere changing. What I try to do is use the scripture and match it with relevant sound, melodies, and hooks. Then, whoever is listening starts off listening because of how it sounds and finishes the song changed because of what it said.
If someone is new to studying the Bible, do you have any advice on how and where in the Bible to start?
Oh definitely. I would 100% read Proverbs. Proverbs is full of so much wisdom and provides a roadmap on how to live life as a Christian. It's very potent and to the point. Proverbs is just one of those books that when you read it, it’s just so convicting .Really encourages you to not compromise. It’s also very easy to understand. The verses are usually short, simple, and directly to the point. But I believe it’s a real important book to read during the times we’re living in because it brings so much truth. Provides us with a true separation of how we are to be as christians. There’s no gray area. It's all black or white.
What is something God is currently teaching you?
Well, God is always teaching me and I’m such a student of His word! Right now God is really teaching 
me faith. I’ve seen my parents walk in faith in their 20 years of ministry and I was with them through that. Now I have to exercise my faith in my own life. For me, I just want to be in God’s will, doing what He has called me to do. But through that I have to stay sensitive to where he’s guiding me and that definitely takes a lot of faith. In God’s Word it says, “Your ways are not my ways, and your thoughts are not my thoughts”. So what seems to be the way for us may not be the way God has in mind. That’s where I have to trust Him.
If you could tell your 18-year-old self something, what would it be?
I would tell my 18-year-old self what I preach to every other 18-year-old I encounter. Stay in the church and in God’s will! There’s honestly no better place than to be in God’s house and in His perfect will.