Amanda Cook: ‘Loud churches are overwhelming for me. I long to create stillness’

The writer of Bethel Music’s ‘You make me brave’ is often described as a worship leader. But it’s not a label Amanda Cook has ever felt comfortable with. She discusses incense and stillness, her helpful ADHD diagnosis and hitting your stride in your 40s

I’ve just witnessed Amanda Cook simply playing piano in front of 300-odd Creation Fest volunteers, gathered in a small room to spend a few quiet moments with Jesus before the busyness of the Cornish Christian festival kicks off. Soon, Cook will take to the main stage to headline the first night, this time playing for thousands. But I’ll be struck by how startlingly similar both sets are – and how similar Cook is in both settings.

You might expect this Canadian singer-songwriter, who spent several years at Bethel Church in California writing worship hits such as ‘You make me brave’ and ‘King of my heart’ to go for the rousing, big-band sound that we’ve come to expect from US megachurches, but Cook takes to the stage alone. Just her, a piano and a coil of smoke, slowly rising from the incense she’s burning on stage.