Critically acclaimed singer, songwriter and author Audrey Assad released last week the first single from her third independent album and first new album of all new songs in four years, Evergreen. The song, "Deliverer," was written, produced and engineered by Assad and Bryan Brown, mixed by Chad Howat of Paper Route and is available now at digital retailers globally from Fortunate Fall Records with Tone Tree Music distribution.

Set to release internationally Feb. 23, 2018, Evergreen stems from a season of renewed creativity for Assad. Forging through the flames of personal pain in the deepest corners of her broken heart, new songs of rebirth, identity, the rebuilding of trust and discovery of joy and love have taken shape.

"I grew up with some rather terrible and terrifying ideas about who God was. Mostly, I believed that God only loved me because Jesus stepped in between us and God couldn't see me anymore-this contributed to many years of a tormented and broken-down relationship with God, based mostly in fear and shame," reveals Assad.

"Imagine the deep healing that took place when I came to recognize that Jesus came not to defend us from God, but to display in His life, death and resurrection exactly who God has always been. Jesus is often called 'Immanuel,' which means 'God with us.'

"When I looked at the ruins in my heart, I found Him there 'preaching His gospel to the poor,'" Assad continues, quoting Thomas Merton and lyrics to "Deliverer." "He had been with me and within me all along, delivering me not from God, but from my own inner death."

In conjunction with last week's release of the single, RELEVANT Magazine premiered the "Deliverer" lyric video at https://relevantmagazine.com/video/heres-a-brand-new-song-from-audrey-assad-deliverer/.

"Deliverer" is also available for immediate download by preordering Evergreen through Assad's PledgeMusic campaign at www.pledgemusic.com/projects/audrey-assad.

Providing exclusives like vinyl albums, t-shirts, original artwork, Skype calls with Assad and much more, pledgers participating in the journey toward Assad's new album will also have access to regular posts, videos and live streams from Assad. Already hitting 127 percent of its goal, five percent of total PledgeMusic campaign proceeds will be donated to Preemptive Love.

The pathway to the new album follows Assad's current five-star acclaimed and No. 1 selling Adult Contemporary (CMTA / SoundScan) hymns album, Inheritance, which released Feb. 2016 and that pays homage to her Plymouth Brethren heritage and to her Catholic faith and charismatic spirituality. Inheritance offered Audrey a chance to pause, take stock, heal and rediscover "the tree of life that truly never dies."

For more information on Audrey Assad and Evergreen, go to http://pledgemusic.com/audreyassad,

www.audreyassad.com, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.com.