Pulling out all the stops. Against all odds, it seems like one of the biggest trends in country music heading into 2026 is none other than the continued crossover into Christian music. While, of course, it’s not like the genre isn’t steeped in religious themes, highlighted primarily by the plethora of Gospel albums we’ve received throughout the years from the likes of Johnny Cash, Alan Jackson, Dolly Parton and many, many more, 2025 seemingly kicked it up a notch in terms of contemporary Christian music. This was put on full display thanks to the monster success of Christian superstar Brandon Lake and Jelly Roll’s 2024 smash hit, “Hard Fought Hallelujah,” which not only claimed a #1 on both of Billboard’s religious charts, Hot Christian and Christian Airplay, but also was crowned the #1 Christian song of 2025 by Billboard. As time passes, it seems like that wasn’t a one-off venture for Lake in the slightest. As we all know by now, after a few months of fan-speculation and teasing, the “Gratitude” singer finally dropped the highly-anticipated re-release of “When A Cowboy Prays” featuring none other than Cody Johnson. If you’ve been paying attention to Lake, ever since the success of his collaboration with Jelly Roll, he’s been slowly moving closer to a full-blown Christian-Country crossover project. The Christian superstar has not only teased a brand-new song co-written with reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year, Lainey Wilson back in early November, but he also hinted to even more crossovers into country music after his big night at the ASCAP Awards last month, which crowned him Christian Music Songwriter of the Year and Christian Music Song of the Year (“Hard Fought Hallelujah”). “Christian x Country Collision incoming 2026. To God be the glory!” Judging by his Instagram post today, it not only looks like we’re getting a full-blown country project sooner rather than later, but it also looks like he’s calling on some of the biggest stars in the mainstream as well. Minutes ago, Lake would upload a reel showing the likes of Lainey Wilson, HARDY, Thomas Rhett, Bailey Zimmerman and more working on his latest country project. After showing various clips of all the artists recording, writing and laughing together, the video ends with a simple, “To be continued…” View this post on Instagram In the caption, Lake would dive into greater detail about the project as a whole. Noting that he felt a calling from God to work with some of the biggest artists in the genre today, he’d reveal that, in total, he hosted over 25 artists and songwriters in the genre along with some of his closest friends in the Christian scene. During the five day retreat, the group recorded over 25 songs: “God put a dream in my heart to start loving on and encouraging those leading in the country music space, and shortly after He just started flinging wide the doors. So the other week my team and I had the honor of hosting over 25 of the best Country Music artists and songwriters along with some of my closest friends in the faith based music space. I knew we’d get something special but I never would’ve thought we’d get over 43+ songs in 5 days” Towards the back half of the caption, the 35-year-old singer/songwriter would admit he doesn’t exactly know where this chapter is going to lead him, but he’s incredibly grateful to work with everyone in the country community. “IDK what this next chapter looks like BUT I know it’s gonna be special cause it was birthed from genuine love and friendship. Praying God continues to allow me to love this community that’s blessed me so much and if He’s willing allow me to contribute a lil something of my own. Thank you to everyone who poured out your heart and poured into me over those special 5 days. God bless Country & Christian Music!” If you check the tagged accounts on the post, along with Wilson, HARDY, Rhett and Zimmerman, Dan + Shay and Russell Dickerson are also included in the project. Additionally, Christian artist, Benjamin William Hastings, is also tagged As for songwriters, Trannie Anderson (of the Heart Wranglers), as well as frequent collaborators with Lake, Micah Nichols (producer of “Hard Fought Hallelujah”), Hank Bentley (co-writer of “When A Cowboy Prays”) and Jacob Sooter (co-writer of “Daddy’s DNA”), are also tagged in the post and set to contribute to the album. As of now, there is no further information surrounding a potential release date for the project. With that being said, however, it’s incredibly safe to assume that it will be out at some point in 2026. Before you go, fire up his recent collaboration with Cody Johnson, “When A Cowboy Prays.” The post “God Bless Country & Christian Music”: Brandon Lake Teases Massive Country Project Featuring Lainey Wilson, HARDY, & Many More first appeared on Whiskey Riff.