by Felix Arellano on October 27, 2025
There's a love story woven into the history of Timberline Church. Tyler and Kayla Saxton met leading worship here in 2009, spent a summer writing emails while she was on a missions trip, and haven't stopped singing together since.
Now they’re married with three kids, leading worship together on weekends, and navigating what it looks like to make much of Jesus while also deciding who hits snooze more often. (Spoiler: it’s Kayla. Tyler relates to the disciples panicking in the storm while Jesus sleeps right through it.)
I sat down with them recently for the Let Love Live podcast, and what unfolded was more than a conversation about song selection or stage presence. It was a window into what happens when worship becomes a way of life, not just a weekend moment, but something woven into breakfast conversations, bedtime routines, and the ordinary chaos of raising kids who love Jesus.
Tyler and Kayla don’t just lead worship. They live it. And the difference matters.
I asked them how parenthood has shaped the way they see God or changed the way they worship. Kayla’s answer has stuck with me:
“When we come to church, that’s not just worship. We don’t just worship when we show up at a building... What I want them to see is the quiet life lived out at home. When we come here and worship as a congregation, that’s just icing on the cake. That’s not the arrival moment. The arrival moment is when we’re having breakfast together and talking about God, when we’re having dinner as a family.”
It’s Deuteronomy 6 in real time. Teach these things when you’re sitting, when you’re walking, when you’re going about your day. The stage moment? That’s just icing. She went on:
“I don’t want to miss the ordinary, the everyday moments. When our kids look back, I don’t want it to be ‘oh, mom and dad led worship.’ I want it to be: mom and dad loved Jesus and we saw them live that every single day.”
We also get to hear a little behind-the-scenes of a special collaboration Timberkids did with the worship team in the main service. Tyler shared candidly about getting choked up watching his son and daughter singing loudly. His insight into this moment is the prayer of every parent. Kayla saw something else from her vantage point. She watched the parents in the audience worshiping too, their kids on stage getting to see them for once.
“Let your kids see how you worship,” she said. “Invite them into that.”
Listen to the full conversation where Tyler and Kayla share about co-leading as a married couple, their mutual love for hymns (Great is Thy Faithfulness, if you’re wondering), and why they believe our theology fuels our doxology, what we think about God shapes how we praise Him.
Because worship isn’t about arrival. It’s about attention. And learning to see God’s faithfulness in deserts and gardens alike.
