Songwriting Workshop

Portland Native, Jess Littleton has spent all of her life singing. Her passion is conveying the power of the gospel through songwriting and singing, worshiping with everything in her.  She has been leading worship over the course of 15 years and is currently a worship leader for Willamette Christian Church and cALLed collective music. She and her husband AJ, along with their three kids, live in West Linn, OR. Ausdin Lemmons has been involved in vocational worship ministry for over 10 years in both California and Oregon. As a producer, songwriter, and arranger, he brings these skills into his approach to leading worship teams and playing guitar. He earned his music degree from Hope International University with an emphasis in guitar and also had the opportunity to study songwriting in Nashville at the Contemporary Music Center, where he won Best Original Song.

Ausdin has produced multiple worship albums and has extensive experience playing and leading in multicultural worship environments, performing in styles such as CCM, Gospel, Latin, Reggae, and more. He is currently the Music Director at Hope City Church in Portland and serves as an adjunct music professor at George Fox University. He has helped launch cALLed Ministries’ cALLed Conference and oversees their music cALLed Collective as a producer and writer. He is also a freelance musician who has worked with national artists such as Grammy-nominated gospel artist Zacardi Cortez, Billboard charting RnB Artist Lekan, Leon Timbo, Jenn Bostic, Dee Wilson, Emoni Wilkins, Britnee Kellogg and more.

This interactive songwriting workshop is designed to take songwriting out of theory and into practice—giving you the chance to watch the process unfold and then experience it yourself in a collaborative, guided environment.

We’ll begin with two experienced songwriters leading a live writing demonstration, walking through how they approach melody, lyrics, structure, and creative decision-making in real time. You’ll get an inside look at how songs actually come together—not just the finished product, but the messy, honest process behind it.

After the live demo, participants will break into small, pre-paired songwriting groups, intentionally formed based on skillsets, strengths, and experience levels. Each group will be supported by a songwriting coach who will help guide the process, offer feedback, and keep the session focused and productive. You’ll be given writing prompts and creative frameworks to help spark ideas, reduce creative pressure, and encourage collaboration, whether you’re primarily a lyricist, melody writer, or instrumentalist.

We’ll close the workshop by coming back together as a full group to reflect, share insights, and celebrate what was created—focusing on learning, growth, and community rather than performance.

This workshop is ideal for songwriters who want to learn by doing, collaborate with others, and gain practical tools they can take into future writing sessions—no matter where they are in their songwriting journey.