WYOMING, Mich. (WOOD) — A new recording studio that loved ones say is continuing the legacy of a Wyoming worship leader will celebrate its grand opening Friday, marking what would have been her 30th birthday.

Studio 33:3 was created in honor of Sarah Rijfkogel, who died in 2022 after a battle with Stage 4 colon cancer. She was 27. 

The new recording studio is at Grand Rapids First Church on 44th Street east of Byron Center Avenue.

The studio was named after Rijfkogel’s favorite verse in the Bible, Psalm 33:3, which reads, “Sing to him a new song” — words that her parents say she lived by every day.

At the age of 12, Rijfkogel’s parents said, she was called to worship, praise and sing every Sunday at Grand Rapids First Church. Her parents Sam and Brenda Rijfkogel are the lead pastors there. Sarah Rijfkogel sang with the worship team up until the last Sunday before her death on Jan. 12, 2022. 

A foundation was created in her name before she died. Brenda Rijfkogel said the goal of the foundation was to realize her daughter’s “desire … to see the next generation know God and to worship him.”

“She loved worship music. And that’s what she did,” she said.

Sarah Rijfkogel performed with her worship group Wind & Embers at Grand Rapids First alongside executive pastor and friend Drew McElhenny. They had always wanted a studio to record in. The foundation in her name allowed her parents to build a state-of-the-art recording studio.

“We wanted to be the one of the finest recording studios for the greatest worship music to come out of,” Sam Rijfkogel said. 

The studio was designed by Haverstick Designs and took nearly three years to build. From the walls and floor to the screws and glue, every detail was considered. The studio is equipped with brand new instruments and an Dolby Atmos sound system for the best recording experience possible.

Reminders of Sarah Rijfkogel are sprinkled around the studio — most notably an ellipsis, three dots that she had tattooed on her wrist. You can see the symbol on the walls and echoed in the layout of the lights.

“She wanted everybody to see her story goes on. She didn’t know which way it was going, but it’s going to go on,” Brenda Rijfkogel said.

She and her husband now have the same tattoo as their daughter.

Though Sarah Rijfkogel won’t have the chance to record in the studio, her songs will still be brought to light there. On Jan. 12, three years to the day after her death, McElhenny will release of one of her original songs, which was the first to be recorded at Studio 33:3. After finding the song she wrote on her phone, McElhenny decided to use her vocals to finish it.   

The grand opening of Studio 33:3 and the celebration of Rijfkogel’s 30th birthday Friday will be an exciting day filled with “a lot of joy, a lot of praise, a lot of tears and a lot of great music,” Brenda Rijfkogel said, to remember the legacy and the voice of her daughter.