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Top 10 Church Songs & Hymns
Here are ten of the most well-known Church songs. Learn more about the story behind these church songs and what makes them so famous. May they bring joy and peace to your heart!
Amazing Grace by John Newton
The song, Amazing Grace by John Newton, is the most well-known, well-recognized Christian songs in history. If there is a rival to this song in popularity, it is so far down the list that, at best, it is a distant second. John Newton, before conversion, was one of the most ungodly of people there were, being insubordinate and often in a state of drunkenness, but also in the slave trade business. Most of us would have thought he’d be the last person on earth to be saved, but something happened. In 1748, a storm-tossed his ship so violently that he thought he was going to die, so he cried out to God for mercy and was sparred and became one of the strongest Christians in history. The song Amazing Grace was actually written to illustrate a sermon on New Year's Day of 1773, but when it appeared in print in 1779, it was used during the Second Great Awakening in the early 19th century, and today, it still remains the most familiar church song there is.
Days of Elijah by Robin Mark
Robin Mark’s, Days of Elijah, has been one of the most popular Church songs in the last fifteen years. Mark is a Northern Irish Christian singer, songwriter, worship leader, and recording artist based in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and the story behind the song is quite interesting as Mark says that he attended a lot of Brethren or Gospel Hall meetings as a small boy and somehow the theology of Old Testament stories and characters who were ‘types’ or ‘examples’ of Christ and the Church got stuck in his head. One of his main points was that God is still in control, He has always been.
Here I Am to Worship by Tim Hughes
Even though Tim Hughes wrote the song, Here I Am to Worship, it was Michael W. Smith that made it popular from his album, Worship Again, and today it is one of the most recognized songs in Christian music but is also one of the most frequently sang songs in churches today. It makes the perfect opening song for services as it’s a call to worship God, so this makes it one the most perfect songs for church worship services. The lyrics included “Here I am to worship. Here I am to bow down. Here I am to say that. You’re my God,” making it perfectly suited for any worship service.
How Great is Our God by Chris Tomlin, Jesse Reeves, and Ed Cash
The son, How Great is Our God by Chris Tomlin, Jesse Reeves, and Ed Cash gives great glory to God in singing that God is “clothed in majesty. Let all the earth rejoice, all the earth rejoice. He wraps Himself in light, and darkness tries to hide. And trembles at his voice, trembles at his voice,” so this is why they sing, “How great is our God” as the “Godhead, three in one: Father, Spirit, Son. The Lion and the Lamb, the Lion and the Lamb.”
How Great Thou Art by Carl Boberg
The classic church hymn, How Great Thou Art, was written by Carl Boberg, and is a church song that you could possibly hear at any church, with God-glorifying words such as “When I in awesome wonder. Consider all. The world Thy Hand hath made. I see the stars. I hear the rolling thunder. Thy power throughout, The universe displayed” so, no wonder God’s greatness causes his soul to sing, “My Savior God, to Thee, How great Thou art!” So perfect is this that the sun, the moon, the stars and yes, even the rolling thunder declares God’s great power and glory.
Mighty to Save by Rueben Morgan and Ben Fielding
The song, Mighty to Save, by Rueben Morgan and Ben Fielding, focuses on the God Who saves those who don’t deserve it, with such powerful lyrics as “Everyone needs compassion. Love that’s never failing. Let mercy fall on me. Everyone needs forgiveness. The kindness of a Savior. The hope of nations,” as they proclaim of God, “He can move the mountains. For my God is mighty to save. He is mighty to save.” You could possibly hear this song in nearly any church across America.
Revelation Song by Jeannie Lee Riddles
Jeannie Lee Riddles song, Revelation Song, was first released by Kari Jobe but was made popular by Philipps, Craig, and Dean, is such a powerful worship song, not only because of the beautifully stirring music, but with lyrics that praise God by singing, “Worth is the Lamb who was slain” Who is “Holy, Holy, Holy, Is the Lord God Almighty, Who was, and is, and is to come” and to us, He is our everything, “And I will adore You” in worship and in song. Revelation Song will almost compel you to worship the great Lamb of God, Jesus Christ.
Chinesemusic For Your Church Services
In Christ Alone by Keith Getty and Stewart Townend
In Christ Alone by Keith Getty and Stewart Townend has been called a Christian Creed song because it focuses on salvation by faith in alone in Christ alone (Act 4:12), and for which the believer can have “No guilt in life, no fear in death” because “This is the power of Christ in me” as “The wrath of God was satisfied. For every sin on Him was laid” and so “Here in the death of Christ I live.” We love to use this song during worship services because it glorifies God and gives Him full credit for our salvation, which of course he utterly deserves (Eph 2:8-9).
Jesus, Friend of Sinners by Mark Hall and Matthew West
Jesus, Friend of Sinners, was written by Mark Hall and Matthew West but is best known as being sung by Casting Crowns. This song has been called a “pop hymn,” meaning that it’s a recognizable church hymn but highly popular today, as it peaked at number 1 on the Billboard Soft Adult Contemporary/ Inspirational chart, No. 2 on the Billboard Christian Adult Contemporary chart, No. 6 on the Billboard Hot Christian Songs, and on the Hot Christian AC charts, but also at No. 20 on the Christian Contemporary Hit charts. This song means very much to the new Christian as their being saved from their sin is still fresh in their minds.
Praise You in the Storm by Mark Hall and Bernie Herms
Chinese Music For Your Church Services Catholic
Early in 2015, Casting Crowns released their CD, Until the Whole World Hears, and on it was featured the highly popular song Praise You in the Storm, but it was originally released in 2006 and was a heartbreaking song about an Erin Browning, who died of cancer, so this song not only has the lyrical theme of maintaining faith through difficult circumstances but one where a person is even able to praise God in the storm. This is reminiscent of Job’s proclamation amidst great loss and suffering, “Though he slay me, I will hope in him” (Job 13:15). This is a great song to worship when you are going through a storm in life.
Church Songs: Conclusion
Perhaps I have left out one of your favorites that you think should be on it. If that’s the case, please leave us a comment and add it to our collection so that we can see what we missed. There are so very many that I could have included, like Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone), Forever, Open the Eyes of My Heart, Forever Reign, How He Loves Me, Come Now is the Time to Worship, The Stand, Hosanna, Lord I Lift Your Name on High, and so many more. I believe these are also among anyone’s list of the most well-known church songs.
Article by Jack Wellman
×Church of the Highlands, Birmingham, AL
Whether your church chooses to do a live service that is streamed online or a prerecorded service that is released online, your Christmas Eve production will have an impact on people's lives.
For many churches, Christmas Eve draws in more attendees than Easter. So Christmas Eve services represent an incredible opportunity to reach people who once attended and now don’t, the unchurched, and the fence-sitters.
Should the Christmas Eve service be the same as every other year, but just live streamed?
Whether your church performs a cantata, a full play, or a simple Christmas service with a few songs and communion, these services are both a gift to your church and to your community. They matter in the life of the church.
This year obviously looks much different than years past. And even though many tech teams have learned how to create an online weekly experience, they’re still grappling with how to create a Christmas Eve experience online.
Should the Christmas Eve service be the same as every other year, but just live streamed? Should it be different because of a significantly larger and more diverse online audience? Should it be live or should it be prerecorded?
In the all-important question of whether to go live or prerecorded, it’s important to understand that each comes with its own set of pro’s and con’s. Here are some of them to consider as you decide which route is best for your church and your team.
Producing Christmas Eve Completely Live
Pro 1: Live streaming a live event is more efficient from every aspect. Techs and talent show up, potentially do a rehearsal, and then the live event happens. If people are used to serving on the tech team, this will be especially efficient.
Pro 2: Experience. For those in the room, it will feel similar to what Christmas Eve may have felt like in the past. A lot of people have had difficulties with so much change this year, and maybe the ability to gather on Christmas Eve at the church will mean something significant.
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Con 1: No 'do overs.' The performance, the camera angles, the audio mix is what it is. This can potentially produce high stress for many volunteers, especially when it is one of the largest services of the year.
Cameras are usually positioned based on working around crowds, but in a service that is primarily attended online, it’s a good idea to reposition cameras so they’re closer to the stage.
Con 2: A completely live performance will likely focus more on the people in the room than the online audience. With the exception of churches with a large enough production team to focus only online and only live, the attention is at best split between the quality of online vs. in-person. This is an important point because many churches still have a majority of people attending online and a smaller percentage in person on regular Sunday mornings. This fact could potentially be amplified on a holiday like Christmas Eve.
If a church is primarily gathering in-person and has a small percentage online, then doing a completely live gathering and simply streaming it online may be the best choice. However, based on what most churches are reporting in the U.S., this isn’t the case.
Postproduction is a different skillset than producing a live service. For many churches, this is new territory.
Con 3: Staffing Christmas Eve. It may be more difficult this year to get the amount of people needed to serve on Christmas this year. Most tech teams have had to significantly grow this year to pull off live streaming church. The amount of people it now takes to make church happen is easily 30%-40% more. Gathering this large of a team on a holiday could be a challenge considering that Christmas Eve services tend to be difficult to staff on a normal year.
Tips for Going Live
If your church and your team decide that the pro’s of going it live outweigh the con’s, here are tips that can help you nail the live service.
1-Coach the pastor to speak directly to the camera and address the people online as much as possible.
Everyone knows that addressing the online audience is important. But in light of Christmas Eve it could be even more important because of the amount of people who are likely to attend digitally this year. Again, it could be many people's first encounter with the church. Reminding the pastor of how important this is will be helpful.
2-Consider repositioning your camera(s) closer to the platform to make the online viewing experience better.
Oftentimes, cameras are positioned in the room based on working around crowds, but in a service that is primarily attended online, it’s a good idea to reposition cameras so they’re closer to the stage and give a better angle for the online audience.
Producing Christmas Eve Prerecorded
Pro 1: This option means the Christmas service can be recorded in sections instead of all at once. This is a benefit because it allows the team to take the time to adjust lighting, audio levels, and video cameras for each segment of the service. For example, if the primary segments in the Christmas Eve Service is singing, preaching, and maybe a dramatic segment, then it could be scheduled in three different nights, leaving time in between to recalibrate the gear for each part of the service.
Pro 2: Prerecording allows the team flexibility with people's schedules. For example, if there are four different segments to the Christmas Eve service and the pastor is only in two of them, he or she can record their two sections independently from volunteers who are singing or contributing in some other way to the service.
This may also mean not needing to have the entire production team for each segment of the service. For example, if there are three cameras but two of them will be stationary for the pastor's portion of the service, then less camera people need to be scheduled for those segments.
Pro 3: Audio and video can potentially be remixed after it is recorded. If the church has the ability to multi-track audio and record each camera independently, then recording and editing in post is possible. This will result in the highest quality possible.
Pro 4: The last pro—the all-important 'take two.' Being able to capture multiple takes of a performance and put them together can have a significant impact on the overall quality of the Christmas Eve service. Multiple takes can especially make a significant difference for the music portion of the service. The ability for vocalists to sing the song in a few different takes and then choose the best version is a significant benefit.
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Con 1: The first con to prerecording is time. Prerecording simply takes more time. There is more setup time, more editing time and more energy spent from the team. While it may be challenging in a live service to get the entire team to a Christmas Eve service, the premium is paid in hours for the production team. There is more time spent recording all of the segments as well as post editing audio and video. The product will be better, but it will take longer.
Con 2: The second con could be lack of knowledgeable volunteers. For example, some churches may have great live sound engineers, but they may never have multi-tracked and remixed a service for YouTube consumption. Postproduction is a different skillset than producing a live service. For many churches, this is new territory. The con can simply be that the production team may not have experience doing this. In some cases, a church might be able to pay for someone to edit and remix the service for them. There are several services that do this now, as well as many people who contract themselves out to churches for these types of occasions.
Tips for Prerecording
If you have the time to prerecord, the technical ability to craft a polished product in postproduction or the time and resources to hire out that job, here are some pointers that are wise to follow.
1-Schedule more time for each segment than you think you need.
If one of the benefits of prerecording is being able to get multiple takes, so schedule time for multiple takes. Make sure there is enough time for both the production team and the people on platform to feel comfortable with going through their portion a few times.
Scheduling enough time between each segment is also very important. If the production team needs to reset cameras, lighting, or microphones, then making sure there is enough time for the team to get in the room will be helpful.
2-Calibrate for each segment.
Lighting changes affect video significantly. When a church does a live service that has significant lighting changes, video coloration can suffer. However, when the service is prerecorded, then the production team can white balance and set ISO for each part of the service. This can help the service be as dynamic as you want without letting the quality suffer.
3-Watch and listen to the service ahead of time.
For those that have not done a good deal of postproduction editing and mixing, how it looks and sounds on a computer screen vs. a TV is different. Take time to upload a version of the service to test it before it is released for the entire church to enjoy in their homes.
Whether your church chooses to do a live service that is streamed online or a prerecorded service that is released online, your Christmas Eve production will have an impact on people's lives. So whichever way you choose to go, think it through. You are sharing the most important story ever told—a story that couldn’t be told without the help of your production team.