Search
Search

5 of My Favorite Modern Hymn Artists

5 of My Favorite Modern Hymn Artists

Join the Community!

The Wake-Up Call is a daily encouragement to shake off the slumber of our busy lives and turn our eyes toward Jesus.

Click here to get yours free in your inbox each morning!

radical wesley sliderWorship pastor Drew Causey shares 5 of his favorite modern hymn artists, arguing that the depth of writing in the hymnody of the Church is something people love (and desire), and when style of music can become a means to this end, the Church only benefits.

I love hymns. As a worship leader in a modern context, that fact surprises people sometimes. A few years ago, I arranged a version of the hymn “I Stand Amazed in the Presence” for our church, and after the service, a woman approached me and asked me about the song.

“I really liked the new song we did today.”

Thanks! It was one of my favorite hymns to sing in the church where I grew up.

“That wasn’t a hymn.”

Uh…actually, it is a hymn from around 1905.

“…well, it didn’t sound like a hymn.”

Interestingly, this isn’t the only time I’ve heard this idea. The depth of writing in the hymnody of the church is something people love (and desire), and when style of music can become a means to this end, the church only benefits. For this reason, I am glad to see so many songwriters drawing from the hymnody of the church for inspiration and direction in their songwriting. Even more exciting to me, though, are the numbers of hymns that are simply being rearranged by songwriters and offered back to the church. Here are a few of my favorite musicians and bands who are rearranging hymns for the church to use today:

1. Page CXLI

Reid and Latifah Phillips and Dann Stockton formed the band Page CXLI with a strong desire to make hymns they loved accessible for the church. After a series of releases, they decided this year to release albums in parallel with the liturgical calendar as well. They have turned out a lot of music in a very short time, and there are some great arrangements of a number of classic hymns on their albums.

2. Sojourn Music

This Louisville-based collective from Sojourn Community Church has published a number of original songs worth singing in the church, but has also spent considerable time arranging hymns in new and musically exciting ways. Two of their albums feature some “deep cuts” of Isaac Watts lyrics that have wonderful musical and theological depth. Plus, Brooks Ritter’s voice is just exceptional.

3. Jill Phillips

Singer/songwriter Jill Phillips has one of the most wonderful voices I’ve ever heard live, and I was thrilled to hear she released an album of hymns called “Kingdom Come”. Every song is both familiar and new, and most of the arrangements are very accessible even for young worship teams.

4. Mars Hill Music

Under the umbrella of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Mars Hill Music has a number of artists releasing worship music these days, and most of these groups record hymns as at least part of their musical offering. Stylistically, there are a wide range of offerings coming from this label, including the modern rock of the band Citizens, the horn-infused praise of Kings Kaleidoscope, the anthem-driven band Ghost Ship, or the vocal-driven nostalga of the Sing Team, not to mention the albums of other groups like Ramshackle Orchestra or pastor and former Thrice frontman Dustin Kensrue. There is a lot to explore here, and some fun and original arrangements to be found.

5. Indelible Grace

Indelible Grace began at Belmont University with a group of students hoping to delve into the rich tradition of hymns for the sake of the younger generation of believers on their campus. Names like Sandra McCracken, Andrew Osenga, Matthew Perryman Jones, Derek Webb, and Matthew Smith as well as numerous others have contributed to a huge catalogue of hymn arrangements and recordings that draw from the hymnody of the church as source material.

Beyond these largely hymn-focused recordings and groups, there are plenty of amazing hymn arrangements out there, including worship leaders like Chris Tomlin and Charlie Hall, artists like Leigh Nash and Daniel Renstrom, and even bands like Hillsong and Bethel. Feel free to add to our list some of the hymn arrangements you’ve used in your church in the comments.

View all of our articles on Art & Literature.

GET THE BOOK: Making Manifest by Dave Harrity, a 28-day devotional based on poetry, prayer, writing practice, contemplation, and personal reflection.

Visit our Worship Design Collective for more resources like this one.

Comments

8 Responses

    1. Of course! And there are a lot of great new hymn writers like the Getty’s out there. I tried to focus just on hymn arrangement, but it is a huge body of work in itself. Thanks for the comment!

  1. Our music pastor is trying to get us to sing Getty hymns, while continuing to sing historical hymns. The issue to most of us in this congregation is not whether something is old or new. Most of us do not have the 4th grade attitude that any music composed over 25 minutes ago is not just moldy, but actually wrong, possibly evil. What we are concerned about it that a person trained classically in music with some music talent has composed or edited the music (and not just melody; our congregation is full of basses, tenors, contraltos who join in with harmony). What we also are concerned with is that a poet or person who understands the conventions of poetry has written or edited the poetry. That is, we want to sing excellent music which glorifies God. Much of the worship chorus output must embarrass the Holy Spiritl–2nd grade music put to 3rd grade lyrics (I use that term loosely). There are serious problems with, for instance, the narrow range of pitch and the near-absence of melody in MUCH so-called worship music. I am in touch with our music leaders and would like to help them with resources which have sifted out contemporary (or forgotten historical hymns) which are composed of superior music and lyrics. Can you help?

  2. I was invited in an Anglican Church to give sermon and basically speak and encourage the youths or the importance of gospel music..
    I thought deeply and I only saw the way to bw hymnals and Anglican having that history of hymns.
    To my surprise not even a single youth new any composer of the hymns.
    Since then I have been arranging hymns and composers .
    Help me spread the same to many universities.

  3. Check out Creative Trio Hymns. Beautiful modern singing and beautiful arrangement and vocals too.
    Be blessed.
    Here is the link:
    bit.ly/creativetriohymns

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *