[ WM ] With over a million plays on You Tube, the title track from your new album Living Hope is clearly resonating with people. Noting that Brian Johnson has been leading this song at Bethel since he co-wrote it with you,“ Living Hope” is also speaking to congregations. Before you became known as Phil Wickham the recording artist, you effectively grew up leading worship at your home church and other congregations in Southern California. The context for this record is different in that you are once again leading worship at a church and many of the songs reflect your response to being an active part of a worship team. Can you trace the steps of how this happened?
[ Phil Wickham ] There’ s a church called Harvest Christian Fellowship, and the pastors name is Greg Laurie. He’ s an amazing evangelist, and he does this thing called the Harvest Crusade every year at Anaheim stadium. Millions of people have responded to the Gospel through Greg’ s ministry. Growing up in Southern California, I’ ve been a part of those events for a long time. I remember being at the first one when I was five years old and my parents actually sang at it. So, full circle, I am now the worship leader at these events. About two years ago, the church asked if I wanted to be a part of the normal worship community gathering at their services. After some prayer, I agreed.
So, about two times a month I lead worship at Harvest Christian Fellowship. I thought it would be cool to be home a little more, to team up with Greg a little, but then this really special thing happened in my heart where I started loving the people and this community and I started to want to write songs for the community. For the first time since I was in high school I was one of the regular worship leaders for a local church. My whole life since I graduated from high school has been traveling and on the road and touring and being a worship leader for the greater church. But having a community in mind when I wrote“ Living Hope” or some of the other songs on the record, I wondered if it would work at Harvest. The writing process of
this record went from,“ What is my expression church; songs like“ Living Hope” and“ Christ and what is God showing me?” to,“ What is is Risen” and“ Great Things” among several God doing in our local church, what songs are others. I can’ t wait to see how God chooses to we looking to sing, what kind of scriptures are use these songs outside of my local church. If we going over?” and it was so refreshing and there was anything different about writing and life-giving. recording this album, it was that it was more of a community effort than a personal, artistic We’ ve probably been doing nine of the songs effort. on the new record at Harvest for the last year, and they’ ve been tried and true. To have a [ WM ] The YouTube video for“ This Is Amazing group of people where I could bring in these Grace” came out on November 13, 2013! That new songs and see what worked and what song is still # 3 on the CCLI Top 100, and with didn’ t, was so good. This record, more than the exception of“ The Lion and the Lamb”, any other, is a corporate worship record. It’ s it is the only up-tempo song in their top ten. been so cool to have these new songs for our Looking from‘ the inside out’ as the songwriter,
“ Living Hope” // Phil Wickham“ This Is Amazing Grace” // Phil Wickham
August 2018 WorshipMusician. com
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