Our Top 10 Songs for Praise & Worship

In looking back over the last year, these are the songs that have really clicked with our congregation and band. We try to maintain a good balance between soulful and rock music. You’ll definitely see where we go for the soulful side with all the Houghton tunes. These are in no particular order.

1. With Long Life (Houghton):
CCLI Song #5039243. We love playing this one. It has a very reggaeton/dancehall reggae meets latin feel to it. Definitely one that can be a challenge for the band to get tight on, but once you “find” that groove, it’s really a simple song. We also include the rap bridge as well.

2. Say So (Houghton):
CCLI Song #4944016. In my opinion, one of Israel’s Houghton’s best tunes. It has a nice contrast between verses and chorus. You can really bring the intensity down for the verses and crank it up for the choruses. This one might be a bit easier to rock out than With Long Life, but at the same time, if you really want it to have that pop you’ve got to syncopate the choruses like Iz’s drummer does.

3. Blessed Be Your Name (Redman):
CCLI Song #3798438. No one can deny the catchiness and singability of this song. Though it can be a little rangy, it’s a great one to split lead vocals on. We usually have a female sing the lower verse parts, and a male comes in and carries the pre-chorus and chorus. I believe we’ll be including this one for years to come.

4. Jesus Is The Best Thing (Munizzi):
CCLI Song #4586728. Another one of our congregation’s favorites. This is another one of those “different” grooves. Where it could be problematic for some churches is in it’s “clap-ability” factor. Grooves like this aren’t straight forward 2 and 4 clappers. So, if you get this one down and notice people aren’t clapping, it’s not because the song doesn’t groove, it’s because of the “odd” reggaeton/dance hall kick snare groove. We incorporate the rap as well.

5. We Shine (Fee):
CCLI Song #4939928. This is another one that rocks. It’s more of a straight forward rock song. Fee is putting out some great stuff and this one really works well with our folks. To make it really pop, you’ve got to have at least 2 electric guitars who are on top of their individual parts and a drummer that can keep the intensity throughout. Not to mention a lead vocalist that can really take the seemingly monotonous melody line during the chorus and prechoruses and make the zing. All in all it’s a great song, but I don’t recommend it to small bands or congregations who lean more towards the traditional setting for worship.

6. I Know Who I Am (Houghton):
CCLI Song #5040139. Great song. We tend to do this one almost exactly like the recorded version that features Chris Tomlin. This is one that can be both soulful and rock at the same time. Great song with great lyrics.

7. All Because of Jesus (Fee):
CCLI Song #4882903. Another good one from Fee. We first learned the Casting Crowns arrangement, but have since moved to the Fee version (which is a little more rocked out).

8. Shackles (Mary Mary):
An oldie, but goodie, soulful r&b gospel joint that keeps our people moving. We’ve pretty much rearranged it to fit our style and flavor here while keeping the soulful integrity of the original version. Our female vocalists tear this one up.

9. Revelation Song (Riddle):
CCLI SONG #4447960. How could anyone not like this simple, easy to play, yet beautifully crafted song? It’s a great one. To keep with out “style” here at HOJ, we’ve rocked it up a little bit more and increased the tempo by about 10 bpm. Our people love this one.

10. He Reigns (Furler – Newsboys):
CCLI Song #4026635. This one is a Newsboys worship classic. It’s an older song, but gets a lot of radio play in our area. It’s one that we can switch up the leads on a lot. Easy to play. Definitely recommend this one for any church worship setting.

What are your church’s favorite praise & worship tunes?