United We Stand
We’ve spent a bit of time working on some projects with the Evangelical Alliance (https://www.eauk.org/) on a number of projects. We were commissioned to write a song about people from every nation coming together to worship God in their different languages and expressions of worship. The song, “United We Stand”, has been performed at a number of great events such as the One People Commission celebration, Spring Harvest, gatherings, workshops, etc, but now we’re about to record and release it and we’re excited about it!
We would love YOU to get involved! Would you like to add your voice to it as part of the choir? Would you like to add your language to the recording or see your content on our website? Watch these videos to see how you can join in the experience!
The Impossible Dream
We partnered with Steve Clifford and Rev Canon Yemi Adedeji to write a chapter in their book, “The Impossible Dream”, about how we can use music and worship to effectively engage with our congregations, communities and with those of different ethnic backgrounds.
Check it out here: https://www.eauk.org/resources/what-we-offer/reports/the-impossible-dream
We Are Related
Anu Omideyi discusses how our different musical expressions of worship ought to bring us closer to each other.
It’s striking to read the intimacy between God and Jesus in John 17. There are such beautiful and poetic descriptions of their relationship. Then Jesus describes his relationship with us and his desire for our relationships with each other. As he and the Father are one, so he wants the church united and bound in love.
But it doesn’t end there. He ultimately had the world in mind because if our relationships with God and each other are strong enough we will draw the world to him. In verses 20-21 he said:
“I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. 21 I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.” (NLT)
The more we come together, the stronger our message is to the world and the more powerful and productive we are.
Our music is such a powerful mechanism to bring us together and to draw the world to God because it transcends most boundaries, strikes our core, moves us and makes us feel. A friend of mine once said music is one of the only mediums that has the power to affect your mood without your permission. A song comes on the radio and before you know it you’re tapping your feet or humming along without being aware of it. A song heard often enough it can work its way into your memory without you knowing the lyrics or even understanding the language. So how much more powerful a tool is it when we are intentional about our music in worship and as an evangelical tool?
But I do mean all of our music. If we want to draw closer to each other, understand each other better, work through our differences, learn from each other, reach the seven continents, 195 countries and over seven and a half billion people in the world, we need all of our different expressions, languages and styles of Godly music.
At Our Songs we want to provide resources for Christian songwriters and churches alike to refresh and cross-pollinate our worship so that we can unite, inspire and learn from each other and impact the world.