It matters where our worship music comes from. Let’s think twice before singing Hillsong and Bethel

Singing songs from churches mired in abuse scandals or grappling with failures in leadership is financially supporting something that Christians should be opposed to, says Tom Read. We need to rely less on a fast-food diet of imported worship if the Church wants to be truly healthy

For several years I’ve been concerned with the lack of diversity in the songs sung in our churches. The world has woken up to the need for better inclusion and representation across all spheres yet, when it comes to worship music, the lack of variety is particularly troubling.

This is why I was intrigued to read the recent Worship Leader Survey Report 2022. The survey was done in America, but observation suggests the trends are reflected globally, and especially in the Western church. The research shows that most of the worship songs we sing come from the ‘Big 4’ churches - Bethel, Elevation, Hillsong and Passion.

While these megachurches are undoubtedly skilled and experienced in songwriting, two out of four have had their reputations mired either by moral and leadership failure or theological and political controversy. But, interestingly, the majority of the 400+ worship leaders surveyed said they are still willing to sing their songs.