The Big Worship Four: Hillsong
This article is part of a series on worship music, in which I cover four modern churches and their influence on the genre: Bethel, Planetshakers, Jesus Culture, and Hillsong.
Photo: Justin Higuchi, Hillsong United performing live, October 23, 2014, The Forum, Inglewood, CA, USA. Originally posted on Flickr. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0).
Hillsong
The birthplace of modern worship
If you’ve ever heard a modern worship song - anywhere, in any language - there’s a solid chance it was written, arranged, or somehow inspired by Hillsong.
They are not just the most important part of The Big Worship Four. They are the pioneers, they are where it all began.
In 2006 I was asked to join a local gospel and worship choir as a drummer. I was a 16-year-old punk back then, who smoked a fat joint right before meeting the choir leader. I didn’t really care about it and was about to turn it down. But the guy was young and cool, so we talked, and then he played me a video, just for fun.
It was Hillsong & Delirious?: Unified Praise live concert, and as I was sitting there, decently baked from the doobie, the most important change in my life just started to take shape.
I watched the first three songs and then said I will join that choir.
By that time Hillsong wasn’t just a church with great music, it was already a global movement that was about to change the whole Christian culture and redefine the worship experience altogether.
From Sydney to the World
In the early 1980s Brian and Bobbie Houston founded what was then called Hills Christian Life Centre. Their vision was to build a church that speaks the language of its generation.
A young worship leader named Geoff Bullock started writing songs that blended the honesty of classic hymns with the melodic appeal of pop. Soon after, Darlene Zschech joined, and with her, the sound of Hillsong found its identity.
Those two names names today carry almost mythic status in the Christian music world.
Back then, nobody knew that a group of young musicians with simple arrangements and heart for Jesus would become one of the most influential music movements in the world. But that’s what happened.
The First Records
The early recordings of Hillsong Music Australia were live, raw, and deeply human - you could hear the crowd singing, clapping, sometimes even crying, and that was the point.
Worship wasn’t supposed to be perfect; it was supposed to be real.
In 1993, Darlene Zschech song Shout to the Lord came out.
That song didn’t just become popular - it completely revolutionized modern worship. Translated into more than 100 languages, sung in churches from Rio to Seoul, it’s still performed every Sunday somewhere in the world.
I vividly remember crying while listening to the song for the first time, and a few times after that.
Songs like Power of Your Love and My Redeemer Lives followed, turning Hillsong into a household name in the Christian world.
And just like that, worship left the four walls of local churches and stepped onto the global stage.
The Worldwide Boom
By the early 2000s, Hillsong wasn’t just a church anymore - it was a movement, a brand, and a creative hub, and it was about to get even bigger.
Their multi-day conferences attracted tens of thousands, and their songs topped charts not only in Christian music but across mainstream platforms.
Hillsong’s music division became so big and ambitious, that it led to split, which didn’t mean breakup, but evolution:
-
Hillsong Worship - the traditional, church-centered sound, focused on congregational songs
-
Hillsong United - the youthful, experimental arm led by Joel Houston, the son of the church’s founders
-
Hillsong Young & Free - the electronic and pop-oriented worship collective targeting the digital generation
Each of them touring, performing and releasing records under its own sub-brand.
Each had its own identity, and together they cover nearly every genre from acoustic ballads to synth-driven EDM, turning stadiums into sanctuaries.
And if that sounds like an exaggeration, you probably haven’t seen 20,000 people sing Oceans with tears in their eyes.
The Sound of Faith
If you trace the sound of Hillsong through time, you basically trace the evolution of modern worship.
1990s - the Darlene Zschech era: bright guitars, live choirs, clean pop-rock sound with lots of emotional melodies.
2000s - the Joel Houston era: massive drums, atmospheric guitars, cinematic build-ups - the sound of stadium worship.
2010s and on - the Brooke Ligertwood & Taya Smith era: ambient synths, minimalism, poetic lyrics, and sonic depth.
What I love about Hillsong is how naturally they grew with the times. They never forced trends, they became the trend.
Where Bethel brought intimacy and Planetshakers brought energy, Hillsong brought scale - and yet, even in their biggest moments, the songs still feel personal.
As a musician, I’ve always admired how they balance production and heart. It’s easy to sound huge. It’s much harder to sound huge and holy.
The Voices and the Songwriters
Darlene Zschech – the queen of worship. Her voice defined the 90s era of Hillsong. When she sings Shout to the Lord, it feels like heaven itself joins in.
Reuben Morgan – the architect of Hillsong’s songwriting. He’s behind Mighty to Save, Cornerstone, Christ Is Enough, and so many others. I especially love his lyrics. His writing is so flawless that it makes singing his songs feel like the most natural thing in the world.
Joel Houston – the creative wild card. He pushed worship into new sonic spaces. Tracks like Touch the Sky or Good Grace carry that balance between faith and modern artistry.
Taya Smith – the voice of Oceans. When she sings, it’s as if all the noise of the world goes quiet. That song alone has been streamed over 700 million times. Not bad for a church tune.
Brooke Ligertwood – the poet and theologian among them. My personal favorite. Author of Hosanna, Man of Sorrows, What a Beautiful Name and many others. Her songwriting is both intellectual and deeply spiritual. She is a rare blend of heart and mind.
Photo: Justin Higuchi, Hillsong United performing live, October 23, 2014, The Forum, Inglewood, CA, USA. Originally posted on Flickr. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0).
Beyond Music
But Hillsong isn’t only about sound.
They redefined what modern church culture looks like. Stage design, camera work, lighting, branding, design and typography. Everything is intentional, beautiful, and relevant.
For young creatives, Hillsong became a place where faith meets art. You could play guitar, design visuals, mix sound, shoot video - and do it all for something greater than yourself.
Of course, this kind of visibility also brought criticism - people saying it’s too much show, too much production. Maybe. But the truth is, Hillsong simply reflected the world it was reaching.
They made worship look like it belonged in the 21st century.
Legacy
Hillsong changed how we think about worship - not just as music, but as culture.
They showed that faith doesn’t have to sound outdated. They built a bridge between church and mainstream art, between the sacred and the popular.
Their songs are now sung in tiny rural chapels and massive megachurches alike. Their sound has inspired thousands of musicians who may never even realize they’re part of a legacy that began in a small Australian suburb.
To me Hillsong music became nothing less than part of my life - and that was way before I prayed for the first time.
Live in Miami was the soundtrack of my spiritual puberty and there were times when I listened to it every day for about a year, and it’s still one of my favorite live rock albums of all time.
Thank God I went to that meeting in 2006.
Be blessed.
PS. Yes, Hillsong Church went through storms lately - but the worship is still pure. The failures of leadership don’t rewrite the beauty of the songs that brought millions closer to God.
Recommended Albums
Hillsong Worship:
- Faith + Hope + Love (2009)
- Cornerstone (2012)
- Let There Be Light (2016)
Hillsong United:
- Live in Miami (2012)
- Zion (2013)
- Empires (2015)
Hillsong Young & Free:
- III (2018)
Write a comment