About “The Heart Of Worship”
In the mid 1990s, pastor Mike Pilavachi of Soul Survivor Church in Watford, England sensed the congregation had become consumers of worship rather than participants, so he stripped away the band and sound system and had the church learn to bring worship without music. Matt Redman wrote the song in his bedroom as his personal response to that season, an apology for making worship about the music instead of about Jesus. When Redman showed it to Pilavachi, the pastor suggested small lyric adjustments so the wider church could sing it, and it went on to become one of the most recognized worship songs of its generation.
Written by Matt Redman · Released 1998 on Intimacy · CCLI #2296522
- First released on Redman's 1998 UK album Intimacy, which was retitled The Heart of Worship for its 1999 US release
Churches that sing it
Real churches in our map with this in their worship playlist — 15 you can watch on YouTube.
Where in the world
If your church sings this, they also sing
Frequently asked
Who wrote “The Heart Of Worship”?
Matt Redman. It was first released in 1998 on Intimacy.
What is “The Heart Of Worship” about?
In the mid 1990s, pastor Mike Pilavachi of Soul Survivor Church in Watford, England sensed the congregation had become consumers of worship rather than participants, so he stripped away the band and sound system and had the church learn to bring worship without music. Matt Redman wrote the song in his bedroom as his personal response to that season, an apology for making worship about the music instead of about Jesus. When Redman showed it to Pilavachi, the pastor suggested small lyric adjustments so the wider church could sing it, and it went on to become one of the most recognized worship songs of its generation.
How many churches sing “The Heart Of Worship”?
28 churches in the playlist.church map have it in their worship playlists, most often for Adoration, Grace, Surrender — one of the most-adopted worship songs today.