Q&A: Connecting Through Worship

There is no counterfeit for the presence of God. I think young people today are leaning in more than ever to worship. They recognize a shift when people come together. I’ve noticed in certain worship gatherings when you can sense the faith and expectation in the room, the atmosphere shifts and things that could otherwise take years to break off or leave behind are broken in a moment. There is freedom in worship—and who doesn’t want to be free?

Worship takes our eyes off of ourselves and places our focus and adoration on Jesus. Worship reminds us of who God is, who he says we are and what he has done. It is a great privilege to place sound and scriptural theology in the mouths of young people through our music.

It could be said that everyone is in pursuit of truth. The state of the world and the sadness and desperation we are exposed to daily through media and online engagement only heighten our awareness of our own need. Young people don’t want to be impressed; they want something real, lasting.

I love that my church has a culture of “welcome home.” At any [Hillsong] campus, you will sense the same “come as you are” love and embrace, an authenticity that genuinely loves people just as they are, believing that when they find a relationship with God and get grounded in authentic community, their lives will always change for the better.

I think the role of music and worship is to do what it has always done: engage, remind, encourage, uplift, put our focus on and attention toward God. Music is a gift, as it has the ability to go where our literal selves can not, opens people who might otherwise be closed off and speaks where words fail. It is a universal language that cuts through even religious obstacles and cynical thinking. We need worshippers in every genre of music to reach every person possible with the gospel message of Jesus.