PORTLAND, Ore. — “Shout to the Lord” and “Lord, I Lift Your Name on High” are the two most popular songs sung in Baptist churches that use contemporary worship, a new survey says. According to Christian Copyright Licensing International, which licenses more than 150,000 songs for congregational use, those songs topped the list in a survey of Baptist churches with CCLI licenses.
The Baptist churches, surveyed earlier this year, listed as their top 10 songs: 1. “Shout to the Lord,” Darlene Zschech; 2. “Lord, I Lift Your Name On High,” Rick Founds; 3. Open the Eyes of My Heart,” Paul Baloche; 4. “Come, Now Is the Time to Worship,” Brian Doerksen; 5. “You Are My All in All,” Dennis Jernigan; 6. “Breathe,” Marie Barnett; 7. “He Is Exalted,” Twila Paris; 8. “I Love You, Lord,” Laurie Klein; 9. “Give Thanks,” Henry Smith; and 10. “Awesome God,” Rich Mullins.
Worship songs rise in popularity a lot quicker than they used to, said industry insider Steve Parolini, because of their availability on radio stations and in retail outlets like Wal-Mart.
“Were it not for the current popularity of worship music performed by [contemporary Christian music] artists, the top 25 list would look a lot different,” said Parolini, a music critic in Colorado Springs, Colo.
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