Not so long ago, I was afraid younger generations would never experience hymns. It seemed that contemporary praise music had replaced all but a few of the most popular old hymns in so many churches and it appeared that hymns were destined to be artifacts of history.

Things have been changing over the past 20 years or so. New life has been breathed into many of the old hymns—some through new tunes and others through their energetic presentation.

I don’t have statistics on the upswing in the number of hymns that are being recorded or sung in worship services, but I am thrilled that they are making a comeback!

It’s not just old songs that are finding they way back into worship. There is a growing number of new hymn writers these days.  Keith and Kristyn Getty, who are known best for their hymn In Christ Alone, are passionate about Christian families singing hymns. Their own family of four young girls learns a hymn a month together. When they share their Getty Family Hymn Sing online on Tuesdays, they make available to the families watching from around the world the songs so that they can sing along. They also host the Sing! Conference each year, with lots of music and teaching sessions They are certainly not the only ones writing new hymns and encouraging hymns in our worship, but they are a family who is intentional about hymns.

Here are several videos that feature hymns you may have grown up on but that sound a bit different today. Mac Powell from Third Day introduces Blessed Assurance with his own testimony to the need of hymns in the church. Other old songs include Arise My Soul Arise sung by Indelible Grace, At the Cross by Praisecharts, and When We All Get to Heaven sung by Tommy Walker and an intergenerational choir. Next come two modern hymns: Keith and Kristyn Getty and Alison Krauss with In Christ Alone and Stuart Townend’s  song, How Deep the Father’s Love for Us as sung by Selah. We end with Stuart Townend telling the story behind his hymn.

I hope you enjoy these modern hymns which tell the Gospel story in a way that speaks to new generations. Praise the Lord for the growing number of musicians who are reviving old hymns and giving birth to new ones, to the glory of God.

Let the people sing!
Ginger