Passion: Awakening is more than a worship album
After January 2010’s Passion Conference in Atlanta, over 20,000 college students started counting down the days until March 9th: the release date for the live album from the conference to be titled “Passion: Awakening.”
The Passion gatherings have been taking place since 1997 on a nearly annual basis where of thousands of college students come together to worship with some of the most recognized names in Christian music, hear lessons from popular Christian authors and speakers, and raise money to enact justice for causes around the world.
One may recognize the Passion brand from past live albums containing songs like “How Great Is Our God,” “Everything Glorious,” or “God of This City” that quickly found homes in churches around the world and set new standards for worship music.
The newest album from the Passion artists (including Chris Tomlin, Christy Nockels, David Crowder Band, Matt Redman, Kristian Stanfill, Fee, Charlie Hall, and, this year, Hillsong United) is no exception to this stellar legacy.
Surely, the songs “Our God,” “Awakening,” “Where the Spirit of the Lord Is,” and “Chosen Generation” (among others) are already making waves in churches around the country and the world.
Passion’s stated purpose on their website, 268generation.com, is, “to glorify God [by] uniting students in worship and prayer for spiritual awakening in this generation” based on Isaiah 26:8 which says, “Yes Lord, walking in the way of Your truth we wait eagerly for You, for Your name and renown are the desire of our souls.”
Although the music is clearly one of the ways Passion is awakening a generation, it is also important to note students at the Passion 2010 Conference raised nearly $1.4 million in only four days to benefit causes around the world from preventing sex trafficking to feeding the hungry and getting clean water to those who have none.
“Passion: Awakening” is more than just a great worship album, it is the sound of an ongoing movement, and, as you listen, you can hear it in all 20,000 voices.
