How Great You Are: Worship at Grace Covenant

Various Artists
How Great You Are: Worship at Grace Covenant
Grace Covenant Church (2010)
http://www.gracecov.org/

How Great You Are is the soundtrack of the ethnically-diverse Grace Covenant Church, located in Chantilly, Virginia, near the Nation’s Capitol, where Brett Fuller is Senior Pastor.

The CD showcases a baker’s dozen of P&W compositions by Grace Covenant’s Minister of Music Tifani Wilson and Music Director Rob Ellis. The lovely and talented Wilson wrote and leads most of the album’s selections, with Grace Covenant choristers and musicians supporting her.

Arranged as a seamless worship experience, the songs blend one to another, varying from bouncing and energetic to atmospheric and meditative, but always sweet and optimistic. The lyrics are pure P&W, sweeping, psalm-like, and prayerful. Melodically, the songs have more in common with CCM, pop and rock than gospel, but given the church’s cultural cornucopia, that’s not surprising. In fact, Ellis’ “Bless His Name” has a Latin flavor in its swaying beat, and Wilson’s “God Like You” concludes with the line “There is no other God like you” in Spanish. “I’ll Worship” is quasi-orchestral during its opening moments.

“Superhero,” the balladic bonus selection, and the melodic title track are most representative of the album’s offerings.

Die-hard gospel fans like me will not find any heart-rending songs, blue notes, occasional shouting, praise breaks or church wreckers, but my guess is that’s not what this church’s music ministry is about. On the other hand, fans of the music of Israel and New Breed, Martha Munizzi, Mary Alessi and of Joel Osteen’s Houston-headquartered Lakewood Church will find this CD particularly appealing. Grace Covenant members will enjoy revisiting their worship music at home or in the car.

Three of Five Stars

Picks: “How Great You Are,” “Superhero.”