Surprising Study Reveals Most Popular Worship Songs in Churches During the Holidays
Data from Faithlife Proclaim, a church presentation software from Faithlife (the makers of Logos Bible Software), highlights the most popular song and Scripture choices throughout the holiday season among churches across the nation. The data, accumulated over the last three years from Faithlife’s more than 11,000 Proclaim users, identifies the most-sung selections on Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Surrounding the Thanksgiving holiday, the 1978 hymn “Give Thanks” by Henry Smith has consistently been the top song played in churches. Other songs with themes of gratefulness and blessings top the most-played songs behind “Give Thanks,” including “10,000 Reasons” (Bless the Lord) by Matt Redman, “Blessed Be Your Name” by Matt Redman, “Great is Thy Faithfulness” by Thomas Obadiah Chisholm, “Forever” by Kari Jobe and “Count Your Blessings” by Johnson Oatman, Jr.
During Christmastime, classic Christmas songs outrank modern worship, with “Joy to the World” being the most-played song on Christmas Day for the last three consecutive years. The other top songs include “Away in a Manger,” “Go Tell It on the Mountain,” “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,” “O Come, All Ye Faithful” and “Angels We Have Heard on High.”
“One of my favorite features of Faithlife Proclaim is that the data gives us a snapshot view of shared favorites between churches all across America,” said Bob Pritchett, founder and CEO of Faithlife. “Especially in the holiday season, it’s an excellent reminder that no matter our size, location or denomination, all church bodies can be united.”
To learn more, visit proclaim.faithlife.com/.
