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Jkandm

By DAVID DIZON

Hillsong United, probably the most popular youth worship band in the world right now, breezed in and out of Manila last Monday, bringing a fresh wind of encouragement to worshippers both young and old who attended their sold-out concert at the Araneta Coliseum.

For a little over two hours that night, the energy level in the Araneta Coliseum was so high that most of the audience were on their feet throughout the entire concert, dancing and clapping and singing their lungs out in unison with the bands vast repertoire of praise and worship standards.

If one were to judge solely on the decibel levels created during the concert, one would think that this group is no different from any other Christian rock band.

After all, Hillsong United records are some of the highest selling worship albums to date and their songs are being sung in different churches around the world.

Keeping it real

How then does one deal with this type of celebrity? According to the band, they do it by focusing not on themselves or the music but their relationship with God.

"We definitely dont consider ourselves stars," says Hillsong United vocalist Annie Garratt.

"Traveling and touring and leading worship is just a small part of what we do and we consider that serving. When were at home, all of us work in our church.

"All of us volunteer so all of this is just another opportunity for us to serve. Its not any more valuable or important than what you guys do in your community and churches," she said.

Remembering their role

Joel Houston, the bands leader, says one thing that keeps their egos in check is a realization of their role in the body of Christ and how they are just representatives of a body of believers in Sydney, Australia who serve God in many different ways.

He says it also helps that team members hold each other accountable to ensure that their individual relationships with God are stronger than ever.

"We sing songs that try to move attention away from us as much as possible. We remember from whence we came. We know where we started out and we know that we are part of something thats much bigger than ourselves. So its important that we always remember that," he said.

"If we get too full of ourselves and how great we are, we lose the whole plot of what were all about. We want to be about singing songs that give glory to God and hopefully reach out to people."

Mainstream dreams

The team also admitted that each member of the group had individual dreams of joining the mainstream music industry when they were young. These dreams, however, were given up for an even greater purpose.

Says band member Jadwin "Jad" Gillies: "I guess when youre a kid, you always have dreams where you want to be in a band and you want to do something.

"But then there comes a certain point when you have to trust God with your life and you say 'Yeah God, Im going to serve you. Im giving you everything that Ive got. And God has a funny way of making your dreams happen."

Worshipful hearts

Joel said one goal that every worship team should have is to have a heart for worship. He said having a heart for worship means a denial of one's self and focusing on serving God's people.

He said this firm realization of what worshippers should do also keeps the band from prioritizing relevance over truth in their music.

He said their albums are like snapshots that reflect Gods work in their home church and how it has changed over the years.

"When we write, we write for our young people. We write for our church and what God is doing in our church right now and we right out of the revelation that we are a city in Christ right now," he said.

Finally, he said that while their musical styles and tastes have changed, one thing has remained the same and that is the eternal truth of Gods Word and how God is still moving in the church today.

"We live in Australia and you guys live here and theres young people all over the world serving God but God is the same no matter where you go. We serve the same God.

"I believe God wants to do the same thing all over the world and thats why I think a lot of people can relate to our songs, no matter the circumstance. God is the same all over the world."