Reviewed by Stella Redburn

As any student of modern worship will tell you, the annual Spring Harvest Bible Weeks have been pivotal in the development of contemporary worship music, and although there are some nostalgic older people with fond memories of the late '70s and '80s when Graham Kendrick could almost be relied upon to come up with one or two songs of sufficient quality to circle the world Church, there is still no doubt that even today they are a huge cultural melting pot for UK worshippers. This year's allotted worship leaders, and sometimes songwriters, are strong - the tried and tested Pete James, Brighton's fine new kids on the block Bright City, Elim Church's still underrated but sharply focused Elim Sound, and Holland's Kees Kraayenoord were all on hand, at different times, in the Big Top to lead the joyful congregation in worship and in the process get these fairly new songs better known. Pride of place goes to "So Will I (100 Billion X)", the Hillsong United number, led here by Bright City. It's a brilliant reflection on the Lord's creation of time and space and wonderfully breaks out of the mould of the conventional worship song. Bright City also do a great job on Bethel Music's "Reckless Love" with its soaring melody and deep theology. Pete James wrote "Your Kingdom Come" for the eponymous global prayer movement and it's a strong number. Elim Sound write their own songs and I loved "One", which is their new single, and "Grace That Will Lead Us Home" inspired by the hymn "Amazing Grace".

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

Interested in reviewing music? Find out more here.