Hymn Writers Want Their Music ‘Pass to Our Next Generation’
By Movieguide® Contributor
For Christian artists Keith and Kristyn Getty, writing hymns is their “life’s work.”
“When we began to look at the songs we were singing, we were going, ‘Are these the songs that we will carry with us and pass to our next generation? Are these songs that are helping us think more deeply?’” Keith said in an interview with THE 700 CLUB. “And so we realized there was a need, alongside what is being sung today, to really try to create the hymn genre. It’s really just deeper songs written in a more classic way.”
He added, “It’s just become our life’s work ever since.”
Kristyn explained that, when they’re writing, the couple starts with two questions: “Why do we have this song, and how will it be used?”
“We think of the things going on in the world and we think of pressures in the family — all those things, what parts of the Bible, what main ideas would be a really great idea to sing?” she continued.
The couple also shared their dream for the hymns they write, with Keith joking, “There’s no evidence yet that people will sing my songs for 50 years.”
“It’s a lofty goal for us, as writers, to set, but I think it’s worthwhile,” Kristyn said. “To go after what is so wonderful about [classic hymns] and how can we follow in the footsteps of those great hymns and right into our time and generation?”
The Gettys are currently preparing for next year’s Sing! Conference, where attendees will be “inspired by testimony of God’s faithfulness as we journey through the greatest hymns of all time, learn dozens of new hymns as a part of the official launch of the Sing! Hymnal, and think deeply about how we can continue to pass rich, Biblical songs onward through the generations,” per the conference’s website.
“Sing! 25 is a real moment in our history,” Keith shared. “It’s the most exciting thing we’ve ever had because we’re launching the hymnal that year.”
Kristyn added, “We want the conference to be a wonderful experience and people to enjoy being with one another and singing.”
The couple frequently speak about the importance of singing hymns together, whether it’s with your church’s congregation or with your family at home.
“If you look at the Puritans, they really understood the importance of family worship,” Keith said during an interview with Christianity Today. “My wife always describes congregational worship as a Sunday feast that we prepare during the week. Families that sing — actively, in family devotions; or passively, just by having music playing around the house — tend to sing well on Sunday. The New England Puritans used to meet on Wednesday to begin preparing themselves for Sunday worship. Our culture may not be structured for that level of commitment, but we do have technology that allows us to fill our homes with songs.”
He continued, “I once asked John MacArthur, when we were visiting his church for a concert, if he had any advice for raising children. He said, ‘Fill your home with songs of the Lord. It’s one of the most important things a parent can do.’ I would only add: Where life is — inside and outside the home — fill those places with songs of the Lord.”
Movieguide® previously reported on the Gettys’ thoughts on the importance of singing:
While reflecting on the importance of music in the church, Keith explained, “We let the word of Christ dwell on us richly, and so what that means is we need to be singing songs that help us have a deep understanding of the Lord—that have a deep understanding of our own humanity and frailty—but a deep understanding of the gospel in all its truth and all its reality and all its forgiveness and hope for the future and for heaven.”
Kristyn added that “something incredible happens when we sing.”
“Yes, it is an expression of praise to the Lord and to honor Him, but there’s something about what it means to be in church and means to be together,” she continued. “So, when I think when we’re talking about ‘What is the sound of worship music? What should that be?’ Well, it’s the sound of the congregation singing together.”
Keith said, “That’s the picture of heaven itself, isn’t it? Of God’s people singing together. That is the hope. We all sing because God has commanded us to, because he’s created us to do it…because Christ is so worthy of our deepest praise.”
