If you’ve been feeling like worship music’s all starting to sound the same—well, you’re not wrong. While the charts are still dominated by the usual suspects, a quieter, more creative movement is happening just beneath the surface. These worship collectives aren’t trying to go viral. They’re not cranking out formulaic bridge-build-drop anthems. Instead, they’re building something slower, deeper and more rooted.
Here are seven groups doing something different—and worth your time.
1. Housefires
Housefires helped pioneer the stripped-down, living room worship style that’s since become a genre of its own. With rotating members like Pat Barrett, Kirby Kaple and Ryan Ellis, their songs feel more like communal prayers than performances—raw, repetitive and deeply immersive.
Start with: Build My Life (feat. Pat Barrett)
2. One House Worship
Yes, they’ve worked with big-name artists—like Naomi Raine, Chandler Moore and Jonathan McReynolds—but One House still feels grounded in their church community. Their multicultural, genre-blending approach brings gospel, soul and modern worship into the same conversation, creating a sound that feels both rooted and fresh.
Start with: Remain the Same (feat. Naomi Raine)
3. The Porter’s Gate
Think of The Porter’s Gate as the brainy kid in youth group who also happened to be the most emotionally in tune. Every album tackles a theme—work, justice, lament—and brings in a rotating cast of respected indie and liturgical artists. If you’ve been craving worship that feels more like spiritual formation than performance, this is your lane.
Start with: Establish the Work of Our Hands
4. United Pursuit
While most worship trends lean toward louder and slicker, United Pursuit has stayed committed to their slow, stripped-back roots. Their songs feel like they were written in the quiet moments of real life, not a songwriting camp—which is probably why they still hit so hard.
Start with: Let It Happen
5. One Voice Worship
This Seattle collective’s days flying under the radar are limited. Their new album The Remnant shows they’re not just another worship group—they’re starting to build a movement. Their writing is simple but powerful, with a rawness that makes it feel less like a setlist and more like a Spirit-led moment.
Start with: More Like Jesus (feat. Canaan Baca)
6. Circuit Rider Music
Circuit Rider Music captures the intensity of a revival night with the songwriting instincts of a band that’s been around the block. Their songs carry urgency without theatrics, often written with missions in mind and sung like they actually believe it. Think passion not polish.
Start with: I Will Praise
7. SEU Worship
SEU Worship is doing something more intentional than most: they’re building worship leaders not just writing songs. Based at Southeastern University, the collective is constantly evolving, bringing in fresh student voices and letting the next generation shape the sound of modern worship in real time.
Start with: Monday Morning Faith
These collectives are proving that worship music doesn’t have to be one-size-fits-all. It can be raw. It can be theologically rich. It can be uncomfortable, prophetic, multiethnic, student-led and still deeply sacred. And maybe most importantly—it can sound like real people singing to a real God, right in the middle of real life.
Title: 7 Worship Collectives Quietly Shaking Up the Church Music Scene
URL: https://relevantmagazine.com/culture/music/7-worship-collectives-quietly-shaking-up-the-church-music-scene/
Source: REL ::: RELEVANT
Source URL: http://www.relevantmagazine.com/rss/relevantmagazine.xml
Date: April 8, 2025 at 09:55PM
Feedly Board(s): Religion