First there was Hillsong Live, the mother worship team of the internationally acclaimed Australian mega church.  Then at the direction of its then worship pastor Darlene Zschech came its youthful contingent Hillsong United.  Though Hillsong United (initially headed by Reuben Morgan and Marty Sampson) came out of the church's youth ministry, it has grown into a tour de force itself.  They have been releasing record breaking albums year after year.  And their tours across the globe continue to set records in terms of unbelievers being saved and the numbers who attend.  With members in the team passed what we might consider "youthful" demographic, it's time for Hillsong to launch another worship team that represents its burgeoning youth ministry.  Current youth pastor Laura Toggs (also the daughter of senior pastor Brian Houston) has now formed a team comprising of worship leaders that lead youth worship across the campuses of Hillsong Church; and they are called Hillsong Young and Free.

With their debut album coming out in October, Hillsong Young and Free has previewed their record with the release of its inaugural single "Alive."  Hillsong Young and Free is entirely the work of the church's youth ministry.  So, it has stayed clear of Hillsong's major song writers and leaders such as Reuben Morgan, Darlene Zschech, Matt Crocker, Ben Fielding and so forth.  Rather, "Alive" is written by their new in-house team of Aodhan King and Alexander Pappas.  But like all their receding Hillsong efforts, "Alive" is no slouch as far as the charts are concerned.  In its debut week, "Alive" has already topped the Australian Itunes Inspirational chart and it is currently charting at number 50 on the Australian pop charts! With the hype currently surrounding the team and the song, when "Alive" is finally released in North America similar success fleets are predicted.

So, what is "Alive" like?  Two factors work in the song's favor:  first, the song is certainly something young people wouldn't mind jamming to in worship.  Over the years, worship songs have a bad reputation of being an embarrassment to the young.  On their iphones they are cruising to Selena Gomez and Robin Thicke, but in church they are forced to sing slow and dreary adult contemporary worship ballads.  "Alive" picks up the fresh electronic dance of today's hottest beats and incorporates them to the usual Hillsong anthemic live sounds, making this a worship song even the young would love jamming to.  

Second, the words are the message version of worship songs; this means they are Christ-centered yet they are colloquial enough that the youth could understand, remember, feel, love and worship to.  Here's a sample: "I was lost with a broken heart/You picked me up now I'm set apart/From the ash I was born again/Forever safe in the Savior's hands."  "Alive" is going to let worship meetings come literally alive with the Savior's praise; and I would rather see young people bopping with love for Jesus at the top of their voices than partying to the tunes of fornicated love and quick-fixed drugs.