Contemporary Congregational Songs

This chapter initially focuses on the contested nomenclature for this genre, including its historical evolution and theological justifications. Space is given to addressing the particularly problematic term, ‘Praise and Worship’. The chapter then proceeds to qualify each of the three words (contemporary, congregational, and songs) in the chosen term for the genre, arguing that while it has limitations, it is still currently the most helpful term available for discussing such songs. The next section deals with the 32 most sung contemporary congregational songs (CCS) under analysis based on the Christian Copyright Licensing International’s biannual Church Copyright License and SongSelect reports and on YouTube views. A rationale is provided regarding how these most sung songs are representative of the global CCS genre.