Stuart Townend
Encyclopedia
Stuart Townend is a British Christian worship leader and writer of hymn
s and contemporary worship music. His songs include "In Christ Alone" (2002, co-written with Keith Getty
, Townend's first collaboration with any other songwriter), "How Deep The Father's Love For Us", "Beautiful Saviour" and "The King Of Love".
As of 2008, CCLI lists the "In Christ Alone" in its Top 25 CCLI Songs list. In 2005, Cross Rhythms
magazine described Townend as "one of the most significant songwriters in the whole international Christian music field". The Christian website Crosswalk.com commented that, "the uniqueness of Townend’s writing lies partly in its lyrical content. There is both a theological depth and poetic expression that some say is rare in today’s worship writing".
Townend has led worship and performed events across the world at many conferences and festivals, including the Stoneleigh Bible Week in the early 90s to the early 2000s, Together On A Mission, Mandate, Mission:Worship, Keswick Convention, Spring Harvest and many more. He has also featured on Songs of Praise and worked alongside other high profile Christian musicians including Keith Getty
, Lou Fellingham
and Phatfish
.
vicar in Halifax
, West Yorkshire
, was the youngest of four children. He studied literature at the University of Sussex
. Townend started learning to play the piano at age 7. At the age of 13, he made a Christian commitment, and began songwriting at age 22.
At university, he met Caroline, whom he married in 1988. They now have three children; Joseph, Emma and Eden. He has attended and regularly leads worship at CCK in Brighton, one of the new Frontiers network of churches headed by Terry Virgo.
Hymn
A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification...
s and contemporary worship music. His songs include "In Christ Alone" (2002, co-written with Keith Getty
Keith Getty
Julian Keith Getty is a Northern Ireland composer, best known for pioneering "modern hymns." Many of his songs are co-written with his wife, Kristyn Getty, and veteran British songwriter and worship leader Stuart Townend...
, Townend's first collaboration with any other songwriter), "How Deep The Father's Love For Us", "Beautiful Saviour" and "The King Of Love".
As of 2008, CCLI lists the "In Christ Alone" in its Top 25 CCLI Songs list. In 2005, Cross Rhythms
Cross Rhythms
Cross Rhythms is a Christian media organisation based in Stoke-on-Trent, England.-History:The roots of what was to become Cross Rhythms go back to two separate sources which merged in 1991. In 1983, broadcaster Chris Cole started a 30-minute weekly Christian music radio show on Plymouth Sound FM, a...
magazine described Townend as "one of the most significant songwriters in the whole international Christian music field". The Christian website Crosswalk.com commented that, "the uniqueness of Townend’s writing lies partly in its lyrical content. There is both a theological depth and poetic expression that some say is rare in today’s worship writing".
Townend has led worship and performed events across the world at many conferences and festivals, including the Stoneleigh Bible Week in the early 90s to the early 2000s, Together On A Mission, Mandate, Mission:Worship, Keswick Convention, Spring Harvest and many more. He has also featured on Songs of Praise and worked alongside other high profile Christian musicians including Keith Getty
Keith Getty
Julian Keith Getty is a Northern Ireland composer, best known for pioneering "modern hymns." Many of his songs are co-written with his wife, Kristyn Getty, and veteran British songwriter and worship leader Stuart Townend...
, Lou Fellingham
Lou Fellingham
Louise "Lou" Fellingham , , is a Christian worship leader, singer and songwriter from Brighton in East Sussex, England. She is a founding member of the British band Phatfish and has also pursued a solo career....
and Phatfish
Phatfish
Phatfish are a Christian rock, CCM and Worship Band. They live in Brighton, England and have spent many years writing and performing their own brand of worship-oriented rock, as well as leading worship both in the UK and across the world...
.
Personal life
Townend, son of a Church of EnglandChurch of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
vicar in Halifax
Halifax, West Yorkshire
Halifax is a minster town, within the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale in West Yorkshire, England. It has an urban area population of 82,056 in the 2001 Census. It is well-known as a centre of England's woollen manufacture from the 15th century onward, originally dealing through the Halifax Piece...
, West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
, was the youngest of four children. He studied literature at the University of Sussex
University of Sussex
The University of Sussex is an English public research university situated next to the East Sussex village of Falmer, within the city of Brighton and Hove. The University received its Royal Charter in August 1961....
. Townend started learning to play the piano at age 7. At the age of 13, he made a Christian commitment, and began songwriting at age 22.
At university, he met Caroline, whom he married in 1988. They now have three children; Joseph, Emma and Eden. He has attended and regularly leads worship at CCK in Brighton, one of the new Frontiers network of churches headed by Terry Virgo.
Audio
- Classical Praise Piano: Come Holy Spirit (1995)
- Say the Word (1997)
- Personal Worship (2001)
- Lord of Every Heart (2002)
- Monument to Mercy (2006)
- The Best of Stuart Townend Live (2007)
- There is a Hope (live) (2008)
- Creation Sings (2009)
- The Journey (2011)
Audio - featuring Townend
- Stoneleigh Bible Week albums, 1994–2001
- Mandate - O Church Arise
- Mandate - See What A Morning
- NewfrontiersNewfrontiersNewfrontiers is a neocharismatic apostolic ministry network of evangelical, charismatic churches founded by Terry Virgo. It forms part of the British New Church Movement, which began in the late 50s and 60s combining features of Pentecostalism with British evangelicalism...
albums, 2004–2006 - Mission:Worship albums, 2006–present
- PhatfishPhatfishPhatfish are a Christian rock, CCM and Worship Band. They live in Brighton, England and have spent many years writing and performing their own brand of worship-oriented rock, as well as leading worship both in the UK and across the world...
- Hope - Unplugged Live (2002) - Keswick ConventionKeswick ConventionThe Keswick Convention is an annual gathering of evangelical Christians in Keswick, in the English county of Cumbria.- History :The Keswick Convention began in 1875 as a catalyst and focal point for the emerging Higher Life movement in the United Kingdom. It was founded by an Anglican, Canon T. D....
albums, 2007–present - Spring HarvestSpring HarvestSpring Harvest is an inter-denominational Christian conference and gathering in the United Kingdom. Its "Main Event" takes place annually at the Butlins resorts in Minehead and Skegness over the Easter school holiday period....
albums
Video - featuring Townend
- Mission:Worship - Just One Touch From The King (DVD 2007)
- Worship From The Abbey (DVD 2007)
- PhatfishPhatfishPhatfish are a Christian rock, CCM and Worship Band. They live in Brighton, England and have spent many years writing and performing their own brand of worship-oriented rock, as well as leading worship both in the UK and across the world...
- There Is A Day (DVD 2006) - PhatfishPhatfishPhatfish are a Christian rock, CCM and Worship Band. They live in Brighton, England and have spent many years writing and performing their own brand of worship-oriented rock, as well as leading worship both in the UK and across the world...
- Hope - Unplugged Live (VHS 2002)
External links
- Debra Akins, 10 Questions With Stuart Townend (Crosswalk.com)
- Stuart Townend, "Tips for writing a successful hymn", BBC Religion and Ethics, 2004
- There is a Hope album review