There’s a moment that happens in every good conversation—the point where the guard drops and you realize you’re no longer just talking about music or industry trends, but something deeper. Something that pulses under the surface of all of it. When Chris Brown, Elevation Worship’s longtime frontman, starts talking about faith and music, he hits that moment often.
Brown, whose voice has helped define modern worship music for more than a decade, isn’t just making church anthems anymore. In addition to leading Elevation Worship, he’s at the center of a new project, Sons of Sunday—a band that exists in a creative no-man’s land between worship, pop and rock, featuring an all-star lineup of worship leaders, including Brandon Lake, Chandler Moore, Pat Barrett, Leeland Mooring and Elevation Church’s own Pastor Steven Furtick. It’s an experiment in the best way: loose, unfiltered, built on the kind of instinct that only comes from years of writing music that has to hit home in both the sanctuary and the earbuds of a listener in need of something real.
But before we get into all that, there’s a more pressing issue.
Brown laughs when he hears how he’s referred to on RELEVANT’s podcast.
“The good Chris Brown,” he says. “I probably should have changed my name to Christian Brown a long time ago. Would have saved everyone some trouble.”
And just like that, the conversation is off and running.
Rewriting the Rules of Worship
Elevation Worship has spent years redefining what modern worship can sound like—songs like “Graves Into Gardens”, “Do It Again” and “RATTLE!” are staples of contemporary church services. But the band’s latest project is something different: a stripped-down, acoustic worship set recorded in a house, without the high-gloss production that usually accompanies their live albums.
“We just pressed record and spent a half hour in worship,” Brown says. “No pressure to nail a performance. No audience. Just a few of us together, worshiping.”
For Brown, the goal wasn’t just to create an alternative version of their songs—it was about capturing something honest. He describes the scene: “Someone’s making dinner, they set their phone by the stove and it just serves to set a beautiful atmosphere. It’s peaceful, it’s calming. It’s just a good time of worship.”
It’s a notable shift for a band known for bringing stadium-level energy to their live performances. But for Brown, that versatility is part of what makes Elevation Worship special.
“Our team doesn’t have just one gear,” he says. “People love coming to Elevation Nights for the big, loud experience. But it’s also cool to provide something that’s just chill.”
“The Unplanned Experiment of Sons of Sunday”
If Elevation Worship is about bringing people into a worship space, Sons of Sunday is about what happens when worship leaders start making music with no agenda.
It started as a conversation with Furtick last May.
“We had these songs,” Brown says, referring to a batch of 13 to 15 tracks written over several years. “They didn’t fit a Sunday morning worship set. So they just sat in a Dropbox folder.”
And then, as Brown tells it, inspiration hit.
“Pastor Steven calls me and says, ‘We should start a men’s quartet. Like, the 2024 version of the Gaither Vocal Band.’”
Within days, the project took shape. They called up friends—Lake, Moore, Barrett, Mooring—and every response was immediate. “I’m in. We gotta do this.”
The group’s reference points were unexpected: the Traveling Wilburys, a supergroup from the ’90s that included Bob Dylan, Tom Petty and George Harrison; The Highwaymen, a collaboration between Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings.
“We all have our own careers and ministries, but this felt different,” Brown says. “The songs already existed. They didn’t belong to any one of us. So maybe they were meant for all of us.”
The result? A genre-bending collection of tracks—some rock, some pop, some vibey and ethereal, a couple even leaning into traditional worship territory. And it’s still evolving.
“I don’t think we even fully know what Sons of Sunday is yet,” Brown admits. “We’re figuring it out as we go.”
One thing he does know: they’re sitting on 14 recorded songs and they’ll all be released this year.
Faith, Risk and the Future of Worship Music
Elevation Worship is about to head out on tour for another round of Elevation Nights, an event that blends a full-throttle worship set with a sermon from Furtick. It’s a tour that was initially planned for 2020 and has since taken on a life of its own.
“We’ve done maybe 65 nights at this point,” Brown says. “And it’s hands down my favorite way to tour.”
Part of what makes the nights unique is Furtick’s preaching. “It’s not the same sermon every night,” Brown says. “He’s riffing. He’s present. He reads the room. And that keeps it fresh for him—and for us.”
Thematically, faith remains at the heart of everything Elevation Worship does.
“So much of our DNA is Ephesians 3:20: ‘Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than we ask or imagine.’”
Brown points to songs like “Do It Again,” “More Than Able” and “Make A Way”—songs meant to meet people in their waiting seasons.
“We write for the people who feel like they’re at a breaking point,” he says. “The ones who are tired. Who feel like they’ve prayed about the same thing over and over and are ready to give up. Our songs are meant to tell them, ‘No, don’t stop yet. God is still at work.’”
Between Elevation Worship, Sons of Sunday and everything in between, Brown is constantly pushing the boundaries of what worship music can be. But for him, it all comes back to one thing.
“Stay active,” he says. “Keep creating. Keep moving forward. I’d rather be doing that than just sitting around waiting for something to hit.”
