WorshipLeaderResearch.com is the home for articles and news related to a collaborative study focused on the behaviours of the primary contributors to contemporary worship and the attitudes and behaviours of local worship leaders towards them. By exploring the relationships between quantitative and qualitative data, we hope to better understand the relationship between the worship music industry and local worship practitioners. The study aims to equip practitioners with a deeper understanding of the forces that impact their corporate worship song selections.
Articles
2025 Survey
We’re inviting worship leaders to share how they view their work and its many intersections—from songwriting and ministry responsibilities to mental health and the broader worship music industry. This survey is supported by the Louisville Institute and continues the work of Worship Leader Research (WLR), building on our 2022 study. It aims to deepen our collective understanding of the challenges, views, pressures, and hopes carried by worship leaders in the local church today. The survey takes approximately 15 minutes to complete. As a thank you for participating, three[...]
The CCLI Top 100 Changed …And Nobody Is Talking About It.
In contemporary worship music, few names carry more name recognition than CCLI. For decades, its Top 100 list has been a trusted measure for identifying the songs shaping the contemporary church–something like a Billboard chart for worship. But in September 2024, with little fanfare, CCLI removed the long-standing list of user-reported top songs from the navigation pane (it’s still available with a few additional clicks). In its place under the “CCLI Top 100” link is now a different list: the one that used to be called the “Popular[...]
