- Hey everybody, Pastor Greg here
with my friend and yours,
Mister Phil Wickham.
- Hey Guys.
- We're there today to receive an offering
to get Phil a new pair of pants,
'cause he has rips in his pants.
But they're very fashionably ripped.
- I did not rip them, I
actually bought them ripped
which I shouldn't admit.
- It costs more.
It costs more to look.
- These are actually on sale.
So.
- Oh good.
- They're on sale ripped jeans.
- Well Phil, you know,
you've been coming around
our church for years of course.
I think you first came to, back
when we were doing crusades
in like the 90's when you're
just a little guy, right.
- Yeah, I remember my parents taking me
to one of the first and
second harvest crusades,
I think my parents were involved with it.
- John Wickham, his dad, was
in a number of Christian bands,
The Way and Parable, and his mother, Lisa,
was the lead singer of the band Parable.
- Yeah, they traveled around and sang,
so I grew up knowing about Greg
and county chapel movement.
- Yeah.
- And as years went on,
I had no idea I'd be
singing at harvest crusades,
but God has opened up
doors for us to minister.
- Yeah, and God has given you
so many amazing songs, Phil,
it just, your songs are
sung around the world,
you know, when I travel I
go to all kinds of churches,
and they're singing one of your songs,
I was in a church in Texas and they had
a big choir doing This Is Amazing Grace.
I filmed a little clip
and I sent it to you.
Because it's great for you to see how
your music is not only impacting people
you played in front of and on radio,
but, you know, churches are
singing these worship songs.
- That is amazing to hear.
I love getting little clips like that
and hearing these stories,
whether it's tweets
or emails of people having these songs
be a part of their community.
I mean, I love playing,
I love travelling around,
and it's cool when songs are on the radio,
but when the songs, they
get to be a part of writing
are played in churches, it's like,
it's where I am the most satisfied.
- Do some songs come
easier than other songs.
- Oh yeah. Every song has it's own story.
Like This Is Amazing Grace
was written, probably,
it started five or six years ago.
- Oh wow.
- And then was shelved,
and then somehow this little demo
found it's way to another
writer who emailed.
I mean there's this
whole long story about,
about how it actually came to life.
I had no idea it was gonna
become what it has become.
And so every song whether it's
four years or four minutes,
every song is it's own story.
- Well you know, one song you wrote,
I'm trying to remember which one now,
it was after a crusade.
- Yeah, it's called This Is The Day.
- Well, isn't that our radio show program,
our radio show song. Yeah,
so what a great song.
So, were you just watching
people come to accept Christ
and you thought, man, this
is what I want to write?
How did that come about?
- Yeah, I think it was after
one of the first crusades
I got to participate in from the stage,
'cause I've participated in other crusades
as like a youth group
kid, piling in the band,
bringing our friends, watching them
walk forward to the field,
and so I remember being on stage,
just a few feet away from you,
as you were calling people down to the,
to the field and I was singing some song
I don't even remember what it was
but I just remember being so moved
just from that perspective,
seeing this flood of people come down.
And just, I remember
the next couple of days
meditating on that, digesting that.
- Wow.
- And this song about
just joy and freedom came out.
You know, this is the day
when the lost are found,
And I remember I emailed
you a little demo of it.
- I loved it.
- Yeah.
- So Phil,
you know, people who come to our church
in Riverside Orange County,
have been seeing you around a lot more
and that's because
we've entered in sort of
an arrangement where you're gonna
start coming out on a regular basis,
it's turned out to almost
be monthly, hasn't it?
- Yeah, I think, maybe--
- We love it by the way.
- I hope it's okay.
- No, it's fantastic.
Everyone loves it, but I just
thought people oughta know,
that this is intentional,
and you're gonna be out
in this coming year,
you'll be having Sundays,
sometimes it'll be a mid-week study,
but you know, you'll just pop up.
I mean, it's like being lead in worship by
I think you're one of the
most gifted worship leaders
in the world today, and
we feel super privileged,
to have you be a part of what we're doing.
- Thank you. Yeah, I think
it was your son, Jonathan,
who, we were hanging
out, I think it was after
I had played at harvest
crusade at the church,
then we did a Christmas
thing, and he just said,
"Hey, why don't we make this
"a little bit more of a formal occasion."
- He did have the idea.
He told me, he says,
"Hey Dad, what would you think
of Phil coming out more often
"to the church and being kind of
"a regular part of what we're doing?"
and my response was, yeah but
would Phil want to do that,
he's so busy travelling,
and you are still busy travelling.
- Still busy, but after
thinking through it
and praying through it, it just,
the relationship's already there
and the heart's already
there, and I'm so thankful
to be just a small part
of the community here,
to lead people in worship and be a part
of what God is doing here at harvest.
- Well, it's great to have you
and just wanted to let
everybody know what's going on,
and thanks for coming. Look
forward to hearing you.
- Thanks so much, love you
guys, love harvest and church,
and I'm excited to be
here over the next year.
- Thanks Phil.
