NewSong is one of the most enduring and influential groups in Christian music, with a career spanning more than four decades. From their early days in the late 1970s through countless albums, radio hits, concerts and tours, NewSong has continued to create music that points listeners toward faith, hope and the message of Jesus Christ. Along the way, the group has given Christian music some unforgettable songs, including “Arise, My Love,” “The Christmas Shoes,” “When God Made You” and “I Am a Christian.”
NewSong’s story is also deeply connected to the history of Christian music concerts. The group helped establish Winter Jam, which grew into one of the largest Christian concert tours in the United States, giving generations of Christian artists an opportunity to reach enormous audiences. Their influence extends beyond their own recordings, becoming part of the larger story of how Christian music has reached audiences across the country.
For FishWorship, NewSong holds an especially meaningful place in that history. The FishWorship founder first encountered the group at his first AtlantaFest, held at Atlanta International Raceway, where he also had the opportunity to meet Carman for the first time. That early experience became part of his lifelong connection to Christian music, and NewSong remained part of that story over the years—including several opportunities to perform the group’s song “Say Yes.” For FishWorship, NewSong is therefore more than an important name in Christian music history; they are part of the personal musical history that helped inspire this site.
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🎬Featured Video: “Arise, My Love”
Few songs capture the sound and spirit of early NewSong quite like “Arise, My Love.” Originally released in 1987 on Say Yes!, the song quickly became one of the group’s signature recordings. Inspired by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, its dramatic progression from the tomb to the triumphant announcement of Christ’s resurrection has made it one of the most memorable songs in NewSong’s catalog.
For our Featured Video, FishWorship takes a step back to 1987 with this live performance of “Arise, My Love.” There’s something special about seeing NewSong during this early chapter of their career, when Christian music was developing its own concert culture and groups like NewSong were helping shape what that would become. The performance captures the energy of the era while putting the focus squarely on the powerful message of the song.
“Arise, My Love” has remained one of those NewSong songs that can instantly transport longtime Christian-music fans back to another era—and for those discovering it for the first time, the message remains just as powerful. More than three decades later, the song still points to the same moment it celebrated in 1987: the stone was rolled away, the tomb was empty, and Jesus Christ had risen.
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🎵Essential Songs
“Arise My Love”
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“Arise My Love” is one of the defining songs of NewSong’s early career and one of the group’s most enduring recordings. Released in 1987 on Say Yes!, the song tells the story of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the perspective of the events surrounding the empty tomb. Its dramatic arrangement and powerful vocal performance give the song a sense of anticipation that builds toward the triumphant declaration of Christ’s resurrection.
The song became a signature part of NewSong’s ministry and concert performances, helping establish the group as one of the important voices in Christian music during the late 1980s. While many Christian songs celebrate the resurrection, “Arise My Love” approaches the story with a distinctly dramatic quality, turning the biblical account into something that feels almost like a scene unfolding before the listener.
More than 35 years after its original release, “Arise My Love” remains a standout in NewSong’s catalog. It is a song about the central event of the Christian faith, but it is also a wonderful snapshot of NewSong during one of the most important periods in the group’s long history.
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“The Christmas Shoes”
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“The Christmas Shoes” is arguably the most widely recognized song in NewSong’s catalog, and one of the most memorable Christmas songs to emerge from contemporary Christian music. Released in 2000, the song tells the emotional story of a young boy trying to buy a pair of shoes for his seriously ill mother so that she can look beautiful when she meets Jesus. The song’s narrative approach and Christmas setting give it a distinctly poignant place in NewSong’s catalog.
Unlike a traditional Christmas song that focuses directly on the Nativity, “The Christmas Shoes” explores the season through themes of compassion, sacrifice, faith and the hope of heaven. Its story has resonated with listeners far beyond the Christian music audience, becoming a recurring part of Christmas radio and holiday programming over the years.
The song also became much more than a successful recording for NewSong. It inspired a bestselling novel and a television movie, while establishing itself as a modern Christmas classic with a very different kind of message. For NewSong, “The Christmas Shoes” remains one of the songs most closely associated with their name—and a reminder that some of the most powerful Christmas stories are ultimately about love, generosity and hope.
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“When God Made You”
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“When God Made You” is one of NewSong’s most beloved songs from the group’s later catalog, and it became especially well known as a celebration of God’s design and purpose in bringing two people together. Originally released in 2003 on More Life, the song features NewSong alongside Natalie Grant, whose vocal contribution gives the recording an especially memorable quality.
Built around the idea that God is intimately involved in the story of two people who find one another, “When God Made You” has become a popular choice for weddings and other celebrations of love and commitment. Its message is distinctly Christian without losing the warmth and accessibility that helped make it one of NewSong’s best-known songs.
The song also represents an important chapter in NewSong’s remarkable longevity. More than a decade after the group’s early successes, NewSong was still producing music that connected with a new generation of Christian listeners. “When God Made You” remains a standout example of the group’s ability to pair a simple, heartfelt message with a memorable melody—and to create a song that has continued to find a place in people’s most meaningful moments.
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“You Are My King (Amazing Love)”
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“You Are My King (Amazing Love)” brings together NewSong’s long history in Christian music with one of the most recognizable worship songs of the modern era. Written by Billy James Foote, the song centers on the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and the overwhelming love expressed through the cross. NewSong’s recording presents the song in the group’s own style while retaining the simple, worshipful character that has made it so widely sung.
The song became particularly familiar to Christian audiences through its use in churches and worship settings, where its straightforward declaration of Christ’s love and kingship made it easy for congregations to embrace. The central refrain focuses attention on the contrast between humanity’s unworthiness and the extraordinary love demonstrated by Jesus, giving the song both a personal and congregational quality.
For NewSong, “You Are My King (Amazing Love)” represents the group’s ability to connect its contemporary Christian music roots with the growing worship movement. It is a fitting addition to the NewSong catalog because it isn’t simply a performance of a popular worship song—it reflects the group’s longstanding commitment to music centered on the life, sacrifice and love of Jesus Christ.
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“Rescue”
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“Rescue” is the title track of NewSong’s 2005 album and a powerful expression of the group’s continuing focus on faith, hope and God’s presence in difficult circumstances. The song carries a message of looking to God for help and deliverance, making it especially relatable to listeners who have experienced seasons when they needed reassurance that they were not facing life’s struggles alone.
By the time Rescue was released, NewSong had already been making Christian music for more than two decades. The song therefore represents another chapter in the group’s remarkable longevity, demonstrating that NewSong’s message had continued to resonate even as the sound of contemporary Christian music evolved around them.
“Rescue” is also a good reminder that NewSong’s catalog extends well beyond the group’s best-known early songs and Christmas recordings. Its message of trusting God through difficult circumstances fits naturally alongside the group’s broader body of work and makes the title track an appropriate representation of their 2000s era.
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“Say Yes”
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“Say Yes” holds a particularly special place in the NewSong catalog—and in the story of FishWorship. Released in 1987 on Say Yes!, the song captures the group’s distinctive sound during one of the most memorable periods of their career. Its message is a simple but powerful call to respond to God with faith and willingness, making “Say Yes” both an engaging song and an expression of Christian commitment.
The song has an especially personal connection to the FishWorship founder, who has performed many NewSong songs over the years. Of all those NewSong songs, “Say Yes” is his favorite to perform. There’s something about the song’s energy, message and arrangement that has continued to make it a favorite long after first hearing it, giving this particular recording a special place in FishWorship’s own musical history.
For that reason, “Say Yes” isn’t simply included here because it is an important song from NewSong’s 1980s catalog. It represents the way Christian music can move beyond something we hear and become something we actually carry with us, perform, remember and share. For FishWorship, this is one NewSong song that is personal in a way that few others can match.
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“Defining Moment”
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“Defining Moment” captures NewSong at an important point in the group’s long career, reflecting the band’s continuing emphasis on making faith more than simply something we believe—it is something that shapes the decisions we make and the lives we live. The song carries an encouraging message about recognizing the moments when we are called to step forward in faith and allow God to guide what comes next.
The song is also representative of NewSong’s ability to deliver a meaningful Christian message without losing the accessible contemporary sound that has defined the group throughout its career. Rather than focusing on one particular biblical event, “Defining Moment” speaks to the everyday experience of making choices, facing challenges and recognizing that seemingly ordinary moments can have lasting significance.
As part of NewSong’s broader catalog, “Defining Moment” demonstrates why the group’s music has remained relevant across generations. Their songs have frequently met listeners where they are, offering encouragement and a reminder that faith is not merely something we talk about—it is something we live out, one defining moment at a time.
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“Can’t Keep a Good Man Down”
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“Can’t Keep a Good Man Down” is one of the energetic songs that helped define NewSong’s sound during the group’s early years. Released in the 1980s, the song carries an upbeat, confident message about perseverance and the strength that comes through faith. It is a good example of the lively side of NewSong’s music, balancing a Christian message with the kind of memorable, accessible sound that worked especially well in a live setting.
The song also reflects an era when Christian music was increasingly becoming something audiences experienced not only in churches and on Christian radio, but in large concert venues. NewSong was an important part of that development, and songs like “Can’t Keep a Good Man Down” gave the group material that could connect with an audience through energy as well as message.
Today, the song provides a glimpse into the NewSong of the 1980s—the same group that produced “Arise My Love” and “Say Yes,” and the version of NewSong that helped establish the foundation for the remarkable career that followed. For listeners discovering the group through their later work, “Can’t Keep a Good Man Down” is a fun reminder of where that journey began.
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“Love Revolution”
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“Love Revolution” captures NewSong during the 1990s, a period when the group was continuing to evolve while remaining firmly rooted in its Christian message. The song’s central idea is that genuine change begins with the love of Christ and extends outward into the way we treat the people around us. Rather than presenting faith as something confined to a church service, “Love Revolution” carries a message about allowing God’s love to make a difference in the world.
The song also reflects NewSong’s ability to adapt as contemporary Christian music changed around them. By the 1990s, the group had already established a lengthy career, yet they continued to record music with a contemporary sound and a message aimed at a new generation of listeners. The result is a song that feels like a snapshot of NewSong’s musical journey during that era.
“Love Revolution” is a fitting inclusion among NewSong’s Essential Songs because it represents an important chapter between the group’s early successes and the music that would come later. It reminds us that NewSong’s story was never simply about preserving the past—the group continued looking forward, using its music to encourage listeners to live out their faith through the transforming power of love.
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“This One’s With Me”
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“This One’s With Me” is a memorable song from NewSong’s 1994 album People Get Ready, an album that captures the group during an important period of its continuing evolution. The song carries a message of God’s grace and protection, reminding listeners that our identity and standing ultimately rest not in what we have accomplished on our own, but in our relationship with Christ.
The song fits particularly well with NewSong’s ability to take a straightforward Christian message and present it through an engaging contemporary arrangement. There is an encouraging quality to “This One’s With Me” that makes its central message easy to remember, while the song’s title itself provides a simple picture of what it means to belong to Christ.
For FishWorship, “This One’s With Me” also helps broaden the picture of NewSong beyond the group’s biggest signature songs. While “Arise My Love” and “The Christmas Shoes” may be the recordings most immediately associated with NewSong, songs like this one demonstrate the depth of the catalog and the consistency of the group’s Christian message throughout its long career.
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💿Essential Albums
Say Yes!
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Released in 1987, Say Yes! captures NewSong during one of the most memorable chapters of the group’s early career. The album includes several songs that have remained closely associated with NewSong, including “Arise My Love” and “Say Yes,” and it showcases the group’s energetic contemporary Christian sound during an important era in the development of Christian music.
Say Yes! also carries a particularly meaningful connection to the FishWorship founder. Years after the album was released, he had the opportunity to work with the album’s producer, Mark Aramian, doing keyboard work in Aramian’s studio. That connection makes Say Yes! more than simply an important NewSong album in the FishWorship catalog—it represents a remarkable link between a favorite Christian music group, one of its landmark albums, and the founder’s own musical journey.
For anyone wanting to experience NewSong during their early years, Say Yes! is an excellent place to start. It captures the group before decades of changing musical styles, while providing an early glimpse of the songs, sound and ministry that would help carry NewSong through an extraordinary career in Christian music.
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People Get Ready
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Released in 1994, People Get Ready represents NewSong during an important chapter of the group’s evolution. By this point, NewSong had already established itself as a significant presence in contemporary Christian music, but the group continued to develop its sound while maintaining the faith-centered message that had defined its work from the beginning.
The album includes “This One’s With Me,” one of the songs selected as an Essential Song for the FishWorship NewSong page. The collection provides a good representation of NewSong’s 1990s sound, bridging the group’s earlier work with the music that would follow later in the decade.
People Get Ready is also a reminder of the remarkable longevity of NewSong’s career. Rather than simply repeating the formula of their earlier albums, the group continued creating music for a changing Christian music audience. For listeners exploring NewSong beyond their best-known songs, People Get Ready offers an opportunity to discover another important chapter in the group’s story.
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Love Revolution
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Released in 1997, Love Revolution finds NewSong continuing to evolve as a group while remaining firmly grounded in its Christian message. By this point, NewSong had already been recording and touring for nearly two decades, yet the group continued to create music that addressed the faith and everyday lives of a new generation of listeners.
The album’s title track, “Love Revolution,” is also one of the Essential Songs selected for the FishWorship NewSong page. Its message of allowing the love of Christ to transform the way we live and treat others captures an important theme in NewSong’s music: Christian faith is not meant to remain simply an idea we believe, but something that becomes visible in the way we live.
Love Revolution represents an important part of NewSong’s 1990s story, sitting between the group’s early contemporary Christian successes and the music that would come to define its later years. It is a reminder that NewSong’s remarkable career was built not only on a handful of signature songs, but on a willingness to continue growing and reaching new listeners while keeping its message at the center.
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Sheltering Tree
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Released in 2000, Sheltering Tree represents another chapter in NewSong’s remarkable journey into a new millennium. After more than two decades of recording and performing, the group continued to create music centered on faith, encouragement and the assurance of God’s presence. The album’s title itself provides an appropriate picture for the message running through much of NewSong’s music: God as a place of refuge and strength in the midst of life’s storms.
The album arrived during an important transition in contemporary Christian music, as the sound of Christian radio was changing and a new generation of artists was beginning to emerge. NewSong remained part of that changing landscape while retaining the identity and experience that had been developed over years of ministry.
Sheltering Tree is an important addition to the FishWorship Essential Albums because it demonstrates the group’s longevity. NewSong was not simply a successful Christian group from the 1980s; they were still creating meaningful music more than twenty years into their career. The album represents that continuing journey and the group’s ability to remain relevant while keeping its focus on faith.
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The Christmas Shoes
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Released in 2001, The Christmas Shoes is one of the most distinctive albums in NewSong’s catalog. Built around the group’s enormously recognizable Christmas song of the same name, the album places NewSong’s signature storytelling and faith-centered message within the context of the Christmas season.
The title track, “The Christmas Shoes,” became far more than another successful Christian recording. Its story of a young boy trying to purchase shoes for his dying mother touched listeners well beyond the Christian music audience and eventually inspired a bestselling novel and a television movie. The song’s themes of compassion, sacrifice, faith and the hope of heaven give the album a different character from a typical collection of Christmas recordings.
For NewSong, The Christmas Shoes represents one of the most remarkable chapters in their long career. The group had already been recording music for more than two decades, yet this project introduced NewSong’s music to an even broader audience and gave them a song that would become permanently associated with the Christmas season. It remains an essential part of the NewSong story—and a natural choice for the FishWorship Essential Albums collection.
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More Life
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Released in 2003, More Life finds NewSong well into the second decade of their career, continuing to create music that combines contemporary Christian sounds with the group’s familiar emphasis on faith and encouragement. By this point, NewSong had already experienced multiple eras of Christian music, yet the group continued to reach listeners with songs that felt relevant to the changing musical landscape.
The album includes “When God Made You,” one of NewSong’s most recognizable songs from this period and one of the Essential Songs featured on the FishWorship NewSong page. The recording features Natalie Grant and became especially popular as a song celebrating love, commitment and God’s role in bringing two people together. Its success demonstrated that NewSong could continue producing songs that resonated deeply with listeners more than two decades after the group first began recording.
More Life is an important part of the NewSong story because it shows the group’s remarkable ability to keep moving forward. Rather than simply looking back at their earlier successes, NewSong was still creating new music, collaborating with other Christian artists and finding new ways to connect with listeners. The album stands as a strong representation of NewSong’s early-2000s era and their continuing musical journey.
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Rescue
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Released in 2005, Rescue represents another significant chapter in NewSong’s remarkable career. After more than 25 years of recording and performing, the group continued to create music centered on faith, hope and God’s faithfulness. Rather than simply relying on the songs that had made them successful in earlier decades, NewSong continued to explore the contemporary Christian sound of the time while keeping their message at the forefront.
The album’s title track, “Rescue,” is one of the Essential Songs selected for the FishWorship NewSong page. Its message of turning to God for help and finding hope in difficult circumstances reflects a recurring theme throughout NewSong’s music. It is a reminder that faith can be especially meaningful when life doesn’t go according to plan and we need to know that we aren’t facing those circumstances alone.
Rescue is also particularly significant as the final studio album included in the FishWorship Essential Albums selection. It provides a fitting representation of NewSong’s 2000s era and demonstrates the group’s extraordinary longevity. From their beginnings in the 1970s through multiple generations of Christian music, NewSong continued to record, perform and share a message of faith—and Rescue stands as an important part of that journey.
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