It’s difficult to bottle the feeling of a live experience, but Passion’s “Call on Heaven” comes close. The new live project preserves select standout moments from Passion 2024 as more than 55,000 students from around the globe gathered at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium for three days of transformative worship and teaching in early January.
This year’s theme of “Call on Heaven” titles the 14-track collection that boasts both brand-new offerings debuted at Passion 2024 and familiar selections. “There is a hunger for God right now in the hearts of young adults all around the world. ‘Call on Heaven’ is the sound of a generation that desires to know the holiness and the greatness of God,” shares longtime Passion member Brett Younker. “These songs carry a transcendent space between heaven and earth that lifts our eyes to see what’s possible and fills our hearts with faith. Hearing the roar of voices crying out to God, we’ll never be the same.”
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That “roar” that Younker mentions is the collective shout of 55,000 passionate 18-25-year-olds that’s so loud it eclipses the vocals of the professional singers on stage; and that tidal wave of unified praise is what makes “Call on Heaven” so captivating. It’s a rare audio portrait of tens of thousands of young people with their eyes perfectly fixed on Jesus, genuinely lost in a moment of pure worship.
This is perhaps most apparent on “Agnus Dei,” which closes “Call on Heaven.” Passion’s Kristian Stanfill steers the Michael W. Smith-penned ballad, which unexpectedly morphed into more than 20 minutes of unfiltered adoration on the final morning of the conference as those gathered spontaneously continued an endless refrain of “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty.”
The crowd’s response to “Agnus Dei,” however, was simply the culmination of multiple days of life-changing sessions; and “Call on Heaven” offers a small, but powerful glimpse into the full breadth of music attendees were immersed in as they ushered in a new year.
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Opening the album’s set, Stanfill leads a triumphant iteration of prayerful plea “He Who Is To Come.” Meanwhile, Younker helms a similar appeal of praise on “Cry Out.” Fellow key Passion members Melodie Malone and Chidima Ubah Craig take the reins on beautiful renderings of “Follow” and “No Body,” respectively, declaring unwavering allegiance to Jesus. Meanwhile, Passion newcomer Landon Wolfe fronts “The Lord Will Provide,” an easy-to-learn original inspired by the imagery of Matthew 6 and one of the conference’s most-talked-about new songs. Additionally, fresh Passion voice Rachel Halbach offers the simple and intimate “How Great Is Your Name” and joins Kari Jobe on “Fall Like Rain.”
The annual Passion conference is known for welcoming a host of A-list artists, and this year’s guest list was no exception. Although Brandon Lake and Phil Wickham appeared for a late-night concert, the two worship powerhouses are absent from this particular recording. There are plenty of other well-known names on the tracklisting, however.
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Cody Carnes delivers a six-minute version of his smash “Firm Foundation (He Won’t),” and his wife, Kari Jobe, serves up a chill-inducing cover of Chris Tomlin's “Holy Forever.” Elsewhere, Crowder commands a driving performance of his new single, the lyrically clever “Grave Robber,” and Brooke Ligertwood stuns with a reverent rendition of “Calvary’s Enough,” a holy moment that followed a message solely focused on the cross by Passion co-founder Louie Giglio.
Although “Call on Heaven” is a solid attempt to memorialize what was undoubtedly a personal Ebenezer for countless college students fortunate enough to be in the room during Passion 2024, there’s still nothing quite like being there in person. While it definitively sets a compass of praise wherever fans of modern worship choose to soak in these songs, if anything, Passion’s latest live effort will make listeners clear their calendars for Passion 2025.
