Worship Song Review: I’ve Witnessed It by Passion

“We sing to remind our souls of the character of the one we worship and to help resuscitate a faith in desperate need of hope.” Melodie Malone

I've Witnessed It - Passion - Worship Song Review

Christopher Watson is an author of six books, both fiction…

Passion has served students in worship and prayer since the late 90s. During the January 2023 Passion Conference, they unleashed the new worship song, I’ve Witnessed It. The song is recorded live with 30,000 students singing along.

Passion’s Melodie Malone says, “We don’t often use the word ‘witness’ in our everyday vernacular, and it is my hope that we reinstate a bit of the meaning it carries in this song.” Malone also says, “We sing to remind our souls of the character of the one we worship and to help resuscitate a faith in desperate need of hope.”

Music and Production

I’ve Witnessed It has a very standard modern worship sound, with abundant electronic elements, and keyboard-based motifs. Not a whole lot of surprises musically. It uses a simple chord progression of 6-4-1 for the verse, and 1-6-4 for the chorus. This serves worship musicians of any level. The recorded key of Db makes it difficult for a guitarist to play along with, sans capo, but given the basic chord structure, it’s easily transposed. There is an abundance of repetition between the two bridges and the chorus, which some (like myself) find irksome, but opinions may vary.

Accessibility

The melody is easy to learn and stays within a two-octave range, making it singable by the average worshiper. It is easy to learn in one or two hearings which sets it apart from many worship industry offerings. Passion’s performance stays within the melody as well, not launching off into unfollowable improvisation as some song leaders do. The repetition of the bridge and chorus for roughly half of the song will make it more difficult to execute without a larger band size and production, but the song can be arranged more succinctly.

Worship Function

The song is a testimonial, mostly. It will work well for most churches with either minimal or abundant accompaniment. It is evergreen and with its moderate BPM will fit well in most worship sets.

Biblical Faithfulness

Passion did not root the lyrics in any specific scripture. As I mentioned before, the song is mostly a testimonial, but not entirely. It has two themes, the first being a witness to the hope we have in God’s goodness. They reflect this in the first two verses and the chorus. The third verse then shifts into a theme of the cross and resurrection. The two bridge sections then move back to the theme of hope.

Both themes are good, of course, and spiritually grounded. But the song is better served by sticking with the primary theme of hope. I should note that the third verse is strong and would make a great foundation for a worship song of its own.

Final Thoughts

I’ve Witnessed It is great for just about any worship setting. It’s accessible and playable for all levels of worship leaders. The primary theme testifying to hope in God is effective. It’s a song that will serve the church well.

Great accessibility and function.

Less

Stick to one theme.

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Christopher Watson

Christopher Watson is an author of six books, both fiction and non-fiction. He is also a musician and composer with a B.A. in Music from Azusa Pacific University. For several years Christopher led worship at The Springs Church while attending Dallas Theological Seminary in Dallas Texas. He's been involved with worship in a number of churches in California and the Pacific Northwest both as a musician and in production and technology. Now he lives and writes in Washington State with his amazing wife, wonderful daughters, and highly intelligent dog, Ellie Mae.