An anthem to bring the ‘nones’ back to “Church”

Cochren & Co.'s "Church" tells the story of a religious none, brought back to faith.

There was a time that I swore I would never go backI was blind to the truth, didn’t know what I hadI was running, I was searchingBut every place I turned for healingLeft me more broken than the last

The last few years have shown a distinct rise in religious “nones,” those who do not identify with any religion, especially in the United States. A late 2019 survey found that about 25% of Americans now consider themselves without religious beliefs, with the millennial generation caught deepest in the trend, as nearly half of them have abandoned spiritual pursuits.

While both clergy and laity are hurrying to find solutions to this downward trend in church attendance, perhaps what we really need is an anthem to unite our youth behind; a song that younger people can identify with, while extolling the virtues of church attendance.

Enter Mike Cochren, leader of the band Cochren & Co., as well as the worship leader at his hometown parish, who penned the song “Church” in 2018. The song is a wonderful anthem, telling the story of how the singer was brought back to the faith that he had thought he abandoned.

The tune is a beautiful gospel piece that is perfectly designed for radio, coming in at under 3 minutes. The lyrics are powerful, for they tell the story of a spiritual none who could not find fulfillment without the uplifting faith and support that he can only find in a parish community.

The arrangement is superb. Cochren has a nice touch on the keys and a superb voice that we thought was especially touching in the second verse. The choruses are accented by a gospel choir singing behind him and a church organ that supports the subject of the song.

In an interview with the radio show HIS Morning Crew, featured below, Cochren explained his inspiration for the tune:

“I wrote it because we’d has some drama in our church … It was a Thursday afternoon and something had gone down, but people were reconciled with each other. I was just super thankful to have a community of believers where you could have that happen, where there could be something going on between two people but between the Spirit and the Word you can live in harmony with each other. “I just became so thankful for the Church itself and the Church’s impact on my life and how they’ve grown me up. That was the inspiration for writing this song and lifting up the Church.”