Paul Joseph Baloche Work ID No. 884337863 ISWC No. T9126089325 ( ; born on June 4, 1962) is an American

Christian music Christian music is a genre of music that has been written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christianity, Christian life and faith. Common themes of Christian music include praise, worship, penitence and lament, and its f ...

artist,

worship leader Contemporary worship is a form of Christian worship that emerged within Western evangelical Protestantism in the 20th century. It was originally confined to the charismatic movement, but is now found in a wide range of churches, including many ...

, and singer-songwriter. A native of

Maple Shade Township, New Jersey Maple Shade Township is a Township (New Jersey), township in Burlington County, New Jersey, Burlington County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 19,980, an increase of 849 (+4.4% ...

,Price, Deborah Evans. "Higher Ground: 'Greater' Collaborations for Baloche", ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'', May 13, 2006. Baloche was the worship pastor at Community Christian Fellowship in Lindale, Texas, for 26 years. He and his wife, Rita left Texas in January 2015, moving to New York City to be nearer to family. Baloche composes on piano and

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked, its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

, favoring guitar when leading worship. His wife, Rita Baloche, is also a Christian songwriter. Baloche is one of the writers for Compassionart, a charity founded by Martin Smith from Delirious?.

Biography

Paul Baloche was born on June 4, 1962, in

Camden, New Jersey Camden is a City (New Jersey), city in Camden County, New Jersey, Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan region. The city was incorporated on February 13, 1828.Snyder, John P''The Story of ...

in a French Canadian Catholic family.Radio-rfe
Biographie Paul Baloche
radio-rfe.com, France. Retrieved January 23, 2019 He studied at the Grove School of Music in Los Angeles.

Career

In 1989, he became a worship pastor at the Community Christian Fellowship Church in Lindale,

Smith County, Texas Smith County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 233,479. Its county seat is Tyler. Smith County is named for James Smith, a general during the Texas Revolution. Smith County is part of the Tyl ...

, until 2015 when he moved to New York City. In 1992, he released his first album ''He is Faithful''. Top-ranked songs include " Open the Eyes of My Heart", "Hosanna", "Your Name", "Today Is the Day", and " Above All". Baloche has received numerous Dove Awards over the years. His song "Above All" was nominated for Song of the Year in both the

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

and

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

Dove Awards, and in 2002, Michael W. Smith's version of the same song won Inspirational Recorded Song of the Year. Baloche was also nominated for Songwriter of the Year in 2002. In 2009, Baloche won a Dove Award for Inspiration Recorded Song of the Year as co-author of "A New Hallelujah" with

Michael W. Smith Michael Whitaker Smith (born October 7, 1957) is an American musician who has charted in both contemporary Christian music, contemporary Christian and mainstream charts. His biggest success in mainstream music was in 1991 when "Place in This Worl ...

and his wife Debbie Smith. Baloche has been a pioneer in providing visual instructional resources for church worship teams. In 1995, he released ''The Worship Guitar Series'', a set of three videos. Between 2002 and 2006, he released ''The Modern Worship Series'', a set of eight instructional DVDs focused on helping church worship teams increase their skill and confidence. In 2005, he released the book ''God Songs'', a practical resource for worship songwriters, currently in its 8th printing. His catalog of twelve albums is focused on providing

worship music Contemporary worship music (CWM), also known as praise and worship music, is a distinct genre of Christian music used in contemporary worship. It has evolved over the past 60 years and is stylistically similar to pop music. The songs are of ...

for churches to use in their Sunday morning services. His albums are released by his publisher Integrity Music. In addition to songwriting, Baloche participates in several seminars for worship leaders and musicians throughout North America and Asia. The 2006 release '' A Greater Song'' is a live recording featuring songs by Baloche, some co-written with worship artists including

Matt Redman Matthew James Redman (born 14 February 1974) is an English Christian worship leader, singer-songwriter and author. Redman has released 16 albums, written 8 books, and helped start three church-plants. He is best known for his two-time Grammy A ...

("A Greater Song") and former Integrity Music president

Don Moen Donald James Moen (born June 29, 1950) is an American singer, pianist, and songwriter, specializing in Christian worship music. Early life and education Moen grew up in Two Harbors, Minnesota, where he attended high school, graduating in ...

("Thank You Lord"). The 2009 release ''Glorious'' featured the single "Just to Be With You", which Baloche explained "is simply about intimacy with God." On April 3, 2012 Baloche released album ''The Same Love'' featuring the single "The Same Love". On October 29, 2013, Baloche also released a live Christmas worship album featured old and new songs suitable for use during the Christmas season. In November 2013, Baloche won a

GMA Canada The Gospel Music Association of Canada or GMA Canada (formerly known as the CGMA) is a not for profit association, founded in 1974, whose purpose is to promote Christian music in Canada. History GMA Canada is created in 1974 in Ontario with ...

Covenant Award for International Album of the Year for ''Glorieux'', a French language worship album. Some of Baloche's songs rank among the most-performed songs in services according to CCLI. Numerous artists have performed Baloche's songs, including

Casting Crowns Casting Crowns is a contemporary Christian and Christian rock band which began in Daytona Beach, Florida. The band was formed in 1999 by lead vocalist Mark Hall. They moved to Stockbridge, Georgia, and more members joined. Some members of the ...

, Rebecca St. James, Phillips, Craig and Dean, Anthony Evans, and Sonicflood. Baloche has co-written songs with Aaron Shust, Kari Jobe, Meredith Andrews, and Lincoln Brewster for use on their respective albums.

Personal life

Baloche has a son, David, with whom he has collaborated on the 2017 album ''Labyrinth''. He also has a daughter, Chérie, who sang in the worship band at their church in Texas.

Discography

Studio & Live * ''He is Faithful'' (1992) * ''First Love'' (1998) * ''Open the Eyes of My Heart'' (2000) * '' God of Wonders'' (2001) * ''Offering of Worship'' (2003) * '' A Greater Song'' (2006) * '' Our God Saves'' (2007) * ''Live in Asia'' (2009) (Recorded live in

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

, South Korea) * ''Glorious'' (2009) * '' The Same Love'' (2012) * '' Christmas Worship'' (live) (2013) * ''

Live Live may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film * ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film * ''Live'' (2023 film), a Malayalam-language film *'' Live: Phát Trực Tiếp'', a Vietnamese-langua ...

'' (2014) * '' Christmas Worship, Vol. 2'' (2015) * ''Your Mercy'' (2016) * ''For Unto Us: Christmas Worship Live From London'' (2017) * ''Behold Him'' (2020) Non-English * ''Ouvre les yeux de mon coeur'' (2008) – French version of ''Open the Eyes of My Heart'' * ''Glorieux'' (2013) – French version of ''Glorious'' Collections * ''The Writer's Collection'' (2008) * ''Ultimate Collection'' (2018)

Videography

* ''Worship Guitar Series – Volume 1'' (VHS – 1995) * ''Worship Guitar Series – Volume 2'' (VHS – 1998) * ''Worship Guitar Series – Electric Guitar'' (VHS – 2000) * ''Visual Songbook – God of Wonders'' (CD-ROM – 2000) * ''Modern Worship Series – Music Styles'' (DVD – 2003) * ''Modern Worship Series – Worship Band Workshop'' (DVD – 2003) * ''Modern Worship Series – Leading Worship: Creating Flow'' (DVD – 2003) * ''Paul Baloche DVD Songbook Volume 1'' (Songbook + DVD – 2003) * ''Modern Worship Series – Music Theory Made Easy'' (DVD – 2005) * ''Modern Worship Series – Acoustic Guitar'' (DVD – 2006) * ''Paul Baloche DVD Songbook Volume 2'' (Songbook + DVD – 2006) * ''Modern Worship Series – Electric Guitar'' (DVD – 2007) * ''Modern Worship Series – Worship Vocal Workshop'' (DVD – 2007) * ''Modern Worship Series – Beginning Guitar'' (DVD – 2008) * ''Glorious – CD Companion Video'' (DVD – 2010) * ''The Worship Series – Leading Worship: Pastoring people and developing skill'' (DVD – 2011) * ''The Worship Series – Worship Band Workshop'' (DVD – 2011) * ''The Worship Series – The Journey of a Song'' (DVD – 2011) * ''The Same Love – CD Companion Video'' (DVD – 2012)

Books

* ''God Songs'' ()

References

External links

* *
CCLI Author Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baloche, Paul 1962 births Living people American performers of Christian music Christian music songwriters Musicians from Camden, New Jersey People from Lindale, Texas People from Maple Shade Township, New Jersey Performers of contemporary worship music Songwriters from New Jersey Musicians from Burlington County, New Jersey