The psalmist, King David—perhaps the original “worship leader”—may have said it best, when he wrote “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” Such times of desolation and estrangement often give birth to a deeper and more satisfying relationship with our Creator. And it was a period of physical and spiritual brokenness that would birth the heart of a worshipper in Bart Millard; which would lead to the formation of MercyMe and Almost There.

Almost There contains fresh versions of “It’s All Right,” “In You,” “Call to Worship,” “Cannot Say Enough” and the band’s own update of “I Can Only Imagine.” Along with those proven favorites, you’ll find songs such as the infectious mission statement “Send Me” and the acoustic psalm “How Great is Your Love.” Bart says the band’s goals for the ministry of MercyMe are quite simple. “I pray that God would use us like psalmists—it would be an immense privilege to think that a song we write might outlive this band. I pray that when people look at these five men, they see the hand of God. We want to lead people to His throne through worship. It’s not about us. Any time I can step away from the microphone and listen to the body of Christ sing, I’ll do it. I’d rather hear that than hear myself sing any day of the week. We hope to be doing this when praise and worship isn’t ‘popular’ anymore—but why shouldn’t it continue to be? It’s the reason we were created.”