Passion's songs are some of the most popular in modern worship music. Many of their songs are sung by millions in churches all across the country, including recent staples "Whom Shall I Fear," "10,000 Reasons," "Lord, I Need You" and "One Thing Remains." The live releases drawn from each year's conferences have been highly anticipated since the first edition in 1998. The last few years have been the most successful, with each release taking it up a notch: 2011's Here for You, 2012's White Flag, 2013's Let the Future Begin and 2014's Passion: Take It All.
 
2015's Passion: Even So Come marks the latest edition and features the most balanced lineup yet, with new standout songs by Chris Tomlin, Kristian Stanfill, Crowder, Melodie Malone, Brett Younker, Matt Redman and Christy Nockels. I had the chance to speak with Kristian Stanfill about "You Found Me."

Please tell me the personal story behind this song.

I wrote the song along with Brett Younker, Jason Ingram and Matt Maher leading up to Passion 2015 earlier this year. Really the song is our story, and it is anyone's story who has been brought from death to life, out of darkness and into light. It is the story that we were dead, without hope and didn't have a chance at life until Jesus came and found us where we were and opened our eyes to see the Cross. Then, everything changed. That's the heart behind the song. 

The beautiful thing is that we wrote it for the Passion Conference, and we thought we were going to be singing for an arena filled with college students there to worship God. Sometimes you think there's not a lot of people coming to the Conference who don't know Jesus or follow Jesus, but the truth is there were a lot of people who came through the doors who didn't know what it means to follow Jesus or say yes to Jesus with their lives. 

The cool thought is that this song is my story, it's your story, it's a lot of people's stories who are already following Jesus, but there are also people who sing this song for the first time and it's true about them. The lights come on, the life of Jesus floods into their hearts, and then we sing this song and it's really the first time they can say "I've been found by Jesus and now I have life." We love leading the song, and like you said it has great energy. We wanted the song to be upbeat and full of life. That's what we are doing in the song. We are celebrating life.

Which Bible verses connect to the message of the song?

My life passage is John 15:4-5 (VOICE): Abide in Me, and I will abide in you. A branch cannot bear fruit if it is disconnected from the vine, and neither will you if you are not connected to Me. I am the vine, and you are the branches. If you abide in Me and I in you, you will bear great fruit. Without Me, you will accomplish nothing.

Luke 15:24 (VOICE): "Because my son was dead and is alive again. He was lost and has been found." So they had this huge party.

1 Corinthians 15:3-4 (VOICE): For I passed down to you the crux of it all which I had also received from others, that the Anointed One, the Liberating King, died for our sins and was buried and raised from the dead on the third day. All this happened to fulfill the Scriptures; it was the perfect climax to God's covenant story.

Revelation 22:20 (NKJV): He who testifies to these things says, "Surely I am coming quickly." Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

What is the takeaway message of the song and album?

The whole song is my testimony. I was 13 years old, and I didn't know what it meant to follow Jesus or that I needed to be free from my guilt and shame. I was just going through life. I had been in church my whole life, but nothing had clicked about being a follower of Jesus. 

I went to a conference with my youth group, and I got wrecked by the presence of God. I got run over by the Holy Spirit in such a good and powerful way. He opened my eyes to see Jesus, and from that point on, everything changed for me. Life became less about me and more about "what is the story that God wants to tell through my life?" Obviously I wouldn't have said it that way when I was 13, but I was wrestling with all of that. 

This song would have been my song when I was 13. I would have loved to sing this song then. That's what I wanted to say: "here I am, You found me." I didn't know I needed to be found, or that I needed saving. Now I do, and I'm so glad that He came and found me. 

The hope is that this is God's desire for the whole world. Scripture says that God desires for all people to be saved. He desires for all people to look and know that the Cross is real. We lead the song at our Church, and hopefully we are calling people up to life. We are singing this over them, and even if this isn't their story yet, hopefully they are seeing that we have something inside of us that they want in them-- life and joy. It's our testimony. If we want to do anything good in life, if we want to bear any fruit, we need to abide in Jesus. Most days I'm praying "Jesus help me to abide in You today, and help me to bear good fruit."

In this collection of songs on Even So Come, like our previous Passion albums, the common thread in all the songs is Jesus. The baseline and cornerstone of what we are about is the name and fame of Jesus. Through all of these songs you'll hear the thread of worshiping Him. The title track is about Jesus coming back and that day we look forward to as God's people when Jesus returns and makes all things new, wipes every tear away, removes pain and sickness and death. In that song and in "Draw Near," there is a longing and hope for Jesus. Scripture tells us that if we draw near to God, then He will draw near to us. "The Saving One" declares Jesus is the only way. Each song has its own unique message, but every song's desire is that Jesus will we praised and that people will be called to live a life that glorifies Him.

Lyrics:
My eyes have seen the Risen One
Shining like the sun
He came to rescue me
The curse of sin and shame are done
Death was overcome the day He came for me

Now I have a song to sing
I was lost, then Jesus You found me
Now I live forever free
I was lost then Jesus You found me

The Cross, standing in my place every debt is paid
I stand in victory
The curse of sin and shame are done
Death was overcome the day He came for me

You are my God and I will praise You, praise You
For all You've done, yes I will praise You
You are my God and I will exalt You, exalt You
For all You've done, yes, I will exalt You

All of the songs on Passion: Even So Come are catchy, exciting and worshipful, and it is a must-have for your praise and worship collection. More importantly, this is an album about submitting to the Lordship of Jesus and declaring the confession of Isaiah 26:8: "Yes Lord, walking in the way of Your truth we wait eagerly for You, for Your name and renown are the desire of our souls."

Louie Giglio's sermon series Winsome connects perfectly with this song, as it is based on the 1st Corinthians 9:22 Bible verse: "To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some." The "irrefutable argument" we have as believers is to share our story of grace.

This song celebrates the day that we were saved from our sins and causes listeners to reflect on and celebrate their salvation experience. My story of grace of when I was lost and Jesus found me happened in 1999. I was in my car listening to a Christian music album and at the end of the album the artist shared his personal testimony, which was also my story. I finally admitted to myself and God that I am a sinner and I can't save myself. I pulled to the side of the road and just sobbed as I was invited to join in saying the sinner's prayer. I confessed my sins, begged for forgiveness, and I accepted Jesus as my personal Savior. I felt the presence of God there with me in my car, and I've never been the same.

This song has become my personal anthem, and I sing along at the top of my lungs the sincere and emotive lyrics of submission in the refrain: "Now I have a song to sing, I was lost then Jesus You found me. Now I live forever free, I was lost, and Jesus You found me." The album's title track also causes my heart to sing along with this glorious promise in Revelation 22:20: "He who testifies to these things says, 'Surely I am coming quickly.' Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!"
Amen to that!

(Listen to the song here.)