Aloha, pehea 'oe? Hawaii bristles with lots of fascinating facts often unbeknown to many of us.  Born in Hawaii, Barack Obama is the only president to be born outside the continent of the United States.   Way before surfing became a lifestyle for those in California, surfing or heenalu was already enjoyed thousands of years ago by the Polynesians who first settled Hawaii. Their boards weighed more than 150 pounds and measured up to 20 feet.  When written with the English alphabet, Hawaiian uses only 12 letters and a symbol (').  Further, everyone is a minority in Hawaii-there are no racial majorities. Haoles or Caucasians constitute about 33% of the population, Japanese about 33%, Filipino-Americans about 16%, and Chinese-Americans about 5%.  Most of the population has mixed ethnicities.  And most interestingly, despite the size of the state, Hawaii houses one of US's largest churches, New Hope Christian Fellowship based in Honolulu, Hawaii.  Started by senior pastor and author Wayne Cordeiro, New Hope has 14,500 attendees weekly with five locations on Oahu and affiliate churches worldwide.  "Outreach Magazine" listed New Hope as the 19th most innovative church in America in 2008 and the twentieth most influential church in the US.   Now they have expanded their influence into the arena of worship music with "Hope is Alive" being the church's first live recording.

Dream Records and Capitol Christian Music Group have partnered with New Hope Christian Fellowship to release "Hope is Alive" on September the 10th.  Helmed by David Hanley (frontman of Press Play) and Sean Cook, "Hope is Alive" features 11 newly recorded live worship songs.  Most of the songs coming from the pens of the church's various worship leaders with two tracks coming from Grammy Award winner Israel Houghton, one co-scribed by Cindy Cruse Ratcliff and four co-written or written by David Hanley.  However, unlike many new artists who have quick to shed their identity easily camouflaging as a lookalike of Hillsong United or Jesus Culture, New Hope Oahu is not afraid to bring their Hawaiian spirit into their worship.  Reflective of the state's hotchpotch assortment of cultures, languages and traditions, "This is How We Worship" is where the spirit of Hawaii and the Spirit of the Living Christ meets.  Interweaving Polynesian with English, the traditional hymn "Doxology" with modern worship, Hawaiian chants with fresh sounding keys, "This is How We Worship" really lives up to its titular. 

Just as the gorgeous tropical weather earmarks the state, New Hope Oahu ups the ante with sunshine on the album opener "Glory and Beauty."  Though utilizing the somehow over used "oooh" hook and the clappy drum sounds, "Glory and Beauty" bursts with a radiant, torrid and expectant spirit of meeting Christ in worship.  Hope that is built upon Jesus Christ is at the loudest on the title cut "Hope is Alive."  However, instead of screaming it off, the song insinuates.  Slowly building its momentum until its explosive chorus, the song finally tails off into the familiar hymn "My Hope is Built."  If you are looking for how a modern worship song can seamlessly segueing into a hymn, look no farther than the song "Hope is Alive."  Christopher Sanders' "Please You" shows that restrain and subtlety can be just as moving as the team worships: "May the words of my mouth please You/May the song in my heart praise You/May the thoughts that I think/The hope that I keep/Glorify You."

Don't let the simplicity of the song's title "Praise the Lord" deter you:  this David Hanley song has an infectious Brit-electronic groove made that will get those who like their worship bouncy and hip worshipping in no time.  Two of Israel Houghton's compositions are found towards the tail end of the record: "Speechless" and the Grammy Award winning "Jesus at the Center."  Sounding much like Darlene Zschech's rendition of "Jesus at the Center," here the worship team also takes their time to truly establish not only with our lips but also in our hearts the centrifugal importance of Jesus Christ.  Overall, the highlight of "Hope is Alive" is the opportunity to witness the coming of the different cultures, languages, people and personalities working in sync with each other.  New Hope Oahu has worshipfully captured the beauty of our God in his colorful arrays.  By the way, if you ever wondered what my opening line of this review means, it simply says in Hawaiian:  "hello, how are you?"