At a Franklin church, a superstar leads worship
No arena lights. No confetti cannons. Just a packed room, a church band, and a familiar voice filling the space. Carrie Underwood stepped to the front at Rolling Hills Community Church in Franklin, Tennessee, and led worship with “Pour Your Spirit Out,” turning a regular Sunday into a moment people won’t forget.
The song, written and popularized by Thrive Worship, carries a slow build and a simple plea. It’s the kind of chorus that invites the whole room in, and that’s exactly what happened. Thrive Worship later shared a clip on Instagram, posting the wide-eyed caption, “Is this real life?? We are so thankful to see how God is using this song in His church. What an honor.” The video drew a wave of comments calling the performance powerful and heartfelt.
If you live near Nashville, you know Franklin can feel like a backstage pass to the music world. Artists live here, shop here, and—sometimes—sing at church here. Underwood didn’t make a production of it. She joined the worship team, blended into the arrangement, then let the lyrics carry the room. People raised their phones, but more than that, they raised their voices.
This wasn’t a one-off. In August 2024, she surprised the same congregation with Bethel Music’s “Goodness of God.” That performance, captured on the church’s livestream, spread fast for the same reasons: clean, soaring vocals, no bells and whistles, and an unmistakable sense that she was there to serve the moment, not headline it.
Underwood’s church connection goes back long before awards and residencies. She grew up singing in a small church, the kind with wooden pews and a hymnal in every row. She’s said those early Sundays shaped her as a singer—church was her first stage, gospel songs her first setlist. You can hear that foundation when she tackles songs built on repetition, harmony, and a slow swell.
She leaned into that background with her 2021 album My Savior, a collection of classic hymns including “How Great Thou Art,” “Amazing Grace,” and a stirring duet with CeCe Winans on “Great Is Thy Faithfulness.” The record earned a Grammy in 2022 and, by her own description, ranks among the most meaningful projects of her career. For fans, it confirmed what these church drop-ins show in real time: faith isn’t a side project for her—it’s part of the main set.
“Pour Your Spirit Out” is tailor-made for a congregation. The verses move gently, then the chorus opens up like a door. In a church setting, the leader’s role is less about runs and more about creating space for everyone else to sing. That’s where Underwood’s control and clarity work so well—she keeps the pitch centered, the phrasing clean, and the dynamics steady, so the room can lock in around her.
There’s also the Nashville factor. Greater Nashville, especially Williamson County, is full of churches where professional musicians quietly plug in on Sundays. Rolling Hills is part of that ecosystem—rooted in community, used to excellence, and still committed to keeping the focus where churches believe it belongs. When a star shows up here, the expectation isn’t a concert. It’s participation.
Thrive Worship’s reaction said the quiet part out loud: seeing a song bounce from a writing room to a congregation to a global star—and then ricochet back to social media—shows how modern worship travels. A melody begins in one church, catches fire in others, and suddenly the video of a local service has an audience far beyond the zip code. Underwood’s appearance poured gasoline on that fuse.
What made this night stand out? A few things jumped off the screen in that clip:
- Song choice: “Pour Your Spirit Out” has a straightforward, singable chorus that a whole room can grab in one pass.
- Arrangement: The church band kept it lean—rhythm section, keys, guitars, layered vocals—leaving space for the congregation.
- Vocal approach: Underwood stayed in service of the song, saving the big lift for the chorus and letting the room do the heavy lifting with her.
- Atmosphere: Phones were up, sure, but the audio said more—hundreds of voices, one lyric.
Underwood’s August 2024 visit set the template. That day, “Goodness of God” brought the same mix of reverence and volume. The clip traveled widely not because of celebrity splash, but because the performance felt familiar to anyone who’s ever stood in a church and sung their heart out.
There’s a broader story here about country music and church music sharing a front porch. Many country artists grew up in pews, and the muscle memory of harmony, call-and-response, and hymn structure shows up later in their careers. Underwood built a mainstream catalog on powerhouse choruses and clean storytelling, then used My Savior to trace that line straight back to the hymnal. Her worship moments in Franklin connect those dots in real life.
She’s busy—albums, tours, and a Las Vegas residency all say as much. But the choice to step into a local service when she’s home tells you what still centers her. There’s no merchandise table, no encore, no pyrotechnics. It’s a few songs, a shared lyric, and a community that knows her not as a headliner, but as a neighbor.
For Thrive Worship, the shoutout was more than fan service. It was a milestone for a song that’s been quietly moving through churches across the country. When a world-class vocalist carries your melody in a room full of people, it validates the writing in a way charts can’t. And it sends more listeners back to find the source.
Will she do it again? History says yes, though Rolling Hills doesn’t advertise surprise guests. The congregation seems content to let the Sundays be Sundays—and if a familiar voice joins the mix, all the better. Either way, the clips will find their way online, and the comments will fill up with the same phrases—powerful, moving, just what I needed today.
For now, the moment stands on its own: a star at home, a song built for the room, and a congregation that didn’t need sold-out seats to feel something big. In Franklin, that counts as a perfect Sunday.