Hillsong en Français is the French-language music ministry of Hillsong Church, a Pentecostal church founded in Sydney in 1983. Since 2012, it has translated and recorded the songs of Hillsong Worship and Hillsong United into French, in partnership with Hillsong Paris. Its catalog includes about fifteen albums, among them Océans and Gloire à Son Nom.
Hillsong en Français began in 2012, when Hillsong Paris joined the international Hillsong Music team to record the French version of the Global Project, an initiative that translated Hillsong Church's songs into nine languages on the same day, September 18, 2012. The project isn't a band in the traditional sense: it is the French-language music ministry of Hillsong Church, the Pentecostal church founded in Sydney in 1983. Since that first album, about fifteen more records have followed, up to “Ce nom si merveilleux,” released in 2023.
What sets Hillsong en Français apart is that it translates and adapts for French speakers songs that are already traveling the world in English, like “Oceans,” which became “Océans (quand mes pieds tremblent),” or “What a Beautiful Name,” which became “Gloire à Son Nom (Anástasis).” Its official YouTube channel has 235,000 subscribers across 85 videos, and “Océans” alone has surpassed 4 million views, its most-watched track, a sign that these adaptations have found an audience well beyond Hillsong churches themselves.
To discover Hillsong en Français, start with “Océans (quand mes pieds tremblent),” its most popular song, an invitation to walk by faith even when everything is shaking. Follow it with “Gloire à Son Nom (Anástasis),” a declaration about the resurrection of Jesus, before listening to “Aucun autre nom,” a quieter song well suited to personal prayer. Three different entry points into the same repertoire, written to be sung by a congregation.
- Origin
- Paris, France, French-language ministry of Hillsong Church, a church founded in Sydney in 1983
- Style
- Contemporary worship and adoration, French adaptations of Hillsong Worship and Hillsong United songs
- Active since
- 2012, release of the Global Project Français, still active
- Must-know
- About fifteen albums released in French since 2012, including Ce nom si merveilleux (2023) and Une chose nouvelle (2022)
How did Hillsong en Français begin?
It all began with a local church: Hillsong Paris, planted in 2004 by Brendan White, then a pastor who had come from Hillsong London. When Hillsong Music launched the Global Project in 2012, an undertaking to record the same songs in nine languages around the world, the Paris team was chosen to lead the French version. The record was released on September 18, 2012, alongside the eight other language versions, with twelve songs translated and adapted for French-speaking congregations.
This first album laid the groundwork for work that would never stop: every major release from Hillsong Worship or Hillsong United was later recorded in French, a few months or years after its original version. The ministry grew with albums such as “De grâce en grâce” (2016), “que la lumière soit.” (2017), and “Il y a plus” (2018), leading up to its most recent releases, “Une chose nouvelle” (2022) and “Ce nom si merveilleux” (2023).
What makes Hillsong en Français distinctive?
Hillsong en Français doesn't write a separate repertoire: it translates and adapts songs already known around the world, keeping their melody while reworking the lyrics so they ring true in French, rather than offering a plain word-for-word translation. “Oceans” thus becomes “Océans (quand mes pieds tremblent),” and “What a Beautiful Name” becomes “Gloire à Son Nom (Anástasis),” two songs that have found their place in the services of French-speaking churches well beyond the Hillsong network.
This approach makes Hillsong en Français a bridge rather than an independent band: it allows congregations from Paris to Kinshasa to Montreal to sing, on the same Sunday, words that echo what is being sung in Sydney or London. This is also what explains the lasting popularity of certain songs, carried both by their international melody and by a carefully crafted French adaptation.
Where should you start to discover Hillsong en Français?
The most natural entry point remains “Océans (quand mes pieds tremblent),” the channel's most-watched track with over 4 million views, about keeping your eyes on Jesus when circumstances are shaking. For a more declarative style of worship, “Gloire à Son Nom (Anástasis)” celebrates the resurrection, while “Aucun autre nom” suits a quieter moment, alone or in a small group.
To go further, the albums “Il y a plus” (2018) and “Une chose nouvelle” (2022) offer a broader repertoire to explore song by song, before working back, for the curious, to the 2012 Global Project Français that started it all.
songs
Océans (Quand mes pieds tremblent)
An adaptation of Hillsong United's song Oceans, the channel's most-watched track with over 4 million views, about faith that stands firm in the middle of the storm. A classic for worship moments centered on trust.
Gloire à Son Nom (Anástasis)
The French version of What a Beautiful Name, a worship song centered on the resurrection of Jesus. Often chosen to open a service or mark a strong moment of declaration.
Aucun autre nom
An understated song about the uniqueness of Jesus, drawn from Hillsong Worship's international repertoire. It also lends its title to an album released in 2014.
Discography
- 2023Ce nom si merveilleux
- 2022Une chose nouvelle
- 2022Je m'abandonne
- 2021Viens souffler à nouveau
- 2020Mains nettes / Cœurs purs
- 2018Il y a plus
- 2018En Toi je sais qui je suis
- 2017que la lumière soit.
- 2016Cieux ouverts / Fleuve de vie
- 2016De grâce en grâce
- 2014Aucun autre nom
- 2012Global Project : Français· The ministry's first French album, recorded with Hillsong Paris for the worldwide launch of the Global Project.
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Frequently asked questions
Who is Hillsong en Français?
Hillsong en Français is the French-language music ministry of Hillsong Church, a Pentecostal church founded in Sydney in 1983. Since 2012, it has translated and recorded the songs of Hillsong Worship and Hillsong United into French, in partnership with Hillsong Paris, so that French-speaking congregations can worship in their own language.
What are Hillsong en Français's best-known songs?
The most-watched track is “Océans (quand mes pieds tremblent),” with over 4 million views on YouTube. Next come “Gloire à Son Nom (Anástasis),” an adaptation of What a Beautiful Name, and “Aucun autre nom,” two of the most widely sung songs in French-speaking churches.
Is Hillsong a Christian band?
Yes. Hillsong is an evangelical Pentecostal Christian church, founded in Sydney in 1983, whose music ministry (Hillsong Worship, Hillsong United) is broadcast around the world. Hillsong en Français is its French-language expression, carried in particular by Hillsong Paris since 2012.
Where can you listen to Hillsong en Français?
The catalog is available on the main streaming platforms, Spotify, Deezer, Apple Music, and YouTube, where the official channel has 235,000 subscribers. The hillsong.com website also offers a full presentation of the French-language music ministry.
How many albums has Hillsong en Français released?
About fifteen albums have been released since 2012, from the Global Project Français to Ce nom si merveilleux in 2023, including Il y a plus (2018) and Une chose nouvelle (2022). Each record is the French-language version of an album already released in English.
Can a church sing Hillsong en Français songs during its services?
Yes, provided the church holds an appropriate music reproduction license, such as CCLI, which covers displaying lyrics and recording services. The Hillsong catalog is widely licensed for this use in French-speaking churches.