Every song has a story! Find out the background behind ‘Wonderful Gift Of God’, the brilliantly-festive All-Age Christmas song written by Trevor Ranger.
Trevor Ranger regularly shares the good news of Jesus Christ with children, young people and grown-ups in local schools and churches as part of his role as a ‘Children’s and Youth Worker’ in the west of England. “I like to write all-age worship songs,” explains Trevor, “songs that are simple enough for people of all ages to learn and to sing but which also have some meaning to them.”
Anyone familiar with Ranger’s albums will know that most of his songs are based on specific Bible verses, and singing these verses is an excellent way for children to discover for themselves some of the stories contained within the Bible. The Christmas story is obviously one of the most celebrated and when invited to write a song for a brand-new Christmas album, he jumped at the opportunity. “I was really pleased to be asked,” remembers Trevor, “and it didn't take me too long to work out that I wanted this song to be about the fact that Jesus is the most wonderful gift of God”
‘Wonderful Gift Of God’ with its joyful, easily singable musical approach featuring a school choir in the chorus, has proved very popular and continues to be used by many schools and churches. Even though Trevor doesn’t read music or play any instruments, he does succeed in getting his computer to produce an early draft of a musical arrangement, allowing the production team to successfully and of course, excellently, bring Trevor’s original ideas to fruition.
‘Wonderful Gift Of God’ can also be heard on Trevor’s latest studio album ‘Hold On’, a collection of all-age worship songs for everyone. Combining singable melodies with stories from the Bible, all twelve songs encourage us to hold on to the hope we have in Jesus.
