Pentecostal Funeral Songs
About Pentecostal Funeral Songs
Pentecostal funeral songs reflect a tradition that meets death with praise, not just mourning — a “homegoing celebration” rather than a farewell. The Pentecostal and Charismatic tradition emphasises the Holy Spirit’s presence in all things, including death, and the music reflects this with expressive, Spirit-filled worship that can move from quiet reverence to joyful celebration within a single service. "I’ll Fly Away," one of the most recorded gospel songs ever, captures the Pentecostal vision of death as liberation — the soul taking flight to glory. "When We All Get to Heaven" is a jubilant anticipation of reunion. "Victory in Jesus" declares triumph over death through faith. Pentecostal funeral music draws from the rich gospel tradition — André Crouch’s "Soon and Very Soon (We Are Going to See the King)" is a quintessential homegoing anthem. Contemporary worship songs from Hillsong ("What a Beautiful Name"), Bethel Music ("It Is Well"), and Elevation Worship ("O Come to the Altar") reflect the modern Pentecostal worship style that younger congregations know. Kirk Franklin’s blend of gospel, hip-hop, and praise has made him a staple at Pentecostal funerals across generations. The energy of a Pentecostal funeral service — hands raised, tears flowing, voices lifted in genuine praise — creates an atmosphere where grief and hope coexist powerfully.
Top Pentecostal Funeral Songs
Precious Lord, Take My Hand
Mahalia Jackson
Its heartfelt plea for divine guidance through life's darkness resonates deeply with mourners.
Going Up Yonder
Walter Hawkins
A staple in Black Protestant funeral traditions, it focuses on the glorious reunion awaiting believers in heaven during homegoing services.
Soon and Very Soon
Andraé Crouch
Based on Revelation 21:3-4, it speaks of no more crying or dying. Performed at Michael Jackson's memorial service.
I'll Fly Away
Albert Brumley
The most recorded gospel song of all time with over 1,000 versions, celebrating joyous liberation death brings to believers.
It Is Well With My Soul
Horatio Spafford
Despite devastating loss, Spafford declared 'it is well' - a profound statement of faith that inspires mourners.
Tips for Choosing Pentecostal Funeral Songs
Tip 1. Emphasise victory over death — Pentecostal theology sees death as a homegoing, not a defeat. Choose triumphant songs like "I'll Fly Away" and "When We All Get to Heaven."
Tip 2. Expect expressive worship — Pentecostal funerals often include spontaneous praise, clapping, and raised hands. Choose songs that invite this response.
Tip 3. Gospel music is central — The Pentecostal tradition draws heavily from gospel. Kirk Franklin, CeCe Winans, and André Crouch are all appropriate.
Tip 4. Include contemporary worship — Modern worship artists like Hillsong, Bethel Music, and Elevation Worship are widely used in Pentecostal services.
Tip 5. Consider live worship — Pentecostal services often feature live praise bands rather than recorded music. A worship team leading songs creates authentic atmosphere.
Tip 6. Consult the pastor — Pentecostal pastors often have strong preferences about funeral music and may want to direct the worship portion of the service.
Complete List of Pentecostal Funeral Songs
Precious Lord, Take My Hand
Mahalia Jackson
Written by Thomas Dorsey after losing his wife and infant son, this deeply personal hymn has become the quintessential gospel funeral song.
Why it's meaningful: Its heartfelt plea for divine guidance through life's darkness resonates deeply with mourners.
Best moment: Perfect for processional or during reflection moments.
Going Up Yonder
Walter Hawkins
This uplifting anthem celebrates the promise of heaven and eternal life, transforming grief into hope.
Why it's meaningful: A staple in Black Protestant funeral traditions, it focuses on the glorious reunion awaiting believers in heaven during homegoing services.
Best moment: Powerful as a recessional or celebration of life moment.
Soon and Very Soon
Andraé Crouch
This triumphant song anticipates the joy of seeing Jesus and being reunited with loved ones in heaven.
Why it's meaningful: Based on Revelation 21:3-4, it speaks of no more crying or dying. Performed at Michael Jackson's memorial service.
Best moment: Celebratory recessional or closing hymn.
I'll Fly Away
Albert Brumley
This song uses the metaphor of a bird freed from prison to describe the soul's joyous release into heaven.
Why it's meaningful: The most recorded gospel song of all time with over 1,000 versions, celebrating joyous liberation death brings to believers.
Best moment: Perfect for New Orleans jazz funerals and celebration of life services.
It Is Well With My Soul
Horatio Spafford
Written as Spafford sailed over the spot where his four daughters drowned, this hymn of faith emerged from unimaginable grief.
Why it's meaningful: Despite devastating loss, Spafford declared 'it is well' - a profound statement of faith that inspires mourners.
Best moment: Powerful testimony of faith during the darkest moments.
Will the Circle Be Unbroken
The Carter Family
Classic American folk hymn about family reunion in heaven, with the Carter Family's iconic harmonies.
Why it's meaningful: The promise of reuniting in an unbroken circle offers hope that families separated by death will be together again.
Best moment: Perfect for family patriarchs/matriarchs or emphasizing heavenly reunion.
Total Praise
Richard Smallwood
Written while Smallwood cared for his mother with dementia, this powerful song based on Psalm 121 became an anthem of worship and surrender.
Why it's meaningful: Performed at Aretha Franklin's funeral, it's become a signature gospel funeral song.
Best moment: Powerful during worship moments or as a solo performance.
His Eye Is on the Sparrow
Ethel Waters
Inspired by a disabled couple's unwavering faith, this hymn assures God watches over the smallest creatures and us.
Why it's meaningful: The message of divine care and protection brings comfort, reminding us loved ones remain in God's watchful care.
Best moment: Beautiful during quiet reflection or meditation.
Order My Steps
GMWA Women of Worship
This passionate prayer for divine guidance resonates deeply at funerals as families seek comfort in knowing their loved one walked in God's path.
Why it's meaningful: Initially rejected before being embraced, the song's journey mirrors how grief transforms into acceptance.
Best moment: Meaningful during worship or reflection time.
Never Would Have Made It
Marvin Sapp
Written after the death of Sapp's wife, this powerful testimony about surviving with God's help became a gospel standard.
Why it's meaningful: Its message of God's sustaining power through tragedy speaks directly to mourners.
Best moment: Powerful testimony song during eulogies or tributes.
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot
Traditional Spiritual
This African American spiritual uses the biblical story of Elijah being taken to heaven in a chariot as a metaphor for death and spiritual liberation.
Why it's meaningful: For enslaved people, it represented hope for freedom—either escape or eternal freedom in heaven—a profound symbol of deliverance.
Best moment: Traditional choice for processional or recessional.
Because He Lives
Bill and Gloria Gaither
Written during the turbulent late 1960s, this song finds hope in Christ's resurrection as the answer to life's uncertainties.
Why it's meaningful: Christ's victory over death gives mourners hope that their loved one shares in eternal life.
Best moment: Hopeful choice for celebrating resurrection faith.
What a Friend We Have in Jesus
Traditional Hymn
Written by Joseph Scriven to comfort his mother after his fiancée drowned, this hymn emphasizes Jesus as the ultimate friend who bears our sorrows.
Why it's meaningful: Scriven's personal tragedy inspired words that comfort millions facing loss.
Best moment: Comforting during quiet reflection or congregational singing.
Oh Happy Day
Edwin Hawkins Singers
This joyful arrangement of an 18th-century hymn became a crossover hit, reaching #4 on Billboard Hot 100.
Why it's meaningful: Exuberant celebration of Jesus washing sins away brings uplifting, celebratory tone to homegoing services.
Best moment: Perfect for celebration of life and joyful homegoing services.
Just a Closer Walk With Thee
Traditional Gospel
Traditional gospel hymn often played by jazz bands in New Orleans funerals, combining spiritual yearning with musical celebration.
Why it's meaningful: Expresses desire for divine closeness during grief while honoring the New Orleans tradition of jazz funerals.
Best moment: Processional for New Orleans-style funerals or spiritual services.
Down by the Riverside
Traditional Spiritual
Upbeat spiritual about laying down burdens by the riverside, frequently played during second line celebrations at New Orleans funerals.
Why it's meaningful: Celebrates laying down life's burdens and finding peace at last.
Best moment: Second line or recessional for celebration of life services.
His Eye Is On the Sparrow
Mahalia Jackson
Classic gospel song about God's watchful care over even the smallest sparrows, beautifully interpreted by the Queen of Gospel.
Why it's meaningful: If God watches over sparrows, how much more does He care for us - offering deep comfort in faith during grief.
Best moment: Christian funerals emphasizing faith in divine care and protection.
People Get Ready
The Impressions
Curtis Mayfield's gentle gospel-soul masterpiece about boarding the train to heaven.
Why it's meaningful: The gentle gospel message of boarding the train to glory offers comfort that the deceased has begun their spiritual journey.
Best moment: Perfect for Christian funerals with soul music appreciation.
Blessed Assurance
Fanny Crosby / Phoebe Knapp
The Baptist doctrine of Salvation Assurance in song: 'Heir of salvation, purchase of God.' Transforms the funeral from hopeful plea into confident declaration.
Why it's meaningful: The upbeat 9/8 meter ends the service on triumph. A systematic theology of conversion in lyrical form.
Best moment: Closing hymn or recessional. Its buoyant rhythm lifts the congregation out of grief.
Victory in Jesus
E.M. Bartlett
The most distinctively Baptist funeral song. The deceased has won the final battle: 'I heard about a mansion he has built for me in glory.'
Why it's meaningful: Sung with robust enthusiasm, defying death's somber tone. Frames the narrative through 'Victory' — death defeated.
Best moment: THE definitive closing hymn for a Baptist funeral. Sung with energy and conviction.
The Old Rugged Cross
George Bennard
'Cross to Crown' theology: 'I will exchange it someday for a crown.' The struggles of the Christian life traded for eternal reward upon death.
Why it's meaningful: Deeply sentimental focus on the instrument of salvation. Favoured for older saints who lived through the revivalist era.
Best moment: Special music or instrumental prelude. The melody alone carries immense weight.
Somebody to Love
Queen
A gospel-influenced rock anthem crying out for connection and meaning.
Why it's meaningful: Its gospel-influenced cry for love and purpose captures the universal human need for connection — powerful in communal mourning.
Best moment: During the service
How Great Thou Art
Elvis Presley
Elvis's most powerful gospel performance, filled with awe and reverence.
Why it's meaningful: Widely considered one of the greatest gospel recordings ever made — Elvis's voice soars with genuine faith, creating a transcendent moment of worship.
Best moment: During the service or processional / entrance
Take Me to the King
Tamela Mann
This deeply vulnerable song about bringing brokenness to God became the highest-certified gospel song in US history (2x Platinum).
Why it's meaningful: Raw honesty about weakness and need for divine intervention makes it profound for funerals where mourners feel overwhelmed.
Best moment: Powerful during moments of surrender and seeking comfort.
We Fall Down
Donnie McClurkin
This song acknowledges human frailty while celebrating the holiness of God, offering hope to mourners struggling with grief.
Why it's meaningful: The message that we fall short but God is holy brings both humility and hope.
Best moment: Uplifting during worship or as a congregational hymn.
The Storm Is Over Now
Kirk Franklin
From the groundbreaking album 'The Nu Nation Project,' this song celebrates emerging from life's storms into peace.
Why it's meaningful: Message of overcoming resonates at funerals as celebration that the deceased has reached peaceful shore of heaven.
Best moment: Celebratory recessional or victory song.
Peace Be Still
James Cleveland and The Angelic Choir
This 1963 recording became one of the best-selling gospel albums ever, selling over one million copies.
Why it's meaningful: The command to life's storms to be still offers peace to grieving hearts.
Best moment: Calming choice during reflection or meditation.
I Won't Complain
Rev. Paul Jones
This powerful testimony song about enduring life's hardships with grace became a gospel standard.
Why it's meaningful: Message of gratitude despite trials and refusal to complain honors those who faced adversity with faith.
Best moment: Meaningful for honoring those who faced life with grace.
Stand
Donnie McClurkin
This powerful anthem about standing firm through adversity speaks to the strength required to face life's storms.
Why it's meaningful: Message that after you've done all you can, you just stand - a profound comfort for mourners.
Best moment: Encouraging during moments of strength and perseverance.
I Need Thee Every Hour
Annie Hawks
Written by housewife Annie Hawks during a moment of spiritual nearness to God, this hymn expresses constant dependence on divine presence.
Why it's meaningful: Recognition of continual need for God provides comfort to those facing the hourly reality of grief.
Best moment: Tender choice during quiet meditation or prayer.
God Is Love
Marvin Gaye
Marvin Gaye's spiritual R&B meditation on divine love from his groundbreaking What's Going On album.
Why it's meaningful: Gaye's socially conscious spirituality resonates with those who saw faith through the lens of love and justice.
Best moment: For families of faith who appreciate soul music's spiritual depth.
I Saw the Light
Hank Williams
Hank Williams' joyful conversion song — the moment darkness gives way to divine light. Simple, direct, and triumphant.
Why it's meaningful: Frames death as seeing the light at last. For believers who found faith late or struggled with demons before finding peace.
Best moment: Recessional or committal. Its energy transforms the exit from somber to hopeful.
Precious Memories
Jim Reeves
Jim Reeves' smooth 'velvet' voice delivers a Nashville Sound gospel standard about the 'unseen angels' of memory. Transforms grief into a treasure hunt for good memories.
Why it's meaningful: Non-threatening, masculine, and deeply soothing. Validates the act of looking back and cherishing the past rather than fixating on loss.
Best moment: Candle lighting or reflection. Huge following in UK, Ireland, and the US South for funerals.
Peace in the Valley
Elvis Presley
Elvis's sincere, reverent gospel performance bridges the gap between secular fandom and religious reverence. A request for rest after a weary life.
Why it's meaningful: For the original teenagers of 1956 who bought Elvis records. His gospel recordings are deeply personal and surprisingly moving.
Best moment: Reflection or committal. The gospel arrangement provides church-like gravitas from a familiar voice.
Softly and Tenderly
Will L. Thompson
The quintessential invitation hymn: 'Come home, come home, ye who are weary, come home.' Death as coming home; simultaneously comforts and evangelises.
Why it's meaningful: Dual purpose: comforts by framing death as 'coming home' while quietly calling the living to faith.
Best moment: Reflection after the sermon. Bridges personal grief and proclamation.
Just As I Am
Charlotte Elliott
The Billy Graham hymn. Entering heaven not by works but by faith: 'Just as I am, without one plea, but that thy blood was shed for me.'
Why it's meaningful: The simplicity allows grief-stricken mourners to participate without mental effort. The funeral as worship service.
Best moment: Closing invitation or altar call. The slow tempo matches emotional weight.
What a Friend We Have in Jesus
Joseph Scriven / Charles Converse
Jesus as sympathetic Friend who bears the mourner's griefs: 'Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere?'
Why it's meaningful: Emphasises personal relationship with Jesus — hallmark of Baptist piety. Accessible to those unfamiliar with theology.
Best moment: Family prayer time or viewing. The gentle melody supports quiet, personal grief.
Angel Band
The Stanley Brothers
A traditional gospel song about angels coming to carry the soul home, recorded by the Stanley Brothers.
Why it's meaningful: The direct imagery of an angel band coming to escort the soul provides comfort rooted in deep Appalachian faith tradition.
Best moment: During the service. Especially powerful at rural or traditional Southern funerals.
Will the Circle Be Unbroken
Johnny Cash
A gospel standard celebrating the hope of family reunion in heaven.
Why it's meaningful: This communal hymn reassures mourners that the family circle will be made whole again in the afterlife.
Best moment: During the service or recessional / exit
Frequently Asked Questions
What songs are appropriate for a Pentecostal funeral?
Pentecostal funerals typically feature gospel hymns, contemporary worship songs, and praise anthems. Popular choices include "I'll Fly Away," "When We All Get to Heaven," "Amazing Grace," "Victory in Jesus," "Soon and Very Soon," and "How Great Thou Art." Contemporary worship from Hillsong, Bethel Music, and Kirk Franklin is also widely used. The emphasis is on songs that celebrate the deceased's homegoing to heaven rather than focusing solely on grief.
What is a Pentecostal homegoing service?
A Pentecostal homegoing service celebrates the deceased's arrival in heaven rather than mourning their departure from earth. It typically includes energetic praise and worship, scripture readings emphasising resurrection and eternal life, personal testimonies about the deceased's faith, and often spontaneous expressions of worship (clapping, raised hands, speaking in tongues). The music is central — often featuring a full praise band or choir — and the tone can shift between deep grief and jubilant praise.
Can non-gospel music be played at a Pentecostal funeral?
This varies by congregation. Many Pentecostal churches prefer to keep the service focused on worship and gospel music. However, some pastors allow a secular song that was meaningful to the deceased, especially at the viewing or reception. The formal service typically features only worship-appropriate music. If the family wants to include secular favourites, discuss this with the pastor beforehand — they may suggest playing them at the repast (reception) rather than during the service.