As You Go was written by Mark Altrogge, who has been writing songs for Sovereign Grace Music since the early 1980s. That’s a long time. It amazes me how he continues to write such theologically rich, relevant, singable songs.
What you may not know is that even with the decades of experience Mark has, he is one of the easiest people to work with when it comes to suggesting changes to his songs. Rather than giving you a detailed explanation of why he wrote what he did, or sharing 5 reasons why no alternative could possibly be better, he typically gets back in less than 24 hours with 2 or 3 alternatives. That’s one of the reasons he writes such great songs and why I love working with him.
Mark originally called this song Now As You Go, and it was intended to fill the benediction slot on The Gathering. This is the demo he sent.
We liked it, but it was a little more reflective than what we were looking for. So Mark sent a new version with a completely new melody and altered words.
You might notice the bridge takes some unusual turns melodically. So I suggested that instead of singing a bridge he just make the song three verses. He did, and that’s how we ended up with the version we recorded for The Gathering.
I love what this song expresses. It captures the mindset we’re to have as we leave our gatherings, whether we sing it or simply hear it spoken to us. God calls us to go into the world to proclaim the gospel and minister his grace and truth to others, but our confidence isn’t in our ability to fulfill what we’ve been commissioned to do. We go assured of the love of God, the grace of Christ, and the power of the Spirit, all enabling us to fulfill God’s purposes in and through us.
Here’s the guitar chart and lead sheet. Lyrics posted below.
As you go, may you know the love of Christ
How deep and long, how high and wide
As you leave, may you seek to win the prize
And find His death to be your life
May you go in the love of your Father God
May you go in the grace of Christ
May you go in the power of the Spirit now
To bring Him glory with your life
As you go, may you know the pow’r of grace
His very strength for what’s to come
As you leave, may you feel His mighty hand
Guiding your steps in the race you run
As you go, may you show His heart to bless
The ones with less, the blind and lost
As you leave, may you be the light of Christ
And show our hope is in the cross
By Mark Altrogge © 2011 Sovereign Grace Praise (BMI)
Mark has also been writing Scripture songs for years for his Hide the Word albums. He’s currently produced ten of them. You can check them out at his website.
