Worship leader Hughes began his music career in 1997, when he was invited by
Mike Pilavachi to lead worship at a
Soul Survivor festival. After the departure of
Matt Redman from Soul Survivor Watford Church, Hughes succeeded him as Worship Pastor. In 2005, he moved to Holy Trinity Brompton, an Anglican church in central London, as director of worship. In 2015, he and his family moved to Birmingham where they have launched and now head up Gas Street Church. He is a member of
Compassionart, a
charity founded by musician
Martin Smith, the front man of
Delirious?.
Ordained ministry Hughes trained for ordination at
St Mellitus College, a non-residential Anglican theological college in London. On 29 June 2013, he was
ordained in the
Church of England as a
deacon by
Richard Chartres, Bishop of London, during a service at St Paul's Cathedral, London. On 22 June 2014, he was ordained as a
priest by
Paul Williams, Bishop of Kensington, during a service at
St Mary Abbots, Kensington. From 2013 to 2015, Hughes served his
curacy at Holy Trinity Brompton (HTB) in the
Diocese of London. The church officially launched on 5 February 2016.
Worship Central With Holy Trinity Brompton's associate director of worship, Al Gordon, Hughes established Worship Central, a worship training and resource centre, aiming to have an international impact.
Music recording Hughes' songs were published in the UK by
Survivor Records and distributed globally by
EMI CMG, a major music label documented as market share leader from 1998 to 2009. He is currently signed under
Integrity Music. Hughes has recorded and released six albums:
Here I Am to Worship in 2001,
When Silence Falls in 2004,
Holding Nothing Back in 2007,
Happy Day in 2009,
Love Shine Through in 2011, and
Pocketful of Faith in 2015.
Here I am to Worship Hughes' album,
Here I Am to Worship was released in 2001. The album introduced the worship songs "Jesus, You Alone" and the
Dove Award-winning song "
Here I Am to Worship". Both songs have become world-renowned worship anthems.
When Silence Falls Released in 2004,
When Silence Falls featured well-known tracks, "Beautiful One", "Consuming Fire", and "Whole World in His Hands". The bonus track on the album, "Saviour" featured the hip hop group
29th Chapter, from west London.
Holding Nothing Back Hughes' third album,
Holding Nothing Back, was released on 3 April 2007, and includes songs like "Living for your glory", "The Highest and the Greatest", "God of Justice", "Everything", and "Happy Day". In 2007, prior to the recording of Holding Nothing Back,
Christian Today interviewed Hughes, asking him, "Do you think any of the songs have the potential to become worldwide hits like some of your previous singles ("Here I am to Worship" and "Beautiful One")?" Hughes responded that what connected with people was often a surprise and hard to predict.
Happy Day In July 2008, Hughes recorded a live album and DVD,
Happy Day, at a Worship Central event held on 16 September 2008 at the Shepherds Bush Empire, London. The recording featured a mix of previously released material and brand new songs, including "Give us your courage". The album was released at the Worship Central Global Day on 14 March 2009, in London's Westminster Central Hall.
Love Shine Through On 11 March 2011, a fourth studio album was released,
Love Shine Through. The recording was produced by Martin Smith and featured musicians Marc James, Michael Guy Chislet and members of Northern Irish band,
Rend Collective Experiment.
Pocketful of Faith On 17 July 2015 Hughes released his fifth studio album,
Pocketful of Faith. The album was produced by
Nathan Nockels and includes songwriting collaborations with
Martin Smith,
Matt Redman,
Reuben Morgan,
Phil Wickham,
Jonas Myrin and Tim's Worship Central teammates Nick Herbert, Luke Hellebronth and
Ben Cantelon.
Literary publishing Hughes published
Passion For Your Name in 2003, in which he gives his advice on many issues, including
worship leading and songwriting. Hughes has published a book called
Holding Nothing Back (the same name as his third album) and was interviewed by Premier.tv's
Christian TV On Demand, to promote the book. ==Honours==