Most people choose a church based on the quality of its service, but for Rich Mullins, the most important ingredient was not the dynamism of the leaders, but the devotion of the people.

Eric Hauck (a close friend of Mullins) recalls being with Rich in a worship service only a few days before Rich died in a car accident. Some friends wanted to have a gathering for praising God. They encouraged everyone who had an instrument to bring it and play. Eric recalls that the music sounded awful. Even those who led the singing sang out of tune.

Someone asked Eric and Rich to lead the group for the rest of the evening. Rich went up to the microphone and said, "I love to be in the church. I love to listen to people sing and play with their hearts. In my profession (contemporary Christian music) we worry about being in tune and sounding good. But this music is the music that is the most pleasing to God, because it is so real, and it comes from the hearts of the children of God."

Eric concludes, "As he said this, he got choked up. It was the last time I saw Rich cry."

Church was an emotional experience for Rich, not because of how exciting the worship was, but because he felt he was communing with the saints. Jimmy Abegg, a member of Rich's Ragamuffin band, said, "For Rich, even an hour in a bad church was better than not going at all."