 10 was released to commemorate the tenth anniversary of MercyMe 's single " I Can Only Imagine " . In 1999 , the band was working on an independent record , The Worship Project , and needed one more song to fill out the project . Lead singer Bart Millard wrote the song while reminiscing about his father 's death . Although the band was aiming to produce a worship record of easy @-@ to @-@ sing songs , they included it because it was important to Millard . It was later included on the band 's major @-@ label debut , 2001 's Almost There , where it became a hit on Christian radio before crossing over and becoming successful on mainstream radio in 2003 . Around eight months before the release of 10 , the band had been approached by their label about producing a greatest @-@ hits record . The band was initially against the idea , and according to Millard , they felt it had always meant a band was near the end of their career . However , Millard later remembered he had written the song in 1999 , and the idea shifted from a greatest @-@ hits record to a celebration of the song 's ten @-@ year anniversary , a concept the band was more comfortable with . 
