articles

Why You Need to Sing Loudly in Church

Keith Getty lists five of the many reasons we should all sing passionately in church this Sunday: Each week, upwards of 100 million people in America attend church, listen responsively to the sermons, and pray sincerely. But when it comes time to sing the hymns, the level of engagement drops…

Eight Simple Principles of Worship Planning

Mark Powers offers a planning framework: How can worship leaders enable others to fall deeply in love with God? Here are eight principles that can enable a vertical vortex of Spirit and Truth: 1. Gather God’s family. Whatever your worship tradition or style, liturgical or free, we must allow our…

5 Things Starbucks Can Teach Christians about Evangelism

Debbie Holloway says churches outnumber Starbucks 25-1: If I ever want Starbucks, I know one will always be close. There’s one in my grocery store. There’s one a few intersections away from my apartment. There are four within two square miles of my parents’ house! If anything in this country…

Bobby Schuller On The Crystal Cathedral Exodus

Robert Schuller’s grandson talks about the lasting parts of his family’s ministry. When Bobby Schuller’s grandfather, Robert Schuller, founded Garden Grove Community Church in Southern California in 1955, he immediately attracted attention. The church met in a drive-in theater, and the novelty of it generated both local and national news…

Easter Worship Ideas for Kids’ Church

Mimi Bullock shares ideas for providing kids with unique ways to worship the Lord. Easter is on its way — are you ready for an influx of children? Share the joy and hope of Easter by providing kids with unique ways to worship the Lord. Prepare ahead of time and…

5 Reasons a Church Stops Growing

Ron Edmondson’s thoughts on leadership, church and culture. I was talking with a church recently that had explosive growth, but things have slowed. They wanted to know why they were not growing any longer. Honestly, I don’t know. There are probably different reasons for every church that stops growing. But,…

A New Sound in Christian Rock

MercyMe lead singer Bart Millard almost quit the band, but instead reinvented the group’s style. If you grew up listening to Christian rock music, chances are a few songs from the band MercyMe have a spot on your most-played list. The Texas-born group features lead singer/songwriter Bart Millard and band…

Free Easter Song from Hillsong

Download a free chord chart, lyrics, lead sheet, vocal demo and instrumental track for Hillsong’s “O Praise The Name (Anástasis.)” Read more about the song.

You’re Not Too Cool for Traditional or Too Mature for Contemporary

Matthew Starner suggests a balanced approach to worship planning: Hymns have played a role in worship since the earliest days of the church, and especially since the Reformation. Martin Luther helped to bring hymns to greater prominence when he encouraged the congregation to actually participate. In the time before the…

Every Sunday is Easter

Josh Ferris wonders what we communicate by putting a comparatively large amount of resources into a single day: It’s the stuff of church staffer dreams. The parking lot is jammed, teams of coffee-amped volunteers are bustling, the band is running through that great new song, and very soon, crowds of…

Church Easter Ideas

He is risen! He is risen indeed! Easter is coming. It’s one of the most popular times in the year for guests to attend your church. It’s also the biggest celebration in the church calendar. So how will your church welcome visitors and celebrate Christ’s resurrection? We’ve got plenty of…

Are All Christian Denominations In Decline?

Joe Carter says it makes more sense to look at long-term trends: In a recent interview in which she announced she had joined the Episcopal Church, Rachel Held Evans said, Just about every denomination in the American church— including many evangelical denominations — is seeing a decline in numbers, so…

10 Questions from a Search Committee

Looking for a new worship job? Marc Brown’s tips will be a big help: What are the skills and qualities that a worship pastor should have? The most obvious answer may be musical talent. After all, you can’t lead or teach people to be excellent in something unless you, yourself…

Combining Church Choirs for Special Events

Jeremy Armstrong sees God working through a combination of choirs and ministries: Two years ago I received a call from another worship pastor asking if I would consider joining his and a couple other choirs in the area for a Christmas Presentation. His choir was very small and the others…

7 Tips for Increasing Congregational Participation

Kevin Cook says church members passively observe as the church leaders put on their worship service. One of the biggest issues with church culture today is congregational participation. Church members walk through the doors, find a seat, sit back, and passively observe as the church leaders put on their worship…

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