articles

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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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Matt McChlery encourages worship leaders to maintain a connection with Christianity’s rich history: A couple of years ago during a joint Christmas service with a group of other church denominations in my town, the minister who was leading the service did something radical, and completely unacceptable – he read a…

Carlos Whittaker offers ideas to sharpen your worship leading skills: Since I’ve made a purposeful switch to speaking on Sundays more often than leading worship on Sundays, everything is suddenly louder when I lead worship. Preaching 3 Sundays a month and then leading worship 1 Sunday a month has been…

Austin Gohn explains why he has started reading and praying the Psalms: A few weeks ago, someone asked me, “How can I be a disciple if I must endure highs and lows, faith and doubt, trust and fear? I feel like I must doing something wrong.” If someone had asked me that…

Bob Kauflin explains why he begins every service with a call to worship: Every Beginning Says Something There are different ways of letting people know the meeting is starting. Some churches run a countdown video. Others have the band kick in to the first song (our practice for decades). Some…

Tinashe Nyamukapa offers a basic checklist for set planning: As worship leaders our desire should be always to deliver to the people of God that which he has on his heart. Jesus says I always do what I see my Father doing. We have to have insight and be constantly…

Emily Kantner says ministry names don’t need to be clever or catchy; they need to make sense. Have you ever visited a church for the first time and wondered what on earth the Ignite Ministry could possibly be? Is it a group of pyromaniacs who light things on fire? And…

Bobby Gilles explains the differences: In Sing With Understanding: An Introduction to Christian Hymnody, Harry Eskew and Hugh T. McElrath describe a hymn as a kind of poem set to music. They further write, “It should be simple and metrical in form, genuinely emotional, poetic and literary in style, spiritual…