Kenny Lamm says children’s choirs are making a comeback.

Over the past years, many churches have cancelled their children’s choirs for a variety of reasons. As some churches have tried to simplify their overburdening schedules, children’s choirs were one of the first things to go in the children’s ministry. As many churches have moved to a more contemporary model, the leadership felt the children’s choir ministry was from the old school approach, and therefore no longer relevant. Others may have seen reduced participation and felt it was no longer worth maintaining the program.

Now, churches are reaping the results of dropping the children’s music programs by seeing a great reduction in the pool of young adults who are skilled in music due to fewer people receiving singing and other musical training (many schools have also abolished or cut back their music programs).

Today, in many churches, we are seeing that children’s choirs are making a comeback. Churches all across the country that have cast aside their children’s choir programs are reinstating them. New life is being breathed into children’s choir programs.

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Daniel Crawford offers tips for being the best sit in worship musician you can be.

At one time or another, every church gets in a pinch and needs a musician to come sit in. Regular worship team members might be on vacation, suddenly ill or just unavailable, so they bring in someone from another church. These opportunities are sometimes paid and sometimes are just volunteer-based. Whatever the situation is, sitting in at another church is a great opportunity to build new relationships, gain experience, and participate in the church body on a bigger level (and yes, even make a bit of money, too). Here are 5 pointers to be the best sit in worship musician you can be.

1. GET INFORMED

The key to really excel as a sit in musician is to be informed. Contact the worship leader, and grab as much information as possible. Write the information down so you don’t forget. Here are some key questions to ask:

•  When is rehearsal?
•  Do you practice another day of the week in addition to Sunday Morning?
•  When do I need to be there?
•  What is the set list?
•  Do you have charts/audio/lyrics that I can access online?
•  Can you add me to your Planning Center/WorshipPlanning/WorshipNext account?
•  Do you run in-ear monitors or floor wedges?
•  Are you able to run guitar amps? (It’s very important to work this out ahead of time to avoid frustrations on both ends)
•  What’s the dress code for the service?

Also, if there is pay involved, it’s a good idea to square that away with the worship leader ahead of time. Some churches require you to fill out a W9 form before they can cut you a check, and many churches prefer to mail out their checks, so you might want to give out your address ahead of time to expedite the process.

2. PREPARE

This is absolutely the most important part of sitting in. Nothing can be more frustrating for a worship leader bringing someone in than having them be sloppy and unprepared (especially if you’re being paid). Get the set list as soon as possible, and practice thoroughly before you show up for rehearsal. Make sure you are practicing the right song and the right version (there are at least 4 songs titled “You are Good”, and you don’t want to show up playing the wrong one). Pay attention to the guitar parts, roadmap and dynamics. Get your tone set before hand. Put the songs into a playlist on your iPod and listen to them while you’re in the car. Try transposing and practicing songs just in case something like that happens when you show up for practice. Show up early. By taking the time to prepare for the service, you are valuing their time as well as their ministry.

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Millennials are not necessarily inclined to attend a church that mixes sacred tradition with secular trends, says Christian writer and author Andrea Palpant Dilley.

Dilley, who is familiar with being a member at both a mainline Presbyterian church and a modern, non-denominational congregation, advises churches to carefully consider their outreach strategies when trying to attract young adults.

“Across America today, thousands of clergy and congregations—even entire denominations—are running scared, desperately trying to convince their youth that faith and church are culturally relevant, forward-looking and alive … proceed with caution …with thoughtfulness and deliberation. What young people say we want in our 20s is not necessarily what we want 10 years later,” writes Dilley on ChurchLeaders.com

While the number of Americans under 30 who do not identify with any religion continues to increase, according to a Pew Research report, Dilley argues that there are millennials who do care about being in traditional churches over much trendier congregations that embrace an “unchurchy” feel.

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Kevin West says the volume music is played at can have a direct result in how engaged a congregation is in worship.

I have noticed a shift that has taken place musically over the past 30 years, which greatly affects us as worshippers — since it affects us as worshippers, it greatly affects us as worship leaders.  I can’t speak for every church and every denomination, however I feel confident this affects most churches that have a “contemporary” style of music.
So, let me tell you my observation and then I will try to back it up with some examples.  The volume music is played at can have a direct result in how engaged a congregation is in worship.
I’m cringing even as I type that.  Volume shouldn’t have anything to do with how engaged we are in worshipping the One who gave His life for us.  However, in my experience, for this generation it does.

My Experiences

About 8 years ago my wife and I were visiting a fairly large church (in people and building size).  We were singing the songs trying to engage in worship.  The worship leader started to lead a song I was pretty familiar with and really loved so I began to sing the song loudly.  Just then the worship leader began “making the song his own” — he zigged when I zagged.  I ending up singing the wrong notes pretty loud, embarrassing myself.  Instantly, I reduced my volume and looked around to see who noticed my wrong notes.  It was in that service I realized a few things:

1. I, like so many, get embarrassed when I sound awful in front of people
2. Because the volume in the church was low and everyone could hear me, I began to sing softer
3. Because I’m not the only one who does 1 & 2, the entire congregation was singing softer
4. As a result of singing softer, I was more passive and less engaged

Let me give you another example.  I was talking with a friend (who is in his 20s) who recently started attending a new church.  He was telling me what he enjoyed about his new church home.  One of his comments was, “I love that the music is loud enough that no one can hear me singing.”  I found that comment fascinating and began to ponder it in light of my own experiences.

When there is no fear of embarrassment, people tend to sing louder.  When people sing louder, in many cases, they become more actively engaged in worship.

I want to be clear that I’m not saying the music has to be loud in order to worship through singing; volume is not the issue.  The bigger issue is how this generation is connecting with God. I believe there is something in us that wants to sing with all our might (no matter the volume of the music), and when we are not able to do that, we become more passive as worshippers.

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Dave Barnhart gives excellent reasons for alternate worship times:

I had to struggle to close down evening services at the last two churches I served. Both were holdovers from a previous era, a time when people would go to church several times a week. These services had dwindled to a dozen or so older worshipers who faithfully sang the old hymns and turned out to hear a preacher, who was tired from two or three services earlier in the day, deliver a warmed-over homily. In winter, when earlier darkness prevented many of them from driving to church, attendance could be a mere handful. It was hard to end a ministry which had ceased to be productive long ago.

So it’s amusing to me, now that I’m planting a new church, that our primary worship service is in the afternoon! We meet at 4:30. Me, I’m a morning person. If I weren’t a minister of the gospel and could just choose a worship service to suit myself, I’d go to the earliest service I could find so that I’d have a long, uninterrupted stretch of time for the rest of the day—but I’m not the person we’re trying to reach!

The afternoon service works for us for a number of reasons.

1. We can reach a different population. A lot of the people we’re trying to reach sleep in on Sunday mornings. Folks who aren’t in the habit of getting up early to get to church—in other words, most of the population of the United States—often don’t exactly relish answering to their alarm clock on days they don’t have to be at work. Our musicians often have gigs on Saturday nights, so they definitely appreciate a later Sunday start time. Many people work on Sunday mornings, or work night shifts that make mornings tough. Afternoon services allow people to get the rest they need on the weekend.

2. It doesn’t feel “churchy.” Since our goal is to reach people who have been hurt or burned by church, meeting at a time other that Sunday morning helps the service feel less like a traditional (or “traditional-contemporary”) church. Meeting at a different time helps us dissociate our community from the negative experiences people may have had at other churches.

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