Pastor Mike Glenn of Brentwood Baptist in Nashville was shown a sermon manuscript generated by AI using his previous sermons, but the result lacked the authenticity of a sermon crafted by a pastor who has a genuine relationship with Christ. Science fiction predicts machines will replace human workers, but Glenn believes certain professions require the human touch, such as teaching, preaching, and ministry. Preaching is more than words; it is an authentic expression of a changed life, a message filtered through Scripture, theology, and the pastor’s personal testimony. AI may generate a cohesive message, but it lacks the encounter with Christ required to inspire true transformation. Continue Reading
Using ChatGPT and Jasper AI To Write Announcement Scripts For Church Services
As technology continues to advance, it’s important for church leaders to explore new digital tools that can enhance their ministry work. One such tool is generative AI, which can be used to create more compelling and varied church service announcements. You might be familiar with ChatGPT, an AI-driven chatbot that uses natural language processing. By using this technology, church leaders can make their announcements more engaging and relevant for their congregation. So why not explore how generative AI can help improve your church’s announcements and create a more dynamic and exciting worship experience for everyone? Continue Reading
How to Build Your Worship Team with Amazing Volunteers
If you’re looking to build an inspiring worship team, Worshipflow can help. To get started, it’s important to define your needs and create job descriptions for each role. Then, spread the word through your church’s website, social media, and email newsletters. Hosting auditions is a great way to assess talent and provide feedback to candidates who aren’t quite ready for your team. Learn more about how to build a worship team that will take your services to the next level! Continue Reading
Why Mainline Protestantism is Declining While Nondenominationals Thrive
Over the past ten years,nondenominational Protestant churches have had quite a surge in growth here in the United States. According to the 2020 US Religion Census, there were 4,000 more nondenominational churches and 6.5 million more people attending these churches compared to statistics from 2010.
On the flip side, mainline Protestant Christianity has been on the decline for five decades now. In the mid-1970s, almost a third of Americans were affiliated with denominations like the United Methodist Church, the United Church of Christ and the Episcopal Church. But today only one in ten Americans are part of mainline traditions.
So what’s behind this growth of nondenominational churches? It looks like it could be linked to how mainline traditions have had trouble holding onto their members who were raised in those churches. In the 1970s, around 75% of those raised in mainline churches still identified with them as adults. But this number had declined to just over half (55%) by the 2010s.
Of the 45% of mainline believers who leave, some end up in evangelical churches, but there is not much evidence to suggest that the rise of nondenominational churches is being directly fueled by the decline of the mainline. In fact, people in nondenominational churches are becoming less likely to have mainline backgrounds as the number of mainline believers declines.
Another reason for the growth of nondenominational churches is that more people raised in the Catholic faith are identifying as nondenominational as adults. In the 1970s, only 6% of nondenominationals were converted Catholics. Today, that number has almost tripled to 17%.
The growth of nondenominational churches is not just about people switching from one religion to another. It is also driven by parents raising their children in a particular faith tradition. Given that most people do not leave the religion they were raised with, having lots of young people in a religious tradition is an important indicator of future growth. This is why nondenominational churches continue to rise while other traditions are struggling.
In the 1980s, only 2% of people were raised in a nondenominational church, compared to 7% who were raised Southern Baptist and 5% who were raised in the United Methodist Church. However, those percentages have shifted significantly over the last 40 years. Now, a young person is just as likely to be raised in a nondenominational church as a Southern Baptist one, but only 4% of people are being raised United Methodist.
So, while in the past nondenominational churches grew significantly due to individuals leaving mainline traditions, now they are increasing by taking in people who were raised Catholic. Furthermore, nondenominational churches are retaining young people, which is just as important as bringing in new adult members in ensuring their continued growth.
What I’ve Learned About Starting A Youth Worship Band
Mark Cole shares his experience starting a junior high worship band. First off, Mark says it’s important to get the kids to take private lessons. More than half of the core group he inherited had taken private lessons, and it really helped them develop their skills. If private lessons aren’t possible, having older players mentor the younger ones can also be a great help.
Another key tip is to run separate rehearsals for vocals. This can really improve the quality of your worship music and help everyone get on the same page.
Overall, the article has some great insights on how to get a junior high worship band up and running. If you’re looking to start a similar group, definitely give it a read!
Asbury Revival
A revival appears to have broken out at Asbury University. Bill Elliff, the Founding and National Engage Pastor of The Summit Church in North Little Rock, Arkansas, writes about his visit.
Ethan Barker, an Asbury alumni, posts on Facebook what he experienced.
Jumpstart Your Worship Planning Creativity
by Don Chapman
WorshipIdeas.com is 23 years old! The first email newsletter went out to about 400 people on February 11, 2002 (in the heyday, right before the blog explosion, the newsletter amassed over 100,000 subscribers.) At the time I was the music director of a church plant of around 200 people who met in an elementary school cafeteria (we eventually purchased a building.)
We set up a complete sound system every week. I played a Yamaha S80 keyboard, we had an electric guitar, bass and Roland V-Club drums (a smaller version of the V-Drums.) Our praise team consisted of 3-6 singers. We’d project song lyrics on a solid color background using PowerPoint (I couldn’t get our projectionist to use images for a year or two, and motion backgrounds were still a novelty.) I’d often beef up our sound with drum loops and tracks using a laptop that was probably 1/10th as powerful as my Samsung Galaxy Note Smartphone, and ran Cakewalk Pro Audio (the precursor to Sonar.)
Here’s the very first WorshipIdeas article from 2002:
Jumpstart Your Worship Planning Creativity
Now that you’ve settled in to 2002, it’s back to the grindstone of weekly worship planning. For churches that don’t follow a liturgical calendar, creating a new worship experience each week can be a daunting and draining task for the worship leader.
Right now, take a moment and ask God to guide you this year. Ask Him to help you as you pick songs and create a flow of worship that will enable your congregation to draw closer to Him.
Before you start planning music, consult your pastor. Does he have an idea of what his sermon will be this week and upcoming weeks? Ask him to give you Scripture texts. He’ll appreciate your willingness to collaborate, and you’ll have themes on which to base your praise sets.
No input from your pastor? Then you’ll have to come up with a theme from scratch.
Determine if anything special is going on this month. Will you have Communion, a baby dedication or holiday? Plan appropriate songs to fit the theme.
Often when I sit down to plan our weekly service I think of something Joe Horness said at a Willow Creek Arts Conference I attended. Before he begins planning, he asks God “What would You like to hear Your people sing this week?” Let God impress your heart with a song. Maybe there’s a new tune you’ve been itching to do or a melody that’s been running through your mind. Or perhaps you remember an old hymn you haven’t sung in ages. This could be the foundation for your set, and you can build songs around this theme.
Still no ideas? Try making a song list. Keep a catalogue of every song your church sings. Organize it by fast songs, medium songs and slow songs. Refer to it when you have worship planning block — which songs haven’t you done in awhile that your congregation would like to sing again? Your church probably knows so many songs that some of them will slip your mind. Your own song list will jog your memory.
>Bottom Line: Protect yourself from worship planning block. Ask God to give you help, consult your pastor for sermon topics, identify any special events for the month, determine if there are any songs on your heart and develop a song list.
Maximizing Church Meetings: A Guide To Success
As a church leader, one of your most important responsibilities is to ensure that your staff is working together effectively and efficiently. One way to achieve this is by holding regular staff meetings. However, if not properly planned and executed, staff meetings can become unproductive and unengaging. In this post, we will discuss tips for running successful church staff meetings that promote collaboration, productivity, and success.
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