The Ministry of Congregational Singing

The Core Values of This Ministry

to be open to God's transforming power in everything we do
to bring an infectious enthusiasm about music in the life of the individual Christian and the church
to use humor and story telling to capture the imagination of the congregation
to give people permission to banish the ghosts in their lives that are still telling them they can't sing
to honor the musical traditions already in place in the congregation, re-introduce people to their “old favorites”, and introduce new things in a joyful way
to invite people into a new way of thinking about the music of the church, not based on “playing and singing the music I like” (which will always produce winners and losers) but rather based on the congregation's shared identity (“I will sing this song because it speaks of what God is calling us to do”) and on solidarity (“Though this song is not my favorite, I will sing it because it may be saving the life of the person sitting next to me”)

An Exciting and Challenging Question

Many churches feel that to have dynamic and vital worship, they must choose between traditional and contemporary styles. They ask, "What do the people want? "Though this is not an unimportant question, there is a deeper question to ask, and it is an exciting and challenging question: "What MUST we sing in order to be the church God is calling us to be?" Asking that deeper question keeps our search for exciting church music from being a popularity contest with winners and losers.

Congregational singing can be so rich when it is thoughtfully integrated into worship and used to enhance the sacraments, the reading and proclamation of the scripture, and other poignant moments in the drama of worship.