Five Ways to Improve Your Christian Music Ministry

In this article I am going to discuss five crucial elements of worship that will improve your Christian music ministry. These five elements are the foundation to understanding the worship experience. When most people think about the word worship, there are a few ideas that come to mind. One of these ideas is the actual music. Another idea is the sermon or message. But for the most part most people focus on the music part of worship.

This is very myopic and we run into the danger of missing the entire experience. It’s important to note that the worship service is more than the musical part. There are is an abundance of ways to show our love, devotion and worship of God. What I hope to accomplish with this article is to examine five unique elements in worship. My hope is that you will gain greater insight and have a fuller more satisfying worship experience.

I will cover five areas include the following 5 areas:

1. Praying

2. Preaching

3. Communion

4. Charity

5. Singing

Let’s begin with praying.

Prayer and the worship experience

Prayer is basically talking with God. I say ‘with’ God because it is a two way communication. God love to hear from his children and you need to hear what God has to say.  This type of communication fosters a fuller relationship. Prayer is the primary way for you to speak to God directly.  It should be noted that prayer can be a form of worship as you will see later. Prayer is the avenue in which you communicate with God. The act of prayer can be done in silence; it can be spoken verbally so that other believers can agree with the prayer.

This helps me remember the various elements in a well rounded prayer I like to use the acrostic “ACTS”.  Each letter represents these four elements:

A – Adoration in Prayer

C – Confession in Prayer

T – Thanksgiving in Prayer

S – Supplication in Prayer

(A) Adoration in Prayer

Adoration is simple telling God the many way you appreciate, love and adore Him.  When you start to pray take a few minutes and offer your adoration to God. Tell God as many things you can think of that you love and appreciate about He has done in your life.  By doing this you affirm your love. The best way to start your prayer is to tell God the many ways you love Him

(C) Confession in Prayer

We are all sinners.  It is our nature to be sinful.  We cannot run from that fact.  It is better to confess our sins than to let God “finds out”.  Remember, if we confess our sins he is faithful to forgive us.  By confessing you allow your heart to be in the right place.   Let me add a different way to look at confession. Confession is a form of acknowledgment of what is truthful. This can add another perspective to your attitude of confession. Confess the truth!  Make confessions of faith. That is to confess the greatness of God.

(T) Thanksgiving in Prayer.

What are you thankful for?  I’m sure there is an abundance of things you can be thankful to God.  God has abundant resources available to every Christian. I believe it is His desire to lavish you with all that he has to offer. In response the polite thing to do is to say thank you for all the great things he does in your life. Thank God for everything and every circumstance.

(S) Supplication in Prayer

Supplication is a request for something.  I think that this is the part of prayer we like.  Supplication is our chance to heap our requests up to God.  Prayer needs balance. Christians spend a majority of prayer time in supplication. Don’t get me wrong its okay to ask.   The Bible says to ask. However, we need balance.  Supplication should not be the primary focus.   You will find that if you offer Adoration, Confession and Thanksgiving prior to asking for our requests, you will be better prepared to request things that are more pleasing to God. You need to be bold in your requests to God. He is a God of unlimited resources. Ask for things beyond yourself.

For further reading on prayer read: Matthew 6:7-15

Preaching as a Part of Worship

Preaching is an element of worship where the Word of God is revealed.  Hearing God’s word is vital to the growth and development of every Christian.  It is important to hear the word of God. It is vital to understand that preaching is also a way to worship God. God wants you to have a relationship with Him. He wants you to know him in a deeply intimate way. God wants you to understand as much as you can about Him.  How can you worship or love someone you don’t know?  This is why God appointed preachers. Preaching is your opportunity to dive into the scriptures of the Bible, and discover who he is and to learn how He operates.

For more on the biblical perspective of preaching read: 1 Timothy 3:16-17 and 2 Timothy 4:1-5

Charity the Sacrificial Act of Giving

The Christian life is not about receiving. It’s about giving.  We need to have a perspective of giving and to do it with all our heart, mind and soul.

When it comes to giving most people first think about the subject of money. It is true that tithing to the church is a privilege we all called to do. But, there is so much more. God really wants you to give your entire life to Him.

You have the awesome opportunity to give all your resources to God. This includes your time, your body, and your mind. When you give to God all the resources available to you, it is at that time a true sacrifice of praise and worship.

For more on the biblical perspective of giving read: 2 Corinthians 9:6-7

Communion

Communion is a time for true intimate relationship with Jesus.  It is time for the believer to bond with our Savior. It is an act that identifies the believer with Christ. Communion allows us to focus on the greatest gift ever given to mankind. It is a time to remember that Jesus death on the cross is the ultimate and final sacrifice for the sins of the world. Communion is the greatest privilege a Christian can experience.

For further reading on communion read: Matthew 26:26-29

The Role of Singing in Worship

As a worship leader we run into the danger of focusing too much on the singing part of worship.  After all, that would be nature because it is our calling and our gift.

Most would agree that worship incorporates the act of singing. This is a physical action that allows us to express though song what is our heart. Even though singing is using our voice, it is quite different than just talking. I find it amazing that corporate worship allows us to sing as a group of people to express our worship in unison. That is powerful.  Singing as group we can say to God our expression of praise, gratitude, and thanksgiving. Everyone can at the same time communicate to God.  Singing can provides us with a greater ability to use our emotions. Music has the most unique property to create moods and emotions though the melody, tempo and words.

Scripture reading: Ephesians 5:19

Bringing it all together

As you can see there isn’t just one way to experience worship but several. Each one is important. The real key is balance. When you balance the five elements in your worship service, you give more opportunities to the people you serve to worship.