Assessing how well our churches understand worship can be confusing. It would be nice if it were as easy as checking our oil to be sure it is at the correct level. “People seem to be singing loudly, and hands are raised…We are doing great when it comes to worship!…I mean, corporate singing…I mean our times of congregational-musical-worship…”. But, is this sort of outward assessment truly indicative of our people’s understanding?
We all agree that our Sunday morning services are the most important times of the week. The Church gathers, blood-bought Sons and Daughters of the Living God, to worship. We want those times of encountering the Lord through His Word, prayer, singing, and fellowship to recount the message of the Gospel and to build up and strengthen the saints. We need to teach our people the importance of why we gather and how to utilize the gifts they have been given to build up the church. This is critical for the life and health of our congregations.
This is exactly why we are hosting WorshipGod Northeast at Covenant Fellowship Church, March 30th-April 1st, 2017. The conference is designed for training and equipping pastors, worship leaders, musicians, sound technicians, and others who are serving in our Sunday services. The location is specifically oriented to make the costs of travel and time easier for churches in the Northeast, especially smaller churches with limited resources.
We will be looking at the overall theme of “Healthy Tensions” in worship (e.g.: Planning vs. Spontaneity) as well as offering a range of seminars for specific training. We want to establish foundational values to shape the culture of your teams for the furtherance of the gospel and the building up of the church.
Maybe you’ve read Bob’s Kauflin's book, True Worshippers, (…or skimmed it) but you still think some additional training would be helpful for you and the members of your team. WorshipGod Northeast is designed for you:
- The conference is designed for pastors (especially senior pastors), to help you in the week to week preparation for the Sunday service, to help you lead those in your worship ministry and to help you keep current with our developing worship theology and practice as a family of churches.
- The conference is designed for all worship leaders and those serving with their musical gifts within the church. This includes Sunday morning band members as well as worship leaders in small groups, children’s ministry, etc.
- The conference has specific seminar tracks as well as a pre-conference intensive for your sound team members to develop a greater technical knowledge.
In my experience, each WorshipGod conference our church has attended has had a shaping effect that went beyond just the musicians. It has deepened our understanding and experience of who God is. It has renewed our vision for meeting together on Sundays and for serving one another. It has expanded our view of the Father’s glory, encouraged our experience of the Spirit, and made us more aware of and grateful for the Savior and his Gospel. It is our prayer that God will use WorshipGod Northeast this way in your church this year. We hope to see you there! www.worshipgodnortheast.com