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| A Warm Welcome For Worshippers |
Date Posted:
10/29/2001
Author:
Chris Falson
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Don't be afraid to develop musical themes for all occasions. Every service will have a direction of its own, so it is important to remain open to what God is doing.
Experimenting with songs, chord progressions and rhythms during your own time of worship will help you to be more confident when trying to build the various atmospheres of worship. I probably spend more time rehearsing these themes with musicians than the actual songs for a service.
CHOICE OF MUSIC
Every melody, chord progression and lyric sends out a message. Our job is to make sure the messages are consistent. Often the music has one message while the lyrics are trying to say something else.
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When people enter a church building, they usually carry with them the troubles of life. Some will have quarrelled in the car, most will have financial pressures, others have relationship problems and some will have just crawled out of bed. Rich or poor, young and old, each person should be made to feel welcome.
My wife has the gift of hospitality. Karyn takes great pride in making our home a warm environment for visitors. Whether a light snack or a complete meal, the table is always set with a fine cloth, good silverware, brightly coloured handmade ceramic cups and saucers, too many condiments, candles at night and flowers by day. The result is people feel very welcome and quickly relax into a time of good conversation.
The worship team needs to understand and move in this gift of hospitality so that the church building becomes a living room in which people make themselves comfortable.
Like a concert by your favourite artist, the sound check should be completed before the people begin arriving. Prior to their arrival, I would suggest you choose a recording of instrumental music to play through the sound system to help people relax just as you would if they were coming to your house for dinner. You want them to feel at ease in your home.
Sometimes, I begin the service several minutes early with a piece of music that prepares the people for worship. It may be similar to the first song so that we can move easily into the first verse or it may contrast the first song so that the change of mood has greater impact. The welcome doesn't have to be quiet - but it does have to be warm.
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