INTRODUCTION
Archbishop William Temple, the 98th Archbishop of Canterbury, once said “Worship is the submission of all of our nature to God. It is the quickening of conscience by His holiness, nourishment of mind by His truth, purifying of imagination by His beauty, opening of the heart to His love, and submission of will to His purpose. All this gathered up in adoration is the greatest of all expressions of which we are capable”.
The Barbican Baptist Church Worship and Music Ministry must ensure that worship services reflect Honour and Glory to God. Further, we must ensure that persons who lead worship are adequately prepared for the tasks – that leaders liaise with Preacher, Deacon on Duty, Choir, Praise Team, etc.
Music is a universal language, and has a powerful impact on worship. However, we have to be careful not to worship the music, no matter how good it is. We need to help persons to see the face of God.
The Membership of the Worship and Music Ministry is as follows:
- Pastor
- Church Secretary
- Deacon, Worship & Music
- Choir President/ Chairperson
- Two other Church Members
PURPOSE
The Worship and Music Ministry will facilitate the ongoing acknowledgement and celebration of our congregants’ relationship with God and their relationships with one another through the many aspects of worshipful and musical expression. We shall inspire hearts towards true spiritual worship in private and corporately, and to offer the highest level of reverence, proficiency and skill in the service of worship.
VISION
The Worship and Music Ministry is perhaps the single most important Ministry, as the core responsibility is to bring the worshipper closer to God. Through the Music Component, it must be recognized that the tone is set early by the quality of the Music which emanates from the Sanctuary during divine worship. This must therefore be carefully and deliberately monitored to ensure that the correct texture, quality and content is delivered to assist in the drawing together of God and the people who seek Him into a wonderful and life changing encounter.
SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS
Mankind was made to worship God. We should then show God full honour through worship. We should honour the Lord our God with heart, soul, mind and strength. We should worship God in Spirit and Truth. Worship is all about Him. We must remember to put Him at the center. “And He has put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many shall see and fear and put their trust and confident reliance in the Lord.” Psalm 40: 3.
- Strengths
- Strong culture of Praise and Worship; Congregants are usually quite participative in praising the Lord;
- Good core of persons dedicated to prayer;
- High subscription at certain points of the year by the Community (Christmas, New Year’s Eve, Good Friday, Easter Sunday)
- Opportunities for growth of Choirs (Senior, Youth and Children)
- Weaknesses
- Inconsistent sound quality
- Divine Worship Services are a “work in progress”, but is at time cumbersome;
- Shortage of Musical Instruments and Musicians;
- Audio Visual Room required to control the sound quality;
- New Sound Equipment required;
- Poor attendance at Church on certain Sundays;
- Senior Choir is aging and not enough “new blood” has been interested in serving in this capacity;
- Full time Organist and Choir Director needed;
- Opportunities
- Training opportunities available for interested persons in Music and Sound Engineering;
- Threats
- Weak Youth Presence in Organized Worship Activities;
- Perceived “Generation Gap” has distanced many young persons from the Church.
OBJECTIVES
To ensure that worship services reflect Honour and Glory to God. The Barbican Baptist Church Worship and Music Ministry will create an environment that is conducive for the worship and adoration of our Lord Jesus Christ and ensure that when persons adjourn to their homes, they would have appreciated the worship experience.
STRATEGIES
i) Adequate preparation of persons who lead worship – that leaders liaise with Preacher, Deacon on Duty, Choir, Praise Team, etc.
ii) Supervision of the selection of appropriate music for worship (Hymns to have appropriate tunes, etc.)
iii) Selection and projection on the multimedia system of Praise Team Choruses
iv) Development of a list of songs to be used in worship;
v) Arrangement with the Pastor for training needs when these are observed;
vi) Liaison with Choir, Praise Team, and Leaders to identify materials needed for each department and make budget accordingly.
vii) Assistance in the planning of services for
- Easter/ Ash Wednesday/ Lent/ Palm Sunday,
- Christmas/Advent,
- any other appropriate festivals throughout the year.
ACTIVITIES
i) Training opportunities to be identified (Ongoing)
- Already a list of interested persons for Musical Instruments (Drums, Violin, Piano, Guitar) has been compiled.
- Sound Engineering training opportunities available from JBU through the Music Committee.
- Computer/PowerPoint Training may be offered at Barbican from persons who utilize the software in their daily work assignments. This will enable the development of a Roster for persons to prepare and manipulate slides during divine worship.
ii) Recruit persons for the three (3) choirs must be ongoing and more intentional. The objective is to (1) increase the membership on the Senior and Children’s Choir by at least 50% by the end of 2013 and (2) develop a Youth Choir by the middle of 2013.
iii) Seek new material for presentation by the Choral Groups (Immediate and ongoing)
Ensure that at least one (1) new chorus is taught to the Congregation each month;
iv) Properly roster the choirs to ensure that the Senior Choir is afforded at least one (1) Sunday off the Podium per month (2013)
v) Develop formal document by the second quarter of 2013 detailing the process for leading the Divine Worship Service.
vi) Develop a Hymn/Tune reference document to ensure that correct tunes are selected for new hymns (Mid 2014);
vii) Increase the font size and presentation of all hymns to be projected on multimedia (3rd Quarter 2013)
viii) Include Scriptures for presentation on multimedia for persons who may not have their
Bible with them (3rd Quarter 2013);
ix) Develop Speech Choir and Handbell Choir as new Musical Groups within the Church (Early 2012)
x) Invite more Soloists/Groups from within the Congregation and outside (even in other denominations) to participate in the Divine Worship Service. We must return to a time where personal testimonies and talents are developed within the confines of our congregation.
xi) Acquisition of new audio and visual equipment (sound and musical instruments, video monitors) (Ongoing and Immediate)
BUDGET
The proposed budget for the Worship and Music Ministry over the next 5 years is seven hundred and seven thousand (J$707,000) Jamaican dollars.