Photo by Myron Harper
Here are some of the ideas they implemented:
1. The Laurel Church distributed the training discs FIVE months ahead of the workshop, encouraging everyone to listen to the CDs in their homes, cars and through their personal mp3 players.
2. Kevin Caldwell (who attended our first Worship Leader Institute) conducted sessions for teaching one new song per week. They set the weekly "new song sessions" at 12 minutes before their 6:00 PM Sunday service, calling it "5:48."
3. Mike Ray, pulpit minister, reminded folks to listen to the training disc, and not just the full congregational singing disc. These reminders helped people to actually concentrate on learning their individual parts.
4. With the "5:48" sessions and the widespread use of training discs, this church was able to start adding new songs into their Sunday services on a regular basis.
The singing today was fantastic! I was very impressed by the fruits of their serious preparation and investment in singing, harmony and worship. Mike said, "Each CD has 25 songs. We have used the two CDs to learn FIFTY new songs in ONE year; unlike places I have visited where they have learned ONE new song in FIFTY years."
As you can see from the photo, the young people are engaged in the process and are learning the joy of praising God. We pray that more churches will follow Laurel's lead and light a fire of singing and worship that cannot be extinguished.
1. The Laurel Church distributed the training discs FIVE months ahead of the workshop, encouraging everyone to listen to the CDs in their homes, cars and through their personal mp3 players.
2. Kevin Caldwell (who attended our first Worship Leader Institute) conducted sessions for teaching one new song per week. They set the weekly "new song sessions" at 12 minutes before their 6:00 PM Sunday service, calling it "5:48."
3. Mike Ray, pulpit minister, reminded folks to listen to the training disc, and not just the full congregational singing disc. These reminders helped people to actually concentrate on learning their individual parts.
4. With the "5:48" sessions and the widespread use of training discs, this church was able to start adding new songs into their Sunday services on a regular basis.
The singing today was fantastic! I was very impressed by the fruits of their serious preparation and investment in singing, harmony and worship. Mike said, "Each CD has 25 songs. We have used the two CDs to learn FIFTY new songs in ONE year; unlike places I have visited where they have learned ONE new song in FIFTY years."
As you can see from the photo, the young people are engaged in the process and are learning the joy of praising God. We pray that more churches will follow Laurel's lead and light a fire of singing and worship that cannot be extinguished.
