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About Worship Ministry
Psalm 100:4-5 shows us that there is a direct connection between worshiping God with our whole hearts and entering His presence. This is where we find His unfailing love to carry us through our daily lives.
Our goal is to provide an opportunity for you to experience God each time we worship together as a family. Our prayer is that you would find God when you seek Him with all your heart. Our hope is that this heart of worship would continue everyday in your home and workplace.
Opportunities
If you have a heart for worshipping God and a desire to lead others into His presence, we would love to have you tryout for the Worship Team. Contact Matt Mylin at the church office or fill out the Interest Form.
About the Songs
[The following article appeared in At the Center Newsletter, November 26, 2008]
Did you ever wonder how songs are selected for the worship experience at Worship Center or where to find them? Don Wambolt, Creative Ministries Director, sat down to talk with Worship Director Matt Mylin to discuss this topic.
DW: How do you go about selecting songs for worship?
MM: On a regular basis, I'm asking the Holy Spirit to lead me in selecting the songs that we sing here at WC. I listen to a variety of worship music to keep my ears tuned in to what people are listening to and what songs may be well known outside of Worship Center. I'm not just looking for 'good' songs; I'm looking for songs that really connect with the heart and inspire worship - both in me and in our church family - because that is what leads us into the presence of God.
DW: How do you determine what songs fit?
MM: Worship Center has a team* that comes together weekly to talk about the direction of the upcoming services. As I'm aware of the theme of the weekend services, I ask God to direct me to specific songs for the worship set.
Overall, these are my guidelines for choosing worship songs: 1) Is the content/message biblically sound? 2) Is it 'singable' and easy to follow? 3) Is the musical arrangement creative and inspiring? 4) Does the song inspire worship?
DW: How do you determine when to use new songs?
MM: Variety is good, so I don't hesitate to use new songs, though I make a conscious effort not to do more than one brand new song per weekend. Psalm 40:3 says, "...He has put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord." I believe that God desires to give each of us a fresh revelation or an encouraging word for today and new songs can be one way He uses to inspire worship. I realize that some people like familiarity and I want to honor that while still encouraging us to think out of the box of what we've always known worship to be.
I'm also very purposeful in the arrangement of a new song. Musically speaking, the arrangement should be easy to follow, especially if it's a congregational singing song. We work hard to make a new song "feel" familiar.
Also, we introduce new songs in a couple of ways, even before it's included in a worship set. We usually include new songs in the pre-service music, and we may introduce them as special music before we sing them congregationally.
DW: Do you get comments from people who might think we do too many new songs?
MM: Sometimes. Our goal is to have a good balance between new songs and familiar. I love to have variety because it captures people's attention. But I realize that we could do so much new material that people aren't able to connect in worship. So, there's definitely a balance.
DW: Worship Center is a multi-generational church family. As we look at the elements in an upcoming service, we want to make sure there is something for everyone. How does that play out in worship and how does it impact your song selection?
MM: One of my values as a worship director is to think about the next generations coming in - the style, selection, etc. - as well as choosing songs that remind us of our heritage, like an older chorus or a hymn. I think there's value in our younger members recognizing and having an awareness of this. I don't think there's anything wrong with mixing in older songs, as long as it's heartfelt and meaningful. For instance, "My Jesus I Love Thee" can be a deeply intimate worship song, even though it uses words like "thee" and "thine" that the majority of us don't use anymore.
There are people of all ages in our congregation with a variety of worship and musical preferences. Some like hymns and some don't; some like electric guitars and others like piano-driven songs. When we say "something for everyone," it means to me that we have enough variety that everyone can connect with something.
The ultimate goal in the worship time of our service is to come together as a church family and offer our heartfelt worship to God. It's not about a certain style or song list.
DW: You mentioned one of your values as a worship director is to think about the next generations coming in. With this in mind, what is your approach in selecting songs and arranging music?
MM: It's really about finding songs that are authentic. This next generation is not impressed with big productions. They desire something that's real and sincere. That's why it's very important for the songs we sing to be authentic and scripturally sound.
DW: I imagine you might get a variety of opinions and thoughts about what worship should be. How do you view it, and what do you do with it?
MM: I do. Many people have strong opinions about what worship is and how the experience should be; I do as well. I recognize that a strong opinion reflects a genuine interest in the worship experience and I can appreciate it. I like to hear and discuss others' views because it gives me additional perspective in my role.
DW: Where do you find songs and their arrangements?
MM: I'm always listening to worship music - not only as part of my job, but because it's a personal interest. iTunes is probably my most useful resource. I also talk with other local worship leaders and our worship team members to hear what they are connecting with and listening to.
DW: Do you get requests a lot?
MM: Yes, I do, and I'm very open to that. I always say that I am open to suggestions, but that I can't promise we'll sing them. I only allow two requests per person, per calendar year... in case anyone's wondering. (Then he laughs.)
DW: How would church family members get recordings of some of the worship songs we do here? Where would they find them?
MM: Again, iTunes is a great place to start, and is probably the biggest resource I use. iTunes is great because you can search for and purchase any song. We also have a good selection of worship recordings available in Impressions, our church bookstore. Of course, the weekend service CDs and DVDs have the worship recorded on them, as well, and people can buy them in the bookstore.
DW: How do you see the worship experience impacted as we consider the new facility we are preparing to build?
MM: I'm excited to see a larger facility filled with many people lifting their voices to God and experiencing His presence. Of course, I'm excited about some of the technical upgrades we will have like a digital audio console, better quality lighting and video capabilities, and an acoustically designed auditorium that will provide much more consistency.
*The Service Planning Team (SPT) consists of Pastors Sam, Don Neff, John Smucker, and John Staffieri. Also part of this team is Don Wambolt and Matt Mylin. Others are brought into team meetings as needed. This team meets every Tuesday.
Snapshots
Contact
Worship Director:
Matt Mylin
717.656.4271