The Future of the Church Choir

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Bryan McDowell on July 19, 2008 at 5:23pm

take it to the congregation...

Permalink Reply by Bill Rayborn on August 5, 2008 at 5:00pm

It is going to take a generation of church music leaders who are willing to 1) buck the trend to dismiss choirs 2) be willing to stand against those who do not share your vision and 3) buck the trend to assume that Youth Choirs are a thing of the past since they are the feeder choir for the adult choir.

And, having said all that, if your senior pastor does not want an adult choir, the chances are it will not happen without his support. At that point I recommend you begin a search for a church and pastor who see the value in an adult choir. And one more thing...there is no reason why a contemporary worship service can not have an active choir. Where I attend has an adult choir of over 100 singers and they sing for two back-to-back services...and, yes, there is also a praise team.

BTW, I hope you might look at my on-line magazine for church worship leaders at http://www.ilevite.com and also join the iLevite list here on The Singer Link.

Permalink Reply by Val P. on August 5, 2008 at 9:13pm

Part of what it will take is a new generation of singers who have been taught to sing and enjoy serving God in this way. Too often the church choir or praise group is seen as entertainment and not as worship leaders. This group should be something for young church members to aspire to.

We have a program of Summer choir in our church where we invite youth ages 9 and up to join with the adult choir practice while school is not in session. During these times, we use cannons or simple anthems that can be prepared in a week or two for performance. We use the music of these to discuss the purpose of choir and have various SHORT music theory discussions, introducing those who are new to reading music to the concept. The adults seem to get a lot out of this time as well.