Developing a Worship Culture In Your Church
Exactly what is a “worship culture,” and what can we do to help our congregations become more “worship minded”? These are the questions a fellow worship leader, Chris Knox, began to ask the Lord several years ago. I asked Chris to share with us what God has taught her and her church on their journey to become true and passionate worshipers of the One, True God…
Guest Post by Chris Knox, worship leader at Chase Valley UMC in Huntsville, AL:
It was several years ago when the Lord spoke clearly to my heart that He was commissioning us to build a worship culture in our church that would spill into the streets of our city. At the time, I was serving as a volunteer on our worship team. I told our worship pastor what I felt the Lord was speaking for us to do, and we began praying about what that was to look like; and how to go about doing it. In the process, the Lord called him and his wife to another state. That certainly hadn’t been in my plan!
Consequently, the Lord called me to go on staff at our church to build a culture where people could flourish as worshipers in spirit and truth. He began to define that this worship culture would encompass ALL the generations. It would provide an atmosphere where people could connect personally with the Lord of the universe as we express our worship creatively through music and the arts. It would cultivate hearts that worship the Lord whether we’re in church or at work, school, or home. It would be a culture where the Name of the Lord Jesus gains much fame because the people of the Lord are drawing all attention to Him!
As the Lord began to define what a worship culture is, I began to pray more fervently for how to start building it. I looked for opportunities to learn how others were building healthy cultures of worship in their corners of the world. One such opportunity came from a Darlene Zschech worship conference I attended. As a worship pastor at Hillsong Church in Australia, she has been vitally used by the Lord to have a world-wide influence of raising up generations of worshipers.
While I soaked in tons of information at the conference, the main direction I brought home with me was the importance of discipling my team and our church in worship. People cannot engage whole-heartedly in something they don’t understand. I diligently set out to dig in the Scriptures and come up with discipleship material that our team could digest to help us grow as worshipers and worship leaders. Our worship practice times have grown much richer! Our Sunday morning times have grown deeper, as well.
I am thrilled and so very thankful to begin Dwayne’s study, Praise More Powerful, with our worship team this month! It is provision from the Lord for what He’s called us to do: Grow a culture of worship, one heart at a time!
Chris Knox
You may contact Chris via email: cknox at chasevalleychurch dot org
To receive emailed alerts to posts and updates to this blogsite, please enter your email address below. (Your address will not be sold or shared with anyone else.)
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.