Music Ministry in the Church
By Julie Rice

Synopsis: The music ministry of a church is important for the entire congregation. For the unsaved, it sets the mood for them to hear the gospel and receive the gift of salvation. For the newly saved, it should be exciting enough to awaken them to hear the Word of God for instruction. For the more mature, it sets the mood for praise and worship of the Lord. While the right music cannot save a dead service, the wrong music could seriously injure a living one. The music can be either a vitamin or a tranquilizer.

Introduction

The music ministry of a church is important for the entire congregation. For the unsaved, it sets the mood for them to hear the gospel and receive the gift of salvation. For the newly saved, it should be exciting enough to awaken them to hear the Word of God for instruction. For the more mature, it sets the mood for praise and worship of the Lord. While the right music cannot save a dead service, the wrong music could seriously injure a living one. The music can be either a vitamin or a tranquilizer.

The Leadership

The pastor of the church is the pastor of the music. He is responsible to see that the proper music is played and sung. No music should be performed in the church that has not been approved by the pastor. This aside, the music minister should have general control and liberty of the music. The pastor retains his veto power. The music minister should make it his goal to lead the congregation into worship while staying within the bounds that the pastor has instructed.

The Type of Music

The type of music in a church should always be Christian music. A prelude should introduce and set the pace for the service. It should be started approximately ten minutes before the service and consist of lively music that is of the same nature as that of the sermon. If it is an evangelistic sermon, the music should be evangelistic as well.

The pastor should go through the songbook and make notations on the various hymns that are to be sung. This will assist the music minister in his selection of music and should prevent the selection of hymns that are not Scriptural. The song leader should keep track of which music is used in each service. This will prevent the over or under use of songs.

The Choir

The choir, if used, should set the pace for the service. In many churches the choir is the first thing a person sees when they come in the door. The choir is on stage and up front for everyone to see. They should not be misbehaving and inattentive during the service. The choir should be prepared for the service, having practiced all of the songs to be sung and have a knowledge of the hymn numbers so that they will not have to whisper them around or pass an open songbook down the rows, either of which would be a distraction.

Conclusion

The music ministry of a church should be virtually transparent, like the fish tank of an aquarium. No one should really notice it, but if it wasn’t there what a mess it would be. The music adds to the beauty of the service and sets the hearts of the people right. It leads the believer into the worship of God and sets the heart of the unbeliever to receive Jesus Christ.