1855 Knollcrest Circle SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546-4402 USA
On the campus of Calvin University and Calvin Theological Seminary
© 2025 Calvin Institute of Christian Worship
Musician David M. Bailey is the music director at East End Fellowship in Richmond, Virginia. In this edited conversation, he talks about becoming aware of power dynamics in multicultural congregations and neighborhoods. He lives in Church Hill, a neighborhood hard hit by economic decline.
Representing the love of God to neighbors works best in congregations that have a clear vision reflected in worship and prayer.
Para muchas congregaciones, la adoración es el principal acontecimiento de la semana. Aunque los cristianos adoran de manera individual y con frecuencia lo hacen fuera del santuario, el servicio semanal de adoración es el momento en que, más que en cualquier otro tiempo, la congregación se reúne y expresa su identidad. Así que cuando una congregación está experimentando una situación difícil, los síntomas de dicha situación están destinados a aparecer en la adoración. Los líderes de la congregación deben discernir con cuidado cuál es la mejor manera de llevar a cabo la adoración durante este tiempo. Por último, la adoración puede ser el elemento en la vida congregacional con mayor potencial para ayudar a la congregación durante el proceso de sanidad.
The written communication of your congregation has great potential to bless members, newcomers, and the community. Your congregation has unique stories of the love and care of God. It is worth your while to evaluate and tweak current church content and write new materials. Doing so will help people grow together in becoming more like Christ.
This Alban Weekly article asks how a leader negotiates preferences and opinions to plan worship as a Holy Conversation.
How do we create an environment for worship that builds genuine community among those with no or perhaps with negative, experiences of “church”?
Aminah talks about presenting the annual Calvin Symposium on Worship as a gift to Barnabas Team volunteers.
With “two hands,” said St. Irenaeus, third-century bishop of Lyons, God teaches and guides his people—with the Word and the Spirit. In the last column we focused on the Spirit’s role in writing the Word. In this column we look at the Spirit’s work in guiding God’s people as they read and apply it.
Change is always happening in the church, whether we like it or not! The challenge for leaders is to manage that change in ways that lead to greater health in their congregations, rather than conflict and discontent.
Whether you are eating in or dining out, a menu is desirable. When you are ordering your songs for worship a menu is no less valuable. In this workshop we looked through various menus for songs, check our song diet, and found out how to order the best for our worship gatherings.
A glimpse into the training involved to prepare students to lead worship.
Who is invited to plan worship? What spiritual gifts need to be included on the planning team? How can the planning team leader facilitate conversation among diverse voices?
