This post is taken from Children Sing His Praise edited by Donald Rotermund.

Of all acts of corporate worship probably none is more inspiring than the singing of a well-trained, well-disciplined choir of children. To hear the pure voices of children produce freely floating tones in perfect unison or in harmony is one of the most uplifting of musical experiences. An even more spiritually profound impression is made if the song is an integral part of the theme of the day and if the singers actively participate in worship by listening, singing, and praying as full partners in the worshipping community.

We know many of you are getting started recruiting musicians and selecting music for this year. To help you with that, we’ve put together a list of pieces you may want to consider for Advent and Christmas. 

There are a lot of ideas about what makes music appropriate for church. This post is an excerpt from Ceremony and Celebration and provides a few principles as defined by Paul H. D. Lang. 

Talk to nearly anyone today who has any sort of opinion about church music and they’ll tell you that the organist is a dying breed. But instead of getting fatalistic, let’s encourage others in whatever sort of musical pursuit they enjoy—and then encourage them to learn the organ.

What makes a movie scary or sad? The music behind the actions helps us understand what we should be feeling. Music can emotionally direct you to feel in many different ways. This is great for in the car or at the movies, but what about church? Why do we sing in church? 

We are called to love our neighbors, often by giving money to help with bodily needs, but how can we prevent present physical concerns from overtaking the need for the Gospel? The arts, especially music, help to point us to the Gospel—particularly through beauty.

If you’re a music director, chances are you’ve faced challenges with getting new people into music ministry and keeping them in it. I’m a violist and I’ve played at many churches over the years, both as a member and as a guest. Here are some tips—advised from a church musician herself—for talking with musicians, recruiting them into music ministry, and retaining them.

This post is adapted from A Novice’s Guide to Directing the Church Choir by Kenneth T. Kosche. Though written specifically for choirs, the suggestions can apply to any church ensemble.

Rapport is one of those relational terms that most easily defines itself by its presence or absence. How well you get along with your choir and they with you is a measure of your rapport. There are no surefire solutions that will work for everyone to establish rapport, though there are some points of advice to offer.

As some churches move toward high-tech services with more modern music, some may consider handbells old fashioned, out of date, or just not interesting. But handbell ensembles have specific benefits that can’t be matched by other types of ensembles. Because of their unique, irreplaceable roles, they are as important in the church as they have ever been.

Our guest author for today is Lisa M. Clark, Senior Editor for Curriculum Resources at CPH. Although you may know her best as a hymn writer and the author of the Messengers novels, one of her latest projects has been working on CPH Education’s new musical, Echoes of the Hammer. In today’s post, Lisa shares more about her creative process as the lyricist for the musical.