Worship services need strategic planning, Dr. Arthur Scott

• Picture going to a salad bar, and all that you found were olives.  No lettuce, meat, cheese,veggies...just olives. Convert that to worship and music. If all your church offers is loud drums, vocals that do not blend...and it all sounds the same...repetitive with very little theological worth. Consider an old hymn like Blessed Assurance, Amazing Grace...coupled with Every Praise and dress, it up with The Lord's Prayer.  We serve all types of people who love music and yearn to find something they resonate with. I suggested to a minister at a Lutheran church to do a poll and find out what music people want in the service.  Forty people offered him hundreds of responses. The minister learned a valuable lesson. Find out what your people want to hear - ask them.  Put your own tastes on the back burner.

Sponsor community concerts.  Hire outside musicians. Use your church to spread the Gospel in creative ways.  A college friend of mine, Dan Wagner, is an expert.  He is the Minister of Music and Worship at First Presbyterian Church in Houston, TX.  Contact him for suggestions.

• You can hire professional musicians, choose the best music literature...but if the person who is mixing your board does not have excellent hearing and knows what mix and blend you desire to have in the in house and on line, it is a track wreck.  Hire a professional to run your sound and handle lighting and setup; cameras should be run in person, not permanently mounted on a wall.  On this site, check out Bobby Schuller's Shepherds Grove and see what excellent sound and camera work look and sound like.
• A second important consideration, it takes two sound boards to effectively handle first the house sound and a second board as a direct feed for live stream and internet production.  Otherwise, it does not work well, there are time delays.

When a Worship Service is strategically planned, it is like a marriage made in heaven. The topic and message should coincide with the music chosen. This creates a healthy spring of positive memories. Everyone should walk away from church replaying the music and the message.

• With the onset of digital organs and keyboards, your congregation deserves to hear wonderful music. Check out my Vendor List on this site for some great referrals.

• I highly recommend CCLI.
• Churches pay a flat fee per year, and this covers using thousands of pieces and songs. You will be assigned a license and can use this in all types of service demands including PowerPoint, bulletins and online productions.  The legal fees for not having these permissions are huge.
• CCLI phone number is 800-234-2446