4 minute read
UNITY HAS A SOUND
In the last 15-20yrs we have watched the dismissal of Choirs in the church liturgy experience I did some research and here is what I found In 1998 choirs were present in over half of all churches across the world. In a subsequent research I found that the percentage of participating choirs in the worship liturgy experience has decreased 12% in twenty years to just over 40% of all congregations. If the trends continue their downward trajectory, this number is likely to continue to fall. Why has this happened you may ask? Well I can’t speak for everyone but I do know some of our churches have moved to what we call praise teams Smaller number of people and some would say better voices! (this can be argued) But this was not done out of necessity as much as it was done out of the copycat syndrome! We saw staple churches move to the praise team model and determined that it would work for your church. So you disband the choir…the faithful organization that included not just the better singers, but singers who weren’t considered the best but could sing their parts well enough to deliver an authentic experience to the congregation They were the most faithful; always on time, supported the choir and church in all of its endeavors!
Job 38:6-7 Describes the original choir of angels (stars) singing as God created the universe.
2 Chronicles 20:21-23: Describes a choir dressed in holy robes who marched ahead of troops singing "Give thanks to GOD, His love never quits"
2 Chronicles 5:13: Describes a choir and trumpets singing and playing in praise to God.
Nehemiah 12: Describes Nehemiah gathering the Levites, priests, and singers to lead the people in worship
The Bible clearly indicates that we will join the angels in singing God's praise throughout eternity in Revelation 15:3
See, the choir represents what heaven looks and sounds like. Many diverse voices, ages, nationalities lifting up their voices to the king of kings singing “ Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints ” Rev 15:3
January 2025
We must Bring Back The Choir as it strictly has its origins in the gospel. The declaration made in the Psalms “Sing Unto The Lord” was made to the entire body of the church & not just a select group of singers based upon their ability to do riffs etc. Doing anything simply because you see someone else doing it is a sure sign of lack of spiritual depth
The choir has long been the anchor, the soundtrack of the church! Long before instruments, lights, cameras, drapes and stages. All we had was our voices! And when those voices joined together to make one sound, you could shake a room Corporately making melody to the Lord! I’ve heard the excuse that nobody is making choir music anymore…although I do believe that the choir is underserved as it relates to having songs that lend themselves to a choir presentation, there is a large existing catalog of choral music that is STILL relevant to the christian experience Yes it may have been recorded 20-30 years ago! But that’s where creativity should kick in to develop new arrangements that will speak in this day and time.
The goal is to get us back singing together! And the choir is a great place to do this!
Another reason the choir is important to the worship experience is that they create community. Community with each other, the congregants and leadership. I remember my very first friend I met in the children’s choir, and to this day, we are the best of friends. The choir was where you learned to have relationships,to care, and to pray. You learned discipline! The same discipline that we apply in other areas of our lives as well. The Choir was also the place you experienced love… not the superficial love, but the kind of love that God requires of all of us. Agape love…The kind of love that says I haven’t seen you in a while. I was a little bit concerned, are you OK? Yes this sounds pretty simple and basic but you must understand that this is how we built relationships This is how we built unity and UNITY HAS A SOUND ! The kinda sound that shakes rooms, changes atmospheres & loosens strongholds
In closing let us not forget the power & voice of the choir within our worship experience! After all one day we will all be a part of the most important choir ever assembled; The heavenly choir that will join in with the angels singing “Holy Holy Holy, Lord God Almighty!
