In mid-September of this year my family and I started on a new journey when I accepted a full time ministry position at Northside Baptist in Jasper, AL.
-My first Sunday was September 22nd. This church for years has worshiped with a blended worship style using only piano and organ.
-My second Sunday, the organist (who had played here for 50+ years) turned in her resignation. Upon receiving this news, I was afraid I had done something to offend her, but she quickly let me and the church know she felt like it was just the right time. As usual, God has a way of working these things out, because that same week we filled the position from within the church and began discussing the possibility of adding a keyboard.
-My 6th Sunday, we added guitar and percussion to the praise band.
-My 11th Sunday, we added the keyboard we'd been researching. (We chose the Kawai MP6 for it's ease of use and great sound.)
-Yesterday, my 12th Sunday at Northside, we added another percussionist and our other percussionist played mandolin some (and will likely play bass soon.) Have I mentioned the fact that the Northside church family is dripping with musical talent? I should have. I'm looking forward to utilizing all these soloists and musicians more in the future.
I am LOVING this process, every part of it:
-Getting to know the folks here.
-Working with our 40-50 voice choir.
-Adding people to the praise band, allowing more folks to be a part of the worship leading process.
-Working with the sound guys to get the best possible sound from our system.
-Watching the church family worship God and enjoy the music.
There is still a growing list of things I want to accomplish.
This list seems to get longer everyday. A few of these things I'm working on include:
-Evaluating the current sound system to see if it can meet our growing needs. Comparing options for either a hearback system or maybe just getting a new digital board with personal monitor iphone app capabilities.
-Adding a full drum kit and bass player. The only thing holding this up is the sound system issues.
-Incorporating a vocal praise team.
-Continuing to tweak the service flow.
While we work through all of those, we continue to strive to glorify God in our services every week.
Here's what we did to accomplish that yesterday, along with a few notes...
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Prelude - Organ (I said we got a keyboard. I never said we got rid of the organ.)
Sunday School Report - John
Sing To The King (Billy James Foote)
O Come All Ye Faithful (contemporary hymn arrangement)
Welcome / Prayer - David
Fellowship Song - Angels From The Realms of Glory (contemporary hymn arrangement)
Children's Message - David
Your Name (Paul Baloche) w/ new Christmas themed 1st verse from Baloche's Christmas album.
Looking back, I think I should have done the chorus to this another time or two. Based on the raised hands and worshipful expressions in the room, I think people were really connecting with it.
Cornerstone (Hillsong)
This was our first time to sing this as a congregation. The youth choir sang it a month or so ago for the first time at Northside. I was a little surprised how many people sang out on it since it was new. It went great. I had planned ahead of time to trim the 3rd verse and choruses at the end. But, when doing it, it felt like we ended too soon. I definitely wish I had kept the song going longer.
Offertory Prayer
Choir Special - Do You Hear What I Hear? w/ solo by Jill Bailey.
This was the first time our choir and praise band did a song together. It sounded great. We've been having some choir mic issues in recent weeks (mostly because I moved the choir mics a month ago and they didn't perform as well where I put them.) but this week we tried something new with the mics. Based on feedback I've received so far, it sounded great to others too.
Message - David
Invitation: I Have Decided To Follow Jesus (Hymn)
Closing Prayer
Postlude - Organ
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I continue to see how God has led my family and I to Northside. I know we're where He wants us to be.
We're looking forward to seeing what He has in store for us here in the weeks, months, and years to come.
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This post is part of the blog carnival at TheWorshipCommunity.com. You can go here to see what other churches are doing in their services around the world.
