One church’s music outreach ministry
This entry is seperate from my ongoing articles titled Principled Perspectives in Music. I simply need more time to address the next issue of what kind of music we want in our churches and this week is a busy one because I’m directing 100+ elementary school children this week’s VBS musical. So I thought I would write about my week of VBS so far. During break between choir rehearsals today one mom came up to me and explained that her child’s public elementary school does not even hire a part-time music teacher! How sad for the children who grow up not having the opportunity to learn how to read music and later on how to sing two, three, and four-part harmonies! This educational gap in the public schools greatly affects the quality of academia. As Martin Rayala, an art, media, and design consultant for the Department of Education, states in this Winsconsin news article:
Studies show that schools that cut arts programs end up within the next three years spending more money on education, and their test scores in other areas actually go down.
We all know there are many statistics out there showing how cutting out music from our school programs negatively affects student test scores in other subjects, but who ever talks about how this lack of music education seen in the school systems affects our churches today? If children don’t learn how to sing in school, then someone must teach them if we want believers to lift their voices in song to the Lord! Learning how to sing involves more than just getting children together to sing along to a soundtrack, although that can be a good first step to creating enthusiasm for music. Teaching children vocal music in churches requires a director who is capable of developing, refining, and shaping young voices for God’s glory.
I am so thankful that we have a live pianist for our week of VBS rehearsals and also instrumentalists who will join us for both performances. I know many churches just cannot provide such a program, but just think what the church would look like twenty years from now if we raised up our own musicians (vocal and instrumental) and encouraged them to pursue music for God’s glory! Perhaps a few of them might even become the next generation’s composers who will write new music to sing to the Lord. Historically, musicians have held paid positions in churches and school systems and have also provided the community with live performances. If fewer school systems today hire music educators, and fewer churchs today hire their music director to teach adult and children choirs and orchestras, then it is no wonder musicians struggle to make a living, and it is no surprise that fewer people understand music and know how to worship God through music. However, by providing more job openings in music education both in the school systems and churches we can improve the music in our churches.
One practical way to improve the music in our churches is to teach our children to sing and play instruments. In this particular church where I am directing a VBS musical, there is an all-year around music ministry to children in the church and community. They provide weekly afternoon choir rehearsals to children in their church and community who sing occasionally in the morning service. Many of the children in the choir come from non-churched homes, so when they sing in church they bring their parents. These families stay for the service and hear the gospel preached and also get to hear their children sing about God. This music ministry is just one possibility for family outreach ministries within the church body. I would love to hear what other churches are doing to equip this generation and the next with music skills so they can better worship God through music and how they are using music to build God’s kingdom.
