Music

GUIDING VALUES: Privilege, Preference, Participate

It is a tremendous privilege to worship our gracious and holy God and proclaim Christ so that the body is built up and those outside the church are gathered in. Grateful humility and loving deference will mark our attitude towards music. Music is one element of our gathered worship, not the only one. And, while important, style of music is not the main issue in the church and should not be the reason you join us or don’t join us. The gospel is what unites us, not the style of music. We sing in response to the glorious truths of the gospel and the purpose of music in the church is bigger than an individual’s personal preference or experience. It is not merely my song that I sing, but our song. We participate in worship and sing together, uniting our voices and our words. 

“a congregation has to love each other enough to sing each other’s songs”. —Marva Dawn

GUIDING PRINCIPLES:

  REVERENCE AND JOY: 

Our music should encourage both reverence and joy in our worship.

   A CONGREGATIONAL “CHOIR”: 

We aim to cultivate a congregation of singers, not consumers of music. Music 

within the context of gathered worship should be primarily participatory. The 

instruments, amplification, and songs we use, as well as how we lead our 

singing, should all encourage the congregation to sing.

VARIETY OF INSTRUMENTS AND SONGS (Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs): 

We value hymns both old and new and will choose songs with purpose as we 

plan each service. The hymns should be sing-able for the average person and 

the message of each song should be biblical, gospel-centered, and normally 

flow with the theme of the service/sermon. We recognize the choice of 

instrumentation as largely an issue of preference and culture but will choose 

instruments in keeping with our overall philosophy and guiding principles.

If you are interested in using your musical gifts at Proclamation, please contact Mike Evanko.