Feature: Help for Weak Congregational Singing
Dale McClure
by Dale McClure, minister of music, South Evangelical Presbyterian Fellowship, Englewood, Colorado
After four weeks, Jim knew something was wrong. The people in the "daughter" church weren't singing like they had in the old congregation. Jim was the lay music director of our mission church. A month earlier we had begun the new congregation with 80 people, and already the attendance was over 100. They had one problem, however—weak congregational singing. Many of Jim's members were the same people who had participated in the exhilarating worship at the mother church. There, enthusiastic singing seemed easy and natural. "It's not the same," he said one day on his lunch hour. "What can I do?" As we talked over burgers and fries, we discovered that what we did at the mother church of 800 could be done with his 100. In fact, these principles could be adapted to almost any congregation to encourage better singing. First, good congregational singing starts with the congregation knowing why they are singing. Each Sunday we determine if the purpose of the service is worship, instruction, fellowship, or evangelism. While all these functions of the body of Christ may overlap or may sometimes occur simultaneously, we try to focus on one or two functions. After we have determined the function, we make sure that everything in the service supports the function—including the congregational singing. If our goal is worship, then our congregational singing will be songs of praise, adoration, or thanksgiving. If our goals is instruction, then we choose songs that amplify and reinforce the particular biblical doctrine or principle for the day. If our goal is fellowship, then the content of the songs is not nearly as important as whether the people enjoy ...
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