Why your church doesn't sing... and what you can do to fix it!

Today’s guest post comes from Jason Hatley, Pastor of Worship Arts at The Journey Church in Boca Raton, Florida. Jason is the Founder of WorshipLeaderInsights.com and author of two books as well as over a dozen worship leader personal and ministry growth resources.

You’ve prayed. You’re prepared. The band is fine-tuned. The sound is dialed in. You’re ready to lead your congregation to lift up their voices and sing praise to God.

There’s just one problem. They won’t sing!

Every pastor and worship leader has been there, and according to recent trends, most of us find ourselves there almost every week in our churches. People just don’t sing like they used to.

There are plenty of reasons for this:

   •   The loss of music programs in schools
   •   The loss of singing in public (outside of the 7th inning stretch that is)
   •   The loss of singing at home (before TV and Facebook this is what families did)

In general, people just don’t sing much in public anymore. Unfortunately there’s probably not much you can do about those three. But there are some things that we CAN and MUST do to help our congregations engage in congregational singing…WHAT’S THE SOLUTION? So, where do we begin to solve this puzzle? Here are 3 things you can do to get started this week:

Honestly evaluate the worship at your church and ask, “What is keeping people from singing at our church?”
Write down every idea that comes to mind (sound, quality, leadership, song selection, etc.) and prayerfully consider what you could change to help your congregation sing.
Ask your pastor to answer this question as well (you’ll probably be surprised at his insights).

Then don’t miss next week’s article as we talk about the first obstacle to congregational singing. By the way… it’s most likely happening in your church!

Click here to the the full article.

Your partner in ministry,

PS – Test-drive my brand-new coaching network this month and receive complete access to the “Seven Ways to Help Your Congregation Sing (Lessons from John Wesley)” leadership talk. Click here to learn more and sign up today!

About Nelson Searcy

Nelson Searcy is an experienced church growth strategist, pastor, church planter and coach, consulting with churches around the world. As founder of Church Leader Insights and the Renegade Pastors Network, he has personally trained more than 3,500 church leaders in over 45 denominations through live events, seminars and monthly coaching. Nelson is also the Founding and Lead Pastor of The Journey Church, with locations across New York City and in Boca Raton, FL. Nelson and his church routinely appear on lists such as “The 50 Most Influential Churches” and “The 25 Most Innovative Leaders.” He is the author of over 100 church growth resources and 18+ books, including The Renegade Pastor: Abandoning Average in Your Life, Ministry and The Difference Maker: Using Your Everyday Life for Eternal Impact, and At the Cross with the People Who Were There. He and his wife, Kelley, have one son, Alexander.