Creating a Community of Song

Brad Nix currently serves as a Production Editor for Shawnee Press/Hal Leonard. As a composer and arranger, Brad has written for many major publishing companies and has over one hundred pieces in print. He regularly travels throughout the nation serving as a clinician for conferences and reading sessions. Additionally, Brad also serves as Director of Music at his home church in Bastrop, TX, where he lives with his wife, Pattie, and their three beautiful children.

As music ministers and choir directors know, it can be easy to get stuck in a rut as we plan, organize, and offer our worship to God week after week. This can be especially true as we attempt to create meaningful experiences for our choirs. In this section of WORSHIP SONGS ONLINE, we will explore ideas that might better help you provide unique opportunities and worship moments for your ensembles. For this first installment, I will share with you two ways you can literally get your choir “outside of the loft.”

1) Consider planning a musical presentation with choirs from other churches in your community. This could be especially effective during the Easter and Christmas seasons, or perhaps around the Fourth of July.

I have a good friend that leads an incredibly effective music ministry in the north Georgia area. Several years ago, when he first started leading music at his current church, his choir was quite small. He soon began networking with other choir directors in the area who also led small choirs, and they eventually decided to join their ensembles together to present a cantata for the Christmas season. This joint presentation created several unexpected, but advantageous outcomes:

a) The combined choirs were able to present a larger, more musically involved work than any of the individual ensembles would have been able to prepare on their own (due to the size limitations of each choir).

b) As the ensembles joined together in the rehearsal and preparation process, friendships were formed between the groups, and a feeling of camaraderie was created that positively influenced the sense of community among churches in the area.

c) Each director was given an opportunity to rehearse and perform certain sections of the program. Just like the ensembles themselves, these directors developed a good working relationship with each other. Good relationships among the leaders in the Christian community only serve to strengthen the body of Christ as a whole.

2) Consider a “choir swap” with a local church. For example, invite a neighboring choir and music team to lead the worship at your church. Return the favor and have your choir lead worship at this partner church. Choir members, music teams, and congregations will enjoy the opportunity to minister and worship in different settings and church environments.

Look for other THINKING OUTSIDE THE LOFT segments in future editions of WORSHIP SONGS ONLINE. May God richly bless you and your ministry as you continue to serve Him!

Brad

Editors Note: Consider the following innovative products that help build community with other choirs in your area. Included are a few splendid new Brad Nix octavos. Click the anthem of your choice and take a “Closer Look” at your selection using our exclusive ScorePlay or Closer Look features.