Wednesday's Catch: 'Why People Aren’t Singing in Church—and How to Bring Worship Back to Life' And More

Why People Aren’t Singing in Church—and How to Bring Worship Back to Life
At almost every Christian conference, one of the most powerful moments is hearing thousands of people lift their voices in song. No fog machines, no production tricks—just believers singing about the grace of God. Yet, on many Sunday mornings, something feels missing. The music plays, but the congregation stays quiet. So what happened? Why aren’t people singing in church anymore?

Below are six reasons many church leaders believe congregational singing has faded—and how we can help bring it back.

As the late Rev. Dr. Howard Hanchey, then professor of pastoral theology at Virginia Theological Seminary, argued back in 1990 in Church Growth and the Power of Evangelism, every congregation should be given opportunities to learn to sing the church doors off their hinges. We did not need convincing at St. Michael's, a then new church plant in which I was involved at the time and where I played a lead role in the church's music ministry. We had implemented a number of practices intended to enable the congregation to do just that.

Fastest-Growing Churches: Lessons From the Front Lines
It is expected that the fastest-growing churches are externally focused, but the variety of creative ways in which they serve their local communities might surprise you.

5 Church Growth Strategies at Christmas
Many pastors have told me their churches are stuck at a certain number of members or attenders. Here’s the good news: Christmas is a great time to get unstuck. People who wouldn’t come some other time of the year show up at Christmas. And we have a great opportunity to tell them about Jesus and to encourage them to come back to church. You can use church growth strategies at Christmas to help your members sense that they are a part of something big and exciting. It can be tough to keep people motivated consistently over the long haul, but we can get them fired up for a specific day.

The Decline of the Church-Type Person
There is a church-type person. That may seem like heresy to some readers. After all, doesn’t the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ claim to be decisive for human existence, for everyone, and for all time?

I was taught this in my Systematic Theology class in seminary years ago and it’s one way to state the central Christian claim. But there’s a difference between theory and practice; a difference between Christ’s universal church and the people who regularly show up at the bricks-and-mortar buildings.

Also See: Religion Has Become A Luxury Good For The Middle Class, Married College Graduate With Children

The Most Segregated Hour? Rethinking Race and Religion in America
If I asked you to think of one quote about race and religion in the United States, I am going to bet that if you could conjure one up quickly it would be, “11:00 on Sunday morning is the most segregated hour in America.” It’s often attributed to Martin Luther King Jr. but in reality that statement predates King by maybe a decade or more. Regardless of who first said it, the sentiment remains the same: American religion is still one of the last spaces where one can find any sort of racial diversity.

Empirically, it’s surprisingly difficult to test because so few surveys ask about the demographic makeup of one’s congregation. I’ve rarely seen questions such as: What is the age breakdown of your congregation? Or: Do you attend with people in a similar socioeconomic situation?

5 Ways to Support People with Dyslexia in Your Church
With a few adjustments to our expectations at church and the ways we communicate, people with dyslexia don’t have to struggle.

9 Essential Tips for Training Volunteer Leaders in Church Ministry
If your church depends on a small group of overworked staff or the same ten volunteers every Sunday, you’re not alone. The good news is that you can build a stronger volunteer culture that multiplies leaders and lightens the load for everyone.

Here’s how to raise and train volunteer leaders who grow in confidence, commitment, and calling.

The Distinction Between Influencer and "Be Imitators of me, as I am of Christ."
A pastor may have 45 minutes to preach a sermon a week; meanwhile, influencers, politicians, and other lifestyle gurus have hours of access a day to their congregants.

50 Thoughts on Preaching
1. Without a clear, discernible, and simple structure, your sermon will feel longer than it actually is....

Kids are getting smartphones at much younger ages than many experts recommend. How to handle it
Most kids are getting smartphones at much younger ages than many experts recommend, according to new research.

A majority of parents of kids ages 11 to 12 said their child has a smartphone, a Pew Research Center survey published October 8 found. However, many experts, myself included, recommend holding off on allowing kids to use social media — which having a smartphone enables — until age 16.

Has Your Church Forgotten about Children's Ministry 

I was at a church a few years ago that had no children. No babies. No toddlers. No preschoolers. No elementary children. No teenagers.

As I looked around, it became very clear that this church was dying a slow death. Zoom forward a few years and you will see a church that is permanently closed.

Discipling New Christians with Ancient Tools: Catechesis in Church Planting
What tools can we use to help new believers sink their roots deep into the gospel story?

Also See: Introducing ‘The Gospel Way Catechism’: A Tool for Spiritual Formation in a Secular Age; The Gospel Way Catechism by Trevin Wax & Thomas West; and Excerpts

Are We the Idols?
Surprisingly, we ought to function like idols. Kelly Kapic, in his chapter in Reformed Dogmatics, says that all humanity was created to “function like ‘idols’ of God himself, that is, to cause those who see and dwell with humans to have a vision of the Creator King.”

What does he mean by this?

Speak with a Christian Accent
In a culture of sarcasm, cruelty, and rage, Christian voices should be distinctive. It should be evident that we’ve been with Jesus.