The Story
Two sisters stood before me in my office at church. These two had grown up in dance studios, and their dream was to begin a dance ministry at our church. Their pitch perfectly aligned with my philosophy of worship ministry: find as many ways as possible to use as many of the arts in worship. There are dozens of dance studios in our area, each of them churning out young dancers who perform in their recitals a couple times a year. Why not offer these young dancers an opportunity to direct their enjoyment of dance to serve the church?
The sisters recruited three other leaders, and we promoted this new ministry in the church for several weeks. At their first meeting they had about a dozen young dancers between grades 1-8 in the church foyer after church. Each rehearsal began with lunch and a devotion. After about 2 months they were ready to dance for the Lord on a Sunday morning. We pushed the band off to the side to allow space and let them go. I honestly do not remember the song they danced to, but I do remember the tears in my eyes watching these excited young ladies experience the joy of using their talents to serve their church. A whole new world was opened up to them. I was so moved I could barely speak as we all met to pray before the first service.
The response was almost unanimously positive. The parents were thrilled to see their children learn what it means to participate in church, and not just attend Sunday School. The congregation appreciated this new form of art added to our services. Only one person pushed back, saying they “did not get” how this experience enhanced our worship. It only proved the diversity of opinions in the church, not an entirely bad thing I guess.
The Moral
Too often worship leaders are just song leaders. They only see music as the art form approved for worship. My philosophy (thanks to my early exposure to Willow Creek Church outside of Chicago) is to look for ways to bring as many artists into the worship service as possible. Musicians, singers, and sound techs are not the only people with artistic abilities to participate. Future stories will tell about adding middle school and high school worship teams, visual artists, poets, and Scripture readers to our worship. The younger the better. At an early age we can find ways to incorporate children into Sunday worship. While Sunday School is great for learning and forming friendships, using their talents to serve the church can build a bond that lasts past their school-age years.
The other moral is that you can’t please everybody. Some in our congregations just like to sing and hear a sermon. That’s it. No frilly stuff like dancers or poets. While I attempted to explain why we had young dancers in our worship service, it was clear I was not going to change their mind, and that’s OK. We’re all different.
The moral is to do what you believe God is directing you to do. (That’s not to discount legitimate pushback from your pastor or elders. Not every idea is a good idea.) For me, God led those two young ladies into my office with a vision to help children learn to love Jesus by dancing. When it came to fruition the whole church was better for it.