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Stories Of Transformation

Making the Leap

Below is a Story of Transformation from Bob Burron. Bob Burron is involved with the Worship Ministries and Tech teams at our Attridge Congregation.

Making the Leap – The Role of Sound in Our Worship

Last spring, Pastor Dale Dirksen shared a message on “extravagant worship” focusing in on the intricacies and positioning of our worship and how it is received by God. In his message, Dale also highlighted that worship is more than just praise through song – but it is an extravagant response to the revelation of God. He challenged us to think about the “smell of our worship” which led me to think about the various sensory aspects of our corporate gatherings.

On a Sunday morning, what do you see? What do you hear? Each of us worship (and respond) differently – however, in looking at our worship through a more audible lens, it’s easy to identify numerous aspects of a “successful” worship set. Some focus in on the drums as the heartbeat of the song, the guitar or piano as the foundation for a melody, and others listen to the vocals for clear presentation of the song lyrics. Regardless of each individual focal point, as a member of the congregation, are you able to engage in worship through music? If the answer is yes, it’s likely because you are able to hear the sound of our worship. The sound of our corporate worship gatherings is a key component of our ministry – and for good reason. Psalm 96 is an anthem for worship and boldly says,

“For the Lord’s greatness is beyond description, and He deserves all the praise that comes to Him…Let the skies sing for Joy! Let the earth join in the chorus. Let the oceans thunder and fields echo this ecstatic praise, until every swaying tree of every forest joins in, lifting up their songs of joyous praise to Him!” 

(Psalm 96:4, 11-12 TPT)

We choose to amplify the sound of our worship – and from a technical standpoint, there is an exhaustive list of things our volunteers work through on a weekly basis to ensure that our Sunday morning worship gatherings are a success. Just as our church body is a living and breathing entity, so are the systems that allow us to enhance our worship. Over the last two years, we have been making incremental improvements to the technology that is used in this area – which has included the installation of new state of the art components. As technology continues to progress and become more advanced, so do the learning curves and level of expertise required to effectively use it each week. Many hours have been invested by our volunteers to implement these changes – and there will likely be many more hours devoted to ensuring that our systems continue to support our growing ministry.

The sound of our worship should be clear – a collective body of Christ followers uniting to sing (and shout) spirit-filled praise and adoration to our King. The forefront of our worship time is music and response, however the importance of the technical aspects should not be overlooked. Without the support of our tech volunteers, the sound of our worship would be much different. Our tech volunteers partner with our worship leaders and musicians on a weekly basis to help pave a path that draws us closer to the declaration outlined in Psalm 96. As we continue to push forward, I encourage you to worship whole heartedly – and take a moment to recognize the role of sound, its place in our gatherings, and the volunteers who support our core purpose at FGCC: Transformation in Jesus Christ.