Click here to download this letter in PDF form.

It’s not about music or performance. It’s about lifting up the One who is “worthy of our praise”! Our desire is to call our congregation to become passionate worshipers of God. Our mandate as leaders and musicians is to model worship in body, soul, and spirit. Music is a primary instrument of worship, but we must also recognize and seek to learn other expressions. Let us transcend “style” and “preference”. May we be committed to “moving together”, making worship unifying and not divisive.

• Leadership Structure:
• Worship Development Team – Don, Chris, Lisa – overall planning and leadership – in conjunction with staff.
• Worship Team Leaders: Orlando, Eric, Lisa, Don – responsible for the spiritual, personnel and musical development of their teams – authority to pick music and to plan worship with help/guidance of the WDT.
• Worship Team Members: all band members and singers – accountable to their team leader and mutually accountable to other team members. Please communicate directly to and through your team leader.

Commitment of Leaders & Team Members:

• To evaluate themselves spiritually and musically. (See F.A.T.S.)
• Faithful: John 4:23 “True worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth” Q: Are you growing in your relationship with Jesus and as a worshiper?
• Available: Romans 12:1 “Offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, this is your spiritual act of worship” Q: Do you have time to prepare, practice and be there when scheduled?
• Teachable: Philippians 3:3 “We who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus and who put no confidence in the flesh” Q: Are you willing to be equipped both musically and as a worshiper? Are you willing to be a team player?
• killed: Psalm 33:3 “Sing to the Lord an new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy” Q: Are you comfortable to enough to primarily focus on worship over notes, chords or timing?
• Practice on Thursday (or other called time) prior to Sunday morning – Sunday morning should be more of a “sound check” than a practice.
• Communicate clearly with your worship leader and let them know in advance when you are away or have time conflicts. This should be the exception or you may need to re-evaluate your involvement.
• Available to stay to the end of the service(s) for ministry/response times. To work together with the prayer ministry team.
• Forest Grove needs to be your home church/ spiritual family and not just a “gig site”.
• Support of the vision, values and leadership of Forest Grove. Willingness to be accountable to your team leader and the worship ministry.

Click here to download the Fall 2006 letter in PDF format.

People are built to worship. Just go to any college football stadium in the fall of the year. You will see tens of thousands of avid worshippers. I do not disparage this. I am saying we need to learn from this. People will worship something! In football stadiums the bands and cheerleaders coach people into worshiping, not by giving directions but by worshiping themselves. Their worship coaxes others to join in. Every worship leader, instrumentalist, band member, and vocalist needs to understand that their primary responsibility in the stadium is to worship God. They need to understand the contagious nature of worship and the critical role it plays in missional renewal of the church. There is hardly anything more evangelistically powerful than a group of worshiping believers.
The Present Future – by Reggie McNeal

Let me invite you all to resume (or begin fresh) your journey as a worshiper. We always want to offer Him our best (“Sing to Him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy” Psalm 33:3) but most of all, let’s offer Him our all (“Offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship” Romans 12:1).

Below is the summer schedule. If you are unavailable for any of the weeks that your team is on, please let your team leader know. If you are available to be a sub for any of the teams, email me and let me know the Sunday’s you are here. Also, if you are presently not on a team, but would like to help this summer, please let me know. I will make a list of names for the worship leaders so they can call on you when there is a need. Thank you everyone for your willingness to serve.

I will send out another letter in August to fill you in on what is happening this fall. Make sure you have lots of fun this summer – May God’s peace, joy and rest be with you.