Ambre Gauthier
Music has been used in praise and worship for centuries. Music can be used to bring people together and to help them feel a particular emotion. Bringing music into your worship services can help bring your congregation together and help them feel more spiritual. However, not every church or congregation has the vocal ability or the population to fill a choir in order to have music for regular services or for a special event. Luckily, there are ways to get the beautiful praise and worship music that you are looking for.
Recordings
One thing you can do is to buy recordings that you can play during your services. There are different ways that you can use them. One is that you can use them for your congregation to sing with. That will fill out the sound of your congregation and give some musical accompaniment that you might otherwise not have. For example, if you don't have anyone who can play the organ as part of your congregation, you can buy some recordings where people are singing and are accompanied by an organ. This method can also be used to help your congregation when they are singing new songs. The recordings will let your congregation hear how the song should be sung, which can help them learn the new song.
Recordings can also be played during times of meditation. Everyone in your congregation will be able to hear and enjoy the music, and let it help them find a deeper level of worship.
Live Musicians
Another option you have is to bring in live musicians. They can come in every week to play for you, or you can hire them to come in for a special worship service or special event. For example, you may want to have a monthly music ministry night. A night like that would be a way for your members to do some missionary work. They could invite their friends to come to this special service and to listen to the wonderful music that is being played. Or, you could bring in live performers for special days like Christmas or Easter. Those days tend to bring more people into a worship service anyway, so bringing in a live music group to perform would help a lot of people.
Music has probably been used as part of praise and worship since people learned how to make music. You can help bring more music into your worship services to make your services better. Contact a singer, such as Lisa Weyerhaeuser, for more information.
When I was diagnosed with a serious anxiety disorder, my therapist mentioned that music might be a great way to unwind for the day. She told me to pick some nice, soft, relaxing music and listen to it at night before I went to sleep. I was a little apprehensive to take her up on the advice, but after a few weeks I could tell that it was really working. I was able to calm down at the end of the day instead of letting my thoughts get the better of me. I have come a long way in my treatment, which is why I wanted to share my struggles with other people. Read here to learn how music might be able to help you.