Alyssa Berkenpas, our Worship Coordinator, completed a one-year certificate focused on worship ministry. This is what she has to say about it: 

The program was called Music Fundamentals for Worship through Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. It is a program designed for church staff and volunteers to learn more about planning worship through an online platform. I heard about it through the CRC Worship Ministry group on Facebook. I’ve had a lot of experience in leading worship throughout the years, but this provided formal training specific to worship ministry and looked at the background of worship music. It looked like this could be something that could help me grow in areas that I am less confident in. Thrive Ministries was offering a grant to CRC worship planners, so I thought I’d apply to see if I would get in; however, I did notice the program happened to start exactly on my due date! I decided it would probably be fine to take care of a newborn, a toddler and take courses online, as well as stay on top of all my regular duties as worship coordinator… so I registered anyways and got the grant!

The program consisted of four courses: Music Theory, Music Leadership, Worship Technology and Production, and finally Building the Music Ministry. Each class was discussion-based, meaning that at the beginning of week, the teacher would pose a question and each person in the class would then answer this question as well as respond to others’ answers. I appreciated this way of participation as I learned a lot about how other churches, and even denominations, worship differently. My classmates were worship planners from various environments, from many places around the world. There were those from large campus churches with a handful of staff to very small churches who were volunteer run. As we responded to each other’s comments and assignments, it was as if we were helping one another out in our roles as worship planners. I will miss having this community around to support me.

This space isn’t large enough to share everything I learned with you, but I thought I would give you a glimpse into my year and how this will help me in my role at Living Hope.

Class 1 | Music Theory for Worship 

In this class I learned the fundamentals of note reading, scales, key signatures, chord structures, symbols and charts, basic rhythms, and standard harmonic progressions. Some of it was not new to me as I’ve had music lessons in the past, but it was a helpful reminder – especially as it pertains to worship music. This was helpful as a starting class in the program as it worked as a building block for the other courses. I needed an understanding of theory before moving onto the rest. I’ve been able to use all this theory to arrange music better for our musicians and understand what is happening musically in many of the songs we sing. Understanding this makes some hymn’s tunes stand out more. For example, Great is Thy Faithfulness has a lot going on in the music to make it so singable and memorable!

The homework for this course was hard. I spent hours at my piano trying to wrap my head around some of these elements, particularly voicing and certain rhythms. It will be something that will be a lifelong practice for me.

Class 2 | Worship Leadership for Worship 

This was a very practical course, looking at what all goes into leading a band or choir, focusing on rehearsal techniques, arranging songs, even conducting! Something I really appreciated was how this course looked at each instrument and how to communicate with each one. This is vital when you are leading a team; knowing how to speak the language of drums, bass, or even with vocalists, makes playing together more enjoyable for everyone. And isn’t it such a valuable thing to be able to enjoy worshipping together?

Along with knowing the language, we looked at the importance of each team member and the roles they play within the band. Learning and reading about the worship team, helped me finish something I had been working on with our worship leaders here at Living Hope. If you look at our website, and follow the link to the Worship Ministry tab, you’ll find we have listed what we value in our worship as the body of Christ and what to expect if a visitor attends a worship service with us.

Class 3 | Worship Technology & Production 

This course looked at the best practices and resources for utilizing AVL (Audio/Visual/Lighting) technology. I thought this class would teach more on how to use all this technology but instead the instructor concentrated on the philosophy and theology of technology; what is the reason we do what we do? Is there a thoughtful process behind all the decisions we make when it comes to technology?

For our final project, we had to create a philosophy of technology for our own churches. I loved this project as it caused me to consider how to be more pastoral in our technological choices; to think about it in a deeper way. It doesn’t necessarily mean we will do things differently, but it will make me look at something and question it – for example: why do we light the sanctuary the way we do? Why don’t we do certain things that other churches are doing? What types of images are we projecting on the screen? Do they draw us into worship or distract?

This course also taught us to nurture relationships with our tech teams: spiritually and communally. Since the pandemic, churches have come to totally rely on tech in our services. It doesn’t matter if you belong to a small neighbourhood church, or a large four-campus megachurch – we all use it in some capacity. The people who serve in our AVL ministry are so vital to our gatherings; not everyone can do what they do each week. Something that our instructor said will stick with me: the person who switches your slides on Sunday mornings is basically the worship leader. What she’s getting at is that when we sing together, lyrics are one of the most important parts of our worship. And your slide switcher is going to be guiding the congregation through these songs. That’s a lot of responsibility! (But also, if you would like to volunteer to do media, please don’t hesitate to contact me!)

In short, we need to be sure to truly appreciate what our AVL people do each Sunday.

Class 4 | Building the Music and Worship Ministry 

The title of this course rightly depicts how broad of a class this one was. Here, we focused on the Monday to Saturday elements of the work. Most folks in church only see the Sunday morning parts, but most of a worship planner’s job is during the week. This course looked at some administration factors like organizing workflow; planning a service; the theology behind selecting songs; writing prayers rooted in scripture; the importance of licensing; how to set goals; recruiting volunteers; spiritual formation for your teams; and how to use your time wisely and get all of this done, especially if you’re part-time like me.

I appreciated that all the assignments for this course could be used in services for our own congregation. For example, I wrote a prayer for an assignment and used it that same week in our Sunday gathering.

One thing I’ve struggled with is goal setting; for one assignment we had to write out an outline for a 5-year long-term goal, with mid-term and short-term goals alongside it to show how to get to that end goal. This was a great practice for me who tends to work very spontaneously.

Our final project was to create an outline for the entire church year, listing all events and a quick summary of each. Then to take four of those events and create an outline for each, including readings, prayers, and songs.

This course was one of the more challenging ones to keep on top of with my busy life, but it also was the most rewarding as it was so practical.

I’m very grateful to have had this opportunity, and I hope the knowledge and resources I have gained will slowly trickle out into the rest of the worship ministry. I have seen that some of the constructive ideas have already helped with rehearsals and team dynamics. These types of educational opportunities are so beneficial in bringing passion and encouragement back to something that is susceptible to become mundane if you get stuck in the week-to-week tasks. If you’re interested in knowing more, I’m hoping to lead a study on worship next year!