Preaching – APCCS

Re-opening worship services after Covid-19

@dm1n — Fri, 25 Dec 2020 03:52:47 +0000

As in-person worship services resume, two APCCS member churches share their experience returning to physical services after a season of running online-only church during the height of the Covid pandemic in Singapore.

Ps Sandra Westerdahl is the Lead Pastor of In Christ Singapore, an 80-strong congregation that rents a hotel ballroom for their weekly Sunday services.

“Being mindful that we don’t have exclusive use of a rented space means that we’ve had to work around ‘structural’ space constraints. For example – implementing staggered timings for entry and exit as well as for washroom usage, as we have just one set of entrances and exits, and washrooms for two groups of 50 people,” she says.

When did ICSG resume physical services? Have you started other services or activities e.g. sunday school, baptisms, as well?

ICSG resumed physical services on 8 November 2020. We currently cater only for the main congregational services. Kids Church (Sunday School) and Anchor Youth (youth ministry) are still operating online.

We livestream services for those who are as yet more comfortable online so that we are able to worship together as a church body.

All other activities remain online for the time being, except some of the cell groups meet in groups of 5 in person (splitting down into smaller groups to do so).

How did ICSG incorporate the ministry aspect (e.g. prayer for healing, altar call response etc) into physical services?

We have shifted ministry “online”. We have a hospitality team member operating the chat room to minister to the online congregation.

On-site, we have QR codes with various forms for people to fill up. We launched a WhatsApp communication channel through which members can contact us for any needs or to go through their cell group leaders. For newcomers or altar call responses, we follow up during the week through the contact they have registered with us to book tickets for service.

We have not as of yet started any on-site prayer or altar call as we want to make sure we get the initial step of the Sunday service to run smoothly before we move into making additional adjustments.

Can you talk about some of the challenges you faced in the planning process and how you had to work around them?

There are a number of challenges in planning as we operate on a rental of location basis. The hotel we are worshipping at is, like many others, facing constraints in terms of manpower and usage of space due to Covid. We have had to work closely with the hotel to ensure that both parties are operating within constraints of all the ministry departments.

We have settled on an individual seating plan with 4 groups of 4 to cater especially to families with children under 8. Children below the age of 8 are given an activity pack upon entering the service. These families will have access to a table (surrounded by 4 chairs) and are considered to be worshiping as a group.

Also, as we have non-exclusive use of the hotel, we are mindful of the possibility of having multiple events within the location. We have been working closely with the hotel staff to ensure as little time overlap of all parties.

Other constraints are ‘structural’. We have only one entrance and exit, via the lifts and a single set of restrooms for our location. We have briefed our members on the restrictions and put in place staggered timing for arrival and dismissal, as well as the usage of the washrooms.

Thankfully with regards to the washroom situation, members have been cooperative and there has not been any queues at the washrooms. Due to the shortened services, most people are able to do without the use of restroom facilities on site.

Over at Covenant Vision Christian Church, Senior Pastor Rev Francis Khoo, together with Ps Trisha Khoo and Aaron Khoo, CVCC’s Head of Media & Communications, launched into livestreaming in October after conversations about adapting their usual service program for a new medium.

And it’s not just the technicalities of livestreaming that’s been a learning curve. What’s new is the challenge of preaching simultaneously to both an on-site and online audience in live format. That takes some getting used to, and Ps Trisha acknowledges, “We’ve had to mentally adjust to ensure that we engage both the onsite and online audiences.”

How have you had to adapt your usual service program for a new medium?

Our onsite services are now about 1 hour long, including opening, worship, announcements, sermon, benediction, and closing. Previously our worship was half an hour, but we cut it down to 15 – 20mins. Sermons have also been shortened from 45 – 60mins to about 20 – 30mins.

We did try to keep things moving because when viewing online, the content needs to be at a faster pace to keep the audience attention. If it is too draggy, the propensity to click onto Facebook or other YouTube channels is very high.

What has the team learned from the past few weeks of livestreaming?

On the technical side: To be able to livestream, we had to acquire a dedicated PC that we now use solely for the livestream feed. Our video mixer is still the same, but we now feed the video and audio source to YouTube using a dedicated PC. If the PC is not powerful enough, it might cause intermittent dropping of frames, which we do not want; if the online audience deems the video to be of low production quality, they will either drop off, or avoid returning.

The PC is running Open Broadcaster Software (OBS), which is a free and fairly easy to use interface. It works well with YouTube Live and Facebook Live, though it can feed through to only one channel at any one time. There are workarounds, but it gets more complicated, or you’d need to purchase additional software. So to keep things simple, we choose to run our livestream services on YouTube Live.

We’ve also learned how to better engage the online audience. For certain livestream events that we conduct, we will pick out certain comments and mention them, creating interactivity and making the online audience feel like that are a part of the service/event.

Have pastors had to preach differently – not in terms of content, but perhaps delivery – because of the new livestreaming medium now?

Because we are now speaking to both an onsite and online audience, we had to mentally adjust to ensure that we engaged both the onsite and online audiences. For the online audience, addressing them upfront is important so they know they’re with us from the get go. Earlier on, it was important to encourage them purposefully to be present at home and that we are still a community even though we may not be in one place.

For delivery of messages, we’ve learned that we definitely need to be more succinct and the flow of the message needs to be clear. Having visuals like slides help the online audience to focus on the preaching points, thus increasing engagement.

And finally, about talking speed. Especially for an online audience, the speed needs to increase to keep the listener engaged. It’s good to take note that some people may be listening to the sermon while driving or watching on their phones in the MRT, so they don’t experience all the visual cues that the onsite audience encounters.

How to Choose Songs for a Worship Set List

@dm1n — Tue, 23 Jun 2020 11:06:39 +0000

A roadmap to selecting song types helps worship leaders lead more effectively. Here’s one example used by Hillsong’s Jad Gillies.

Firstly, there’s no right or wrong way to select songs for Sunday morning worship! The most important thing is to be led by the Holy Spirit and to sense God’s direction for any worship session you’re preparing for.

Having said that, settling on a general roadmap can be of tremendous help to worship leaders when it comes to assessing their song choices, especially for congregational worship. It also helps worship leaders from falling into the comfortable routine of choosing only the styles of songs they like!

A roadmap can also provide some scaffolding for less experienced or newbie worship leaders, and make it less daunting to choose the “right” song for the season.

The Hillsong worship roadmap, as shared by Jad Gillies on a recent online sharing session, balances the types of songs that serves different purposes in a congregational setting, starting with the encouraging and engaging praise songs, to the more adoration types of songs.

Song 1: Keep it fun, upbeat and encouraging

People are entering church, getting settled in and glad to see their friends. So keep things light as you draw the congregation into a place of praise.

Some great choices:

Today Is The Day – Lincoln Brewster
You Are Good – Bethel
This Is Amazing Grace – Phil Wickham
Turn It Up – Planetshakers
Let God Arise – Chris Tomlin

Song 2: Build faith

Move into a faith-building song – something that magnifies the name of Jesus, and cause people to confess the Word of God.

Some great choices:

Our God – Chris Tomlin
In Jesus’ Name – Darlene Zschech
Lion & The Lamb – Leeland
Who You say I Am – Hillsong
Ever Be – Bethel

Song 3: Move into adoration

Song 3 can be an adoration type song, or a prayer/ petition type song as you lead the congregation into more prayerful worship.

Some great choices:

Here In Your Presence – New Life
Jesus At The Centre – Darlene Zschech
Cornerstone – Hillsong
No Longer Slaves – Bethel
Holy Spirit – Jesus Culture

Song 4: High worship and praise

Transit into high worship or return to high praise – this fourth song really depends on where the Holy Spirit is leading you and what God is doing in the meeting.

Some great choices:

No Other Name – Hillsong
Victor’s Crown – Darlene Zechech
Be Enthroned – Bethel
Way Maker – Leeland
Worthy – Elevation

It’s worth repeating that this is not the holy grail of selecting songs. There may be weeks on end when a season in your church would entail more high praise songs, or quiet worship songs.

Ultimately, stay tuned to what God would lead you to choose but hopefully this roadmap gives you an idea of how to approach song selection.

4 Foundational Questions for your Worship Team

@dm1n — Tue, 23 Jun 2020 10:58:45 +0000

Originally shared by Hillsong’s Jad Gillies, these 4 questions are great for Worship ministry heads to ground the team in the “Why” of service.

Every now and then, it’s a healthy practice for worship teams to go on a fact-finding mission to re-discover the “why” of serving, which may be lost in the rhythm of weekly rehearsals or the overwhelm of learning new music.

In other words, “The why must drive the how”, said Jad Gillies in an online sharing with APCCS.

Why do we have worship leaders/ musicians?
Why do you lead worship/ play (your instrument)?
Why do people come to church?
What is required of a worship leader/ musician?

One of the answers to the first question is simply – people need leadership, according to Jad.

The practicalities of having worship in a congregational setting means that as people worship, they look to being led. And sometimes when you have newcomers entering a church service for the first time, it’s a person they can take cues from.

As to the age-old question of what’s required of a worship leader or musician, Jad’s take is that the important qualities are: inclusivity, encouragement, leadership, sensitivity, being able to lead people and connect with them.

The wonderful thing about this set of questions is that it creates a focal point for your discussion and gives you clues about the kind of culture that is being created among worship team members.

If you’re interested in the full discussion – Check out the full video here or grab the transcript of the session.

Including these questions in your team meeting

If you have a regular monthly (or bi-monthly) meet-up with your worship team, here’s how you can consider including the discussion questions in your meeting agenda spanning 90 minutes.

Open with prayer and short time of worship (15 mins)
Word or sharing from Worship Director (15 mins)
Discussion – incorporating the 4 questions (15 mins)
Small-group development and prayer for one another (15 mins)
Debrief time on past services/ Housekeeping matters and decisions to be made (15 mins)
Announcements and upcoming events (15 mins)
End with prayer, food & fellowship

5 Online Worship Tips to Engage Through Video

@dm1n — Mon, 27 Apr 2020 10:54:28 +0000

Leading worship online feels different to leading in a live atmosphere. Here’s how to connect with the people on the other side of the lens.

In this season, it feels like people are being forced into God’s presence… exactly the time for worship leaders and their teams to keep leading worship! The question is… how? How do you lead worship through a camera?

Here are five ideas (or download the full summary notes) from Ps Wayne Huirua from Equippers Church in Auckland shared with over 150 worship pastors and leaders on an online gathering for APCCS.

1.Stir up worship from within you.

Gone is the crowd right in front of you, and leading worship in front of a camera means there’s no response from the congregation. But even without the scaffolding of an audience, you still can stir up worship from within you – it’s no less imbued with the Holy Spirit.

2. Assume that the Holy Spirit’s anointing has gone before you

Sometimes the difficult thing about pre-recording a worship set is that you simply don’t know the scenario in which the recording will eventually be played. Who knows what’s going to happen two weeks later when the recording is aired? Well, God knows – and He also knows the atmosphere of each home in which your recording will be played!

Ps Wayne shared how they recorded seven weeks’ worth of worship services and as the weeks unfolded, each session would be taken by the Holy Spirit and made fresh and current.

3. Be extra encouraging and intentional in engaging through the camera

To the extent of being quite instructional, you may have to be speak out many things that might feel quite natural with a Live audience. For example, you could say:
“Come on stand to your feet – we’re going to lift up Jesus!”
“Come on it’s a good day to praise God! Let’s make your home the worshiping church right now.”
“Let me say this over you and then you lift up your own prayer.”

4. Look right into the camera lens whenever you can

Looking right into the camera lens helps you engage with whoever is looking at the screen on the other side. Lock your gaze and attention right through because that reduces the “bystander effect” and draws people into praise and worship… rather than have them watch someone else (you) worship.

5. Don’t be afraid of silence

When you get into a worship moment, just be become aware of God’s presence around you. In that way you are leading the atmosphere you’re building. Worship leaders operate in that grace of creating something that the congregation – through the camera – can follow. The silence may feel awkward for you as a worship leader, but not for them.

Here are just five tips, but you can uncover more tips from the summary notes downloadable here.