Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Our church is thinking
about starting a new worship service. Where do
we begin?
Can I find sermon topics, examples, and notes
from VA churches online?
What about the church and copyright laws?
What hymnals are Virginia Baptist churches
using?
Answers to FAQ
Starting a new worship
service
- Be in prayer.
Ask that God’s will may be put first in the life of the church.
Ask that God equip the leaders and congregation with the gifts and
talents necessary to endeavor such a journey together. Ask that God
open hearts and minds to creativity. Ask that God direct you to the
open doors of opportunity with this new ministry. Thank God for the
opportunity to serve God in this manner and to serve others.
- For a concise and comprehensive guide: How
to Start a New Service by Charles
Arn.
- Initial Questions to Consider
- Is the vision for the new service driven
by a few or a large part of the congregation?
- Will this new service fit into the mission
of the church?
- Is there a group of people in the church
that can serve in music and worship leadership
roles? If not, can the church afford to hire
someone else for that responsibility?
- What is the role the staff would play?
- Is there enough staff to facilitate and
take care of a new service?
- What is the purpose of the new service?
i.e. other services are comfortably full,
seek to reach a different age or ethnic group,
outreach
- Where will the new service meet? Will
that location be conducive to the style of
worship the church would like?
- When will the new service meet? Will the
church consider a non-traditional time to
meet that would fit the needs of the target
group?
- Who is the target group? i.e. un-churched;
baby boomers; teenagers, Hispanics, etc.
- Does the worship style you are considering
meet the target group?
- Can you identify a core group of people
to support, encourage, promote, and attend
the new service?
- Are there other churches in your area
that are doing a similar style of service?
- Contact the office of Worship and Spiritual
Development for a list of churches that have
begun a new service within the past year. It
is helpful to discuss your ideas with congregations
who have been through the experience recently.
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Online Sermons
A list of churches who provide
this information online can be found here.
If you would like to add your church to the list,
e-mail tomingram@vbmb.org.
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What about the church and copyright
laws?
Churches have often been the worst offenders
in the use of illegally copied music. Music may
not be copied for individual, ensemble, or choral
use. Copyright permission and/or a license are
necessary if a church needs to reproduce songs
and hymns for congregational use. Christian music
like other forms of music is protected under Copyright
Laws.
Christian Copyright
Licensing, Incorporated (CCLI) grants permission to copy music for congregational
use: to print songs in bulletins, liturgies, programs,
and song sheets; to make overhead transparencies,
slides, or PowerPoint; to print customized arrangements;
and to record songs in worship.
There is a minimum annual fee depending on congregational
size. More information can be obtained through
the website www.ccli.com.
The CCLI hotline number is 1-800-234-2446 .
The use of videos as instructional tools and
sermon aids is increasing in churches. However,
pre-recorded videos or DVDs are intended for personal,
home use only. Public showings of videos are not
permissible without specific permission, a license
granting authorization. The use of videos in the
church and other ministry organizations is covered
by the Church Video
License (CVLI). It works similarly
to the CCLI. Fees are based on congregational
size. More information and an application can
be found on the website www.cvli.org.
The toll free number is 1-888-771-2854 .
Click here to take the Copyright
Quiz. This
will test your knowledge and answer some of your
questions about the CCLI.
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What hymnals are Virginia Baptist churches using?
- Baptist Hymnal, 1991
- The Celebration Hymnal; Word
Music, Integrity Music, 1997
(The Celebration
Hymnal includes more
contemporary praise choruses as well as
familiar hymns).
- The Chalice Hymnal; Disciples
of Christ, 1999
(In The Chalice Hymnal,
you will notice that the language of
some of the familiar hymns has been
amended to create more contemporary
language and inclusivity. This hymnal
includes many texts of 20 th century
hymn writers and multi-cultural hymns.
One additional feature is the responsive
readings that include psalmody.)
- Worship and Rejoice; Hope
Publishing, 2001
(Worship and Rejoice includes hymns
for special occasions—weddings,
child dedications, etc. This hymnal is
ecumenical in nature. It also includes
multi-cultural hymns and songs from the
Taize tradition).
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