As LifeWay Christian Resources prepares for the Aug. 8 launch of the LifeWay Worship Project, the most ambitious offering of integrated music worship products in its history, church worship leaders across South Carolina are beginning to talk about how they might put the product to work in their ministries.
The Worship Project will be nothing less than “the most comprehensive worship tool ever assembled in the history of the evangelistic Christian church,” said Mark Powers, worship and music director for the South Carolina Baptist Convention. “I encourage all of our South Carolina churches to explore this resource.”
Allen Hendricks, director of Charleston Southern University’s “New Vision” ensemble and instructor in the school’s Horton Chair of Church Music, added, “The Worship Project may well take LifeWay from being a follower in the industry to setting the industry standard.”
The centerpiece of the Worship Project is a new hymnal with 674 titles, including some of “the best worship songs our churches are now singing,” according to Powers. The hymnal is but one component, however, of a comprehensive offering of resources that will include full accompaniment tracks to all the songs, lead sheets and “QuickCharts,” orchestrations in both printed version and as Finale musical notation software files, PowerPoint slides for all songs, professional-quality thematic videos to accompany a wide range of songs, and the ability to selectively download portions of the project at any time through LifeWayWorship.com, which will continue to update the project as new titles become available.
LifeWay is touting the project as “the first hymnal with a digital connection,” something George Haltiwanger, associate pastor of music and worship at First Baptist Church, Moncks Corner, is looking forward to. “I like the thought that with digital files – pdf, mp3, et cetera – this could be a ‘living hymnal,’ with new additions and editions when needed,” he said.
Roger Dail, associate pastor of music and worship at Brushy Creek Baptist Church, Easley, said “the ability to order whatever I want digitally is the most attractive feature to me.” “Music-on-demand is where music is going in church work. The ability to download digital files will be the most beneficial, especially when we are missing something from our music library on a Friday afternoon.”
For churches that haven’t moved fully into the digital age, components of the Worship Project are still attractive to some worship leaders. Jeff Barrett, music minister at Flat Rock Baptist Church, Liberty, said his church is more traditional, and people “love the hymns” but also enjoy singing choruses. “Even with the advent of video, the more traditional ones among us will enjoy having many of those new choruses in the hymnal,” he said. “Some people just like holding the hymnal.”
Other worship leaders are taking a wait-and-see approach, and they plan to evaluate the Worship Project when it is presented in detail at the South Carolina Baptist Convention’s Worship Summit in August. Tom Eggleston, minister of music at First Baptist Church, Lancaster, said he is “impressed with the variety and scope of what is being offered,” but will wait until the project is unveiled before making a decision.
Mark Bowers, minister of worship and ministry at West Hartsville Baptist Church, is also waiting until the LifeWay Worship Project is on the market. “If that puts us a year behind, so be it,” he said. “I can’t justify that kind of expense on something I have not yet seen.”
Charlie Crews, music minister at First Baptist Church, Clearwater, said he wants to learn more about what the online services of the Worship Project will cost.
To view more details about the LifeWay Worship Project, visit lifeway.com/worshipproject.