It might sound quite simple to be part of the Worship Ministry. What do we need to do? Well there is the Worship Roster to organise. Communicate with the elders and Benny in the Leadership group to get the names of teachers and preachers along with the topics and themes they will speak and teach on. After all the worship team only needs to be concerned about that 60 minute period on Sunday morning.....right?

Well it would be that simple if worship was just a small period of time that needs to be staffed and scheduled.

Last Wednesday evening at our Discover Group meeting, we considered the first few verses of Ephesians chapter one. Again and again, Paul uses the expression "the praise of His glory". We talked about what this could mean, and one idea shared in the group was that worship is the natural response that we make to the revealing of God's glory in the blessings He has given to us. Worship that is not restricted to a given place and time, but worship that is almost a way of life.

The challenge before the Worship Committee is certainly more that our Sunday assembly. It definitely includes that time, as it is the one time in the week when the whole church gathers together. Yet there are the other occasions when we meet such as the Discovery Groups, small meetings, various activities and special events. There is also the times we spend alone and are awed by our God's presence in our lives.

However, the work of the committee has to be prioritised. We will be investing time and focus initially on our Sunday gathering. There is a need to continue to encourage and train those who are actively leading in our assemblies. The men who stand before the congregation must be prepared to develop and hone the skills required to speak, read, pray and sing before the church.

Also the church as a whole has its part to play, in the way we individually prepare to come and worship our God. The focus of worship is God, always and everywhere. I do not come to our assemblies to "get" something out of it, but rather to "put" everything into it. We do not measure the effectiveness of our assemblies by what we get, but by what we all put into it.

So our plans for 2010/2011:

• Song leader training - including use of overheads, and development of leader’s techniques
• Public speaking - for announcers, prayers and reading
• Children's songs - on Sunday mornings
• Discovery Groups - what we can do beyond the study