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Participative Worship
Someone has said that worship, like love, is a verb. It is something we do, something we give. We are not mere passive recipients of an orchestrated worship program. We do not gather to be entertained. We come to be involved. We come to give.
In public worship we come to give something to God, namely our praise -- expressions of our reverence, gratitude, and love. We come to attribute worth and honor to God for His person, His character, his deeds.
In public worship we also come to give something to one another, namely encouragement, love, and help in living a life of faith in Jesus Christ.
In other words, worship is something we do, in which we participate. In the course of our corporate gatherings at Covenant Fellowship -- in our Sunday worship as well as in our weekly cell group worship -- there are many ways we try to encourage this participation.
For example, when we gather we give praise to God in song. We consider the human voice as the primary instrument of praise, so we encourage hearty participation in singing songs of praise and adoration and faith. We encourage people of all kinds -- adults and children, men and women -- to read Scripture to the congregation.
We encourage people to come to worship prepared to love and encourage others. This mutual love and encouragement is one of the primary purposes of gathering together as brothers and sisters in Christ! And so we provide opportunities to do this -- before we begin singing and during breaks between various aspects of our worship. We also have a meal each Sunday to allow people time to participate in getting to know one another.
We devote a whole period of our public worship to what we call the "Open Time." This period of time is based on the premise that the pastor is not the only person with something edifying to say to the congregation. In this Open Time we encourage people to bring words of praise to God and encouragement to the body. We may hear testimonies of how people came to faith in Christ. We may hear a story of how God opened up the meaning of some passage of Scripture. Someone may speak of a ministry in which they are involved out in the community and seek prayer for that involvement. Someone may speak of a difficult circumstance for which they need prayer and encouragement. Someone may thank God for a beautiful day, for health, for protection, for a place to live.
We are also participative in that just about everyone is involved in some logistical aspect of the corporate gathering. There is setting up, manning nursery, teaching SS, folding bulletins, bringing food, doing dishes, wiping tables, watching the kids outside, duplicating tapes, manning the projector, making coffee, accompanying singing, reading Scripture -- plenty to do to keep things running smoothly.
Finally, we are participative in that we believe everyone from the youngest to the oldest is meant to participate in the life of the body -- including babies, young children, teenagers, married, single, retired. All are called to participate in being the people of God gathered together!
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