What does worship have to do with stewardship? Plenty! Each worship service is an excellent example of how the people of a local congregation can use their gifts in service to God. It takes pastors, worship leaders, and musicians using their gifts of preaching, communication, and music. It takes volunteers who manage the sound and video and those who receive the offering to give their time and talents in service to the Lord. It takes many others to provide a warm welcome, an interesting drama, or a compelling reading of scripture.

However, it also takes the faithfulness of the people to give generously in order that a church can provide a quality worship service. Lights, sound, instruments, songs, songbooks, and equipment all cost money. Without the generosity of people committed to the faithful support of their church, these things would not be possible.

Pastor Gene Tanner of the Valparaiso, Indiana, Church of the Nazarene has developed an exciting pattern and framework for worship. His approach to worship depends on the generosity of people who help provide the necessary equipment, lighting, sound, and video. It also depends on a team of committed people who use their gifts to lead the congregation in worship each week.

In the first article, “Designing Worship for High Impact Evangelism,” Pastor Tanner describes how his committed team of staff and volunteers use their gifts each week to lead the congregation into the presence of God. Clearly, any congregation able to pull off this type of worship service understands the principle of living generously by using their gifts and giving generously to the Lord.

The second article, “The Venue,” is a reprint from The Communicator, an NPH publication. In this article, Pastor Tanner discusses his “alternative” worship service called The Venue.

As you read these articles you may think, “I can’t do that!” And you may be right. Some congregations are too small to do all the “things” mentioned in these articles. However, don’t focus on the “things” so much as the principles behind designing an exciting and relevant worship. Anyone — and any church — can pull off these principles.

Each article also includes a set of discussion questions for use in staff meetings, board meetings, or worship team sessions. Use these questions to evaluate your worship planning and to foster ideas for improvement.

Finally, as an additional help for smaller churches, we have included a list of resources (print and Internet) to help you plan your weekly services. There are plenty of resources available for those who will take the time to search and read.

Learn more about creating a high impact worship service in your church through the following articles:


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