Many people don’t understand the complexities of making a church service happen. If you just turn up, it probably looks pretty straightforward! However, a lot goes on behind the scenes before the Sunday (or at my church, Saturdays too) services. There’s a lot of components:
- welcoming
- service leading
- singing
- announcements
- liturgy
- prayers
- Bible reading
- sermon
- communion
- kids talk or kids church (if you have kids!)
- sharing (e.g. open prayer, open praise)
- supper/morning tea
- pack-up
And I’m sure I’ve left element out too! Most of all, each of these elements requires people to carry them out. And there are lots of challenges here – people need to be trained, people need to be available, people need to be informed. Obviously, having a roster is only a small part of making sure that services are planned and run smoothly.
I’ve been considering ways to support the musicians at church, and more broadly to assist with the smooth running of services. With 5 services each week, there is a lot to stay on top of. I’ve done some research into tools that can assist with service planning and keeping musicians informed, and have listed them below. I’m keen to hear:
- if there’s any I’ve left off the list,
- if you have used any of these, and what your experience has been,
- are there any that you would recommend or not recommend?
- why?
OK, here we go with the list of 16:
- 1Christian.net
- Better Gatherings
- Elvanto
- Leitourgia (Mac only)
- MinistryBox
- Music Manager
- Planning Center
- Praise Tools
- Service Builder
- Score Chart
- Software for Worship
- songmanager
- Worship Assistant
- worshipplanning.com
- Worship Kitchen (now permanently closed)
- Worship LIVE!
Updates:
(The title of some music-related resources leaves something to be desired. Hot Worship?!)
