Ministry, most of the time, is a joyous part of my life. It is my life. God called me to vocational ministry 40 years ago. I have no doubt His hand directed me in that call, through that call, and to where I have served and am presently serving. That ministry has been displayed through the genre of music but, more than that, music has been a tool with which I have been able to connect with countless people of all ages: preschoolers, children, youth, college, adults and senior adults. It is through these connections that God has blessed with innumerous physical and spiritual benefits that canno ..read more

Officially launched in 1973, the Alabama Singing Men organization has become a staple for state convention annual meetings, evangelism conferences and other special events. The group also consistently ministers in churches across the state and has participated in a variety of opportunities in most other states, on national platforms and internationally in Korea and Spain. April tour stops The 2023 ASM tour, held April 11–13, celebrated the group’s 50th anniversary and included stops at FBC Alabaster, The Baptist Church at McAdory, Central Baptist Church in Argo, FBC Trussville&n ..read more

The COVID-19 pandemic was certainly a time that I believe we all would say we are glad is behind us. For me and for our church, it was a stressful and difficult season of ministry as we sought different ways to reach our people and remain engaged in the works of ministry that we are called to as the local church. The beginnings of the pandemic brought about something that at first I hoped would be incredibly short lived, but now I am thankful is still something we use each week at our church – that being the ministry of livestreaming our corporate worship services. When the pandemic began, liv ..read more

According to a recent study by LifeWay Research, only 12% of Protestant churches currently are holding small groups for children. While some churches are planning to start back in September, 57% of pastors surveyed said they are undecided when to resume children’s programs during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The topic was the focus of a recent webinar, “Preschool and Children’s Ministry in Challenging Times,” hosted by the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions. “We certainly need God’s wisdom in this time, and we want to offer some encouragement and suggestions and a few resources,” said P ..read more

As churches navigate the path of serving their congregations through the coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic, many have attempted to provide cohesive worship experiences. For some, incorporating music into online services has presented both challenges of technology and opportunities for reaching viewers in new ways. Randall Stoner, associational missions director for Marshall Baptist Association, said 80 of the 105 churches in the association produced an online worship service on March 22 through either FaceBook Live, YouTube, Vimeo or their church websites. For many, this was their first virtual se ..read more

Edd Brashier is minister of music at Enterprise First Baptist Church. As worship leaders, I think we have all at one time or another been discouraged when we have looked across our congregation and noticed those who weren’t singing. We may have even been a bit offended by their lack of spirituality. However, several years ago I had a conversation with Mr. Magee, whom trained singers would have certainly considered a bad singer because he never opened his mouth in corporate worship. I thought that he had certainly grown up to believe that singing was not the manly thing to do, as it seemed so m ..read more

What is our aim as we gather for Lord’s Day worship each week? Puritan theologian John Owen argued that our chief end should be to “sanctify the name of God; to own and avow our professed subjection to the Lord Jesus Christ; to build up ourselves in our most holy faith; and to testify and confirm our mutual love as we are believers” (Worship and Order in the Church, Pensacola, FL: Chapel Library, 2017, p.17). From this definition, we can draw out three aims that possess the witness of Scripture: Our aim is to exalt the Lord, edify the church and evangelize the lost as they witness our exaltati ..read more

An interview with Angela Roberts, worship coordinator for Dawson Memorial Baptist Church in Birmingham Before we get into the details of worship planning, tell us about your role. You’re the worship coordinator at Dawson, which is different than the music & worship pastor. What are your responsibilities? I’m like the middle of the wheel, pulling together all the details from multiple staff members and teams, taking worship services from their planning phases all the way to the worship services on Sunday morning. My job is to be informed of all parts of the worship service and be ..read more

Does your church livestream its worship services? Play music when callers are put on hold on the telephone? Photocopy music compositions for choir use? If you answered yes to any of those questions, then your church needs to consider if its copyright compliance is up to date and covers all copyright-protected activities of your church. “Church leaders need to be much more aware of what types of works are copyrighted and that permission or licensing is required in order to legally use the works,” said Susan Fontaine Godwin, founder and owner of Alabama-based Christian Copyright Solutions (CCS ..read more