Ps 66:1, 2 Chronicles 20:15-22, Ps 33:3

Steve Gambill

Did you know that the average 14-17 year old is actively listening to almost three hours of music everyday? Wow that is a lot of listening! It proves the point that music is the mainstay of the British youth culture and has been ever since the Beatles! From Bangra to UK Garage today's young people are listening actively and passively to over 6 hours of music a day.

I have been fascinated with how much people listen to music everyday. After spending much of my youth learning to play instruments and studying music I have picked up some things along the way about how to make the most of music to enhance your ministry.

Current statistics reveal that:

• 92% of 14-17 yr olds own an MP3 player


• When asked what three items people would take to a desert island, music was the top choice in every age group. 73% of people would take music!

Why is music so important to people? To answer these questions lets go to the book. Music has over 100 references in the Bible. Even the longest Bible book is a songbook!

1. Music captures attention
Ps 66:1 says to "Make a joyful noise". Nothing captures the attention of people better than a joyful noise. A joyful noise will set an atmosphere that is contagious. If you want to capture the attention of young people, use music creatively.

Over the years, we have turned cars into drums, created numerous bands, empowered djs and dance crews, helped inspire songwriters, recorded multiple albums and DVDs and so much more. Even this weekend Jock, Matt and Mark (our worship pastors) will have over 1000 musicians and singers at Abundant Life for a Music Training Day. Why are so many coming? Because music captures the attention of people.

2. Music raises the spiritual temperature
Read 2 Chronicles 20:15-22 when King Jehoshaphat was about to be invaded by an enemy army, he put his band out in the front of his army and they sang praises to God. That took some guts to put the band out front. But King Jehoshaphat knew that the Battle was the Lord's. So "when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushes against the people of Ammon Moab, and Mount Seir" and the battle was won. The Bible teaches that God inhabits the praises of his people. When God inhabits the atmosphere anything is possible.

Years ago, I realized that if we were going to see young people saved and growing in God we would need a good praise and worship band. The problem was we didn't have a praise and worship band. The few musicians we had were already stretched too thin and bringing in guest bands were too expensive, so we decided to train our own team up, give young people private music lessons and to rehearse them weekly. Our goal was to help our young people be the best they could be musically.

Ps 33:3 "Sing to him a new song, play skillfully and shout for joy". It wasn't long before the band was playing once a quarter, then once a month, then every week! Today we have four different praise and worship bands every Friday that lead each age range. Three of these are in Bradford and one is in Belfast. Throughout this journey I have been amazed what God can do.

3. Music context
Understanding the context of how we arrived at our current stage of musicality is helpful to interpret where our music will take us in the 21st century.

In the beginning...there was Js Bach. Bach was a Christian and wrote for the glory of God. He is considered the father of western music and lived from 1685-1750 and wrote definitive volumes for church choirs, for violin, cello, and many other instruments that are still in use today. He was Director of Music in Leipzig for 17 years for the churches in the city and composed two local church music programmes every week. Bach would often use common melodies of the day...even pub drinking songs and reset it to a whole composition for church use. In his early days, Bach was sometimes criticized for composing relevant music in church. But over time, Composers such as Haydn Handel, Beethoven, Mendelssohn along with many of their contemporaries had the goal of composing music for the glory of God that was relevant to people. Studying their creative style has provided me with inspiration and a context to encourage our musicians that are writing and leading today. Although largely forgotten today these composers have greatly shaped the way we use chords and melody.

In 1983 a musical phenomenon was born. An unknown company was launched and began to use the vision of putting music on televisions. Their mission statement was to 'Own this Generation". The Company is MTV and today they have become a household word in most nations in the world today. They are the only TV Company to have the mission statement to own a generation. Today's young people are growing up watching MTV's programmes and shows, while much of the music in our churches has lost its attention grabbing power and influence.

In order to help gain the attention I would like to share 7 top tips from our journey that's road and crash tested.

Top seven tips for team

• Purchase a good metronome and use it in rehearsals for the band. Tama Rhythm Watch is a good one and is available at most music stores for less than £100


• Encourage young people to get involved in their school music programmes. Nearly every school offers private lessons at discounted rates for a variety of instruments. Find out what's available in your area and encourage young people to sign up!


• Learn and teach the difference between practice and rehearsal. Every musician should have a practice routine. If your rehearsal is the only time people touch their instruments then you are in trouble! Best if you can rehearse at least twice a week, but practice everyday.


• Encourage each individual to both read music and play by ear. Often musicians can either read or they can play by ear. Developing people to do both is a huge asset in learning more songs and playing tighter.


• Always remember that praise and worship is part of a bigger picture. Musicians and singers play an important part but its not more vital than a car park steward, welcome team member or bus driver.


• Listen. Listening to as many different music styles is a great help. One of my music professors used to say listen to music 90% of the time. Encourage each musician to listen to other band members as the play.


• Come prepared. When the worship team comes together, music and words should be memorized and instruments in good condition at the start of sound check.

I hope that these tips will help you enhance your music and lift the presence of God in your youth meetings to a new level. We also have new songs more help available on our websites. Have a look at the worship toolkit.

Make the most of music. It's a gift from God to enjoy and to be used for his glory and influence!