Church Executive SEPT / OCT 2019 DIGITAL ISSUE | Page 36

What Worship War?
Researchers Examine Music in
Church Worship Services
In August, Nashville-based LifeWay Research released the
findings of a new study surveying pastors about the style of music
used in their churches during worship services.
The poll for this survey was conducted in August and September
of last year and consisted of calling 1,000 Protestant pastors,
randomly selected from a list of all Protestant churches in the
United States.
In the article sharing the results of the poll, Aaron Earls,
an online editor and writer for LifeWay Christian Resources,
addresses the “so-called worship wars” that some people claim
churches experience over the style of music used in the church.
According to the results, not many churches actually feel any
pressure on this topic, and apparently neither do congregants.
“A previous study from LifeWay Research found 5 percent of
Protestant churchgoers say they would find a new church if the
music style changed at their current congregation,” Earls wrote
in the article. “[This is] far behind issues like the church making
a doctrinal shift (54 percent) or the preaching style changing (19
percent).”
Here are the highlights of the phone survey’s responses:
• 15 percent of Protestant pastors in the U.S. said the biggest
challenge they face in the area of music is navigating the varying
music preferences of members.
• 16 percent said their most significant challenge is leading people
to truly worship God.
• 21 percent said they struggle with finding musicians and
vocalists.
• 8 percent said their biggest challenge is finding a music leader.
• 4 percent said lacking the finances to do what they want to do is
their biggest obstacle.
• 3 percent said they struggle to define a musical style for their
church.
• A third of respondents said none of these things are their primary
obstacle.
• 7 percent of pastors of small churches (those with less than 50
attendees) said that their biggest challenge is navigating music
preferences.
• The youngest pastors, those 18 to 44, were more likely (24
percent) than the oldest pastors, those 65 and older, to say finding
musicians and vocalists is their biggest challenge (16 percent).
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CHURCH EXECUTIVE | SEPT / OCT 2019
• 79 percent of Protestant pastors said that piano music is a regular
part of their worship service music.
• 60 percent of pastors said their services regularly feature songs
led by an individual worship leader, compared to 52 percent who
said the songs are led by a praise team and the 33 percent who said
the songs are led by the choir.
• Around half of churches regularly feature organ music (47
percent) or a praise band (46 percent).
• Fewer pastors said songs featuring only the choir (32 percent) or
songs using accompaniment tracks (22 percent) are a regular part
of their worship service music.
• Close to 1 in 10 (9 percent) said they regularly include orchestra
music.
• African-American pastors (48 percent) are more likely than white
pastors (32 percent) to say their church regularly includes songs
featuring only the choir in their worship services.
• Pastors of the smallest churches (less than 50 in attendance) are
the least likely to say they regularly have songs featuring only the
choir or songs led by the choir (both 21 percent).
• More than twice as many pastors of churches with less than 50
in attendance (85 percent) said they use hymnals in their worship
service as churches with 250 or more (41 percent).
• Churches with 250 or more in attendance, however, are the most
likely to regularly feature a rhythm section or praise band music
(75 percent) and songs led by a praise team (79 percent).
• Pastors at Pentecostal churches are most likely to say their church
worship services feature songs led by a praise team (82 percent)
and praise band music (73 percent). Pentecostal church pastors are
also the least likely to say they regularly sing songs from a hymnal
(32 percent).
• Lutheran pastors (88 percent) are the most likely to say their
worship services regularly have organ music.
• Pastors of churches in the Northeast (58 percent) and Midwest
(54 percent) are also more likely to say they have organ music than
those in the South (43 percent) and West (36 percent).
• More than 9 in 10 pastors (92 percent) said they and their church
music leader have high levels of mutual respect, while 71 percent
said they collaborate a lot in planning worship services.