When it comes to worship in Alabama Baptist churches, good things are happening, Jonathan Rodgers said — and he has research to prove it.
Over the past year or so, Rodgers, assistant professor of music and worship at Samford University, has surveyed and interviewed hundreds of worship leaders across the state.
The goal of the project was to gain a clearer picture of worship practices within Southern Baptist churches in Alabama, from who is leading the service to the instrumentation, song selection and other elements incorporated into the service. Overall, the results point to a lot of positives, he said.
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“In general, healthy worship is taking place in Alabama Baptist churches,” Rodgers said. “Leaders are seeing engagement and participation in worship, and churches are trying to encourage younger worship leaders.”
The vast majority of churches surveyed (88%) reported having one style of service, and most could be described as a blended style, Rodgers said. Defining terms like “traditional” and “contemporary” is very subjective, he added, but those surveyed said they try to choose a mix of old and new songs, utilizing choirs and worship teams accompanied by a range of instruments but primarily piano and guitar.
Those surveyed said their services typically run 60 to 75 minutes long, but Rodgers noted that prayer, Scripture reading and ordinances like the Lord’s Supper are not incorporated as often as he expected.
‘Room for improvement’
“I’d suggest there’s some room for improvement there,” Rodgers said. “I was really surprised at how few said Scripture reading outside of the sermon text was part of the service.”
More than two thirds of surveyed worship leaders (65%) are over 50, he said, indicating a troubling trend that others have noted.
“Worship leaders are aging,” Rodgers said. “I was encouraged to see that there are some younger leaders in the pipeline, but I would encourage churches to do what they can to bring up the next generation of leaders.”
Rodgers said the results of this study will help him and others at Samford better prepare students for future roles in the local church. He also hopes the research will help current worship leaders and other ministers evaluate their services and consider how the incorporated elements are fostering congregational participation.
“We know that people want to sing,” Rodgers said. “Leaders would do well to make sure they’re picking songs that encourage people to sing, as well as to incorporate Scripture reading and other elements that allow more participation in worship.”
Full survey
Read the full results of the worship practices survey at https://www.samford.edu/programs/grants/survey-of-southern-baptist-churches-worship-practices-in-alabama.
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