The Definition of Music Ministry
The profession, duties and services of a musician in a religious setting define a music ministry. Those in the music ministry are responsible for directing and making music for religious worship during church services. Most often these are paid positions, but sometimes, in smaller churches, volunteers will do these jobs. In many churches, one person will do the work of two or more positions.
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Music Directors
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In the music ministry, music directors report to the priest or pastor of their church and are in charge of all the other music ministers in the church. Music directors plan and choose music that corresponds to the Bible passages and sermon of the service. They are also often the choir director and organist.
Music ministry is focused on serving, rather than performing. All the music made is meant to bring both the musicians and congregation closer to God. As part of the ministry, music directors also lead the paid and volunteer musicians in prayer before services.
Choir Directors
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Choir directors recruit and lead a group of all volunteer or mostly volunteer singers. For their ministry, they choose the anthem, with the pastor's and music director's approval, and rehearse it with the choir, generally in one midweek rehearsal and one before-service rehearsal. Churches can have one adult choir director, one youth choir director and one children's choir director, but often all three positions are handled by one person.
In the service, the choir anthem is usually sung before, after or during the collection. Each church service generally has three or more hymns, in which the choir will lead the congregation in singing.
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Organist/Pianist
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While a minority of churches have both an organist and a pianist, most churches hire one or the other to accompany the congregation and choir during the hymns and anthem. The organist or pianist's music ministry also includes playing preludes as people are finding their seats before service, the offertory as the collection is being taken and postludes as people leave and congregate after the service. If the organist/pianist is not also serving as choir director, he is usually responsible for accompanying the choir rehearsals during the week.
Instrumental Musicians
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Instrumental musicians have many opportunities to serve in the music ministry, too. More and more churches are hiring a praise band for at least one of the weekly services. During the summer, most church choirs take a break, and instrumental musicians provide music for the service, often accompanied by the piano or organ. At special services, small orchestral ensembles will sometimes be assembled to accompany the singers or provide special music. Also, the preludes, offertory and postludes sometimes include an instrumental musician or ensemble.
Lead Singers
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The choir is a big part of the music ministry. While most choir singers are volunteers, larger churches often have paid leads for each section of the choir: soprano, alto, tenor and bass. Lead singers are professional musicians, so they learn their music before rehearsal and can help teach the volunteer musicians their parts, as well as add to the quality of the choir as a whole. Sometimes the lead tenor will also serve as cantor, if the service calls for any "call and response" songs.
Hand-bell Directors
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Because they often only play on special occasions, hand-bell directors are an often overlooked area of the music ministry. Hand-bell directors lead the hand-bell choir in weekly rehearsal. While a few churches have hand-bell choirs that play every week, most hand-bell choirs play an offertory only during the special services of the church year.
Cantors
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Cantors lead the congregation in song, particularly in the "call and response" style found in temples, synagogues and Catholic and Orthodox churches. A cantor sings a line to the congregation, and the congregation responds with another line. The song is often a prayer.
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References
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