Worship
The worship ministry at Stonegate exists to serve our mission of “enjoying Jesus and making disciples”. Through song, poetry and other artistic expressions, we work to make the good news of Jesus accessible and clear so that each Sunday we, as a church, can enjoy Jesus together.
What Is Worship?
Simply put, worship is a boasting in Jesus Christ in all that a believer thinks, says and does (Phil. 3:3). This boasting in Jesus is grounded in seeing Him as the supreme, soul satisfying treasure of our hearts (Phil 3:3,7-8). Therefore our chief aim is to lay the person and work of Jesus before our people from week to week in hopes that the Holy Spirit would give them eyes to see His beauty.
We agree with the New Testament that worship is not just as a Sunday activity, but a lifestyle to be expressed by every Christian (John 4:21-23). Therefore, we gather to worship God corporately on Sundays with a view to scattering the rest of the week to worship Him wherever He has placed us by loving and serving our families and neighbors.
We recognize both a vertical and a horizontal component of corporate worship. Vertically, we direct our praise to God in Christ by the Spirit for all He is and does for His church (Philippians 3:3, John 4:23-24).
Horizontally, our songs are also intended to be heard by God’s people to strengthen, admonish and encourage them. This is why corporate gatherings are so crucial for us. As we sing together we remind each other of the truths we are to treasure (Ephesians 5:19, Colossians 3:16, 1 Corinthians 14:26).
According to Revelation 7:9, one of God’s visions for His Church is diversity. Believing that God desires us to share that vision, we are committed to expressions of worship that reflect the increasingly diverse cultural and ethnic makeup of our community. Our song styles span modern contemporary music, gospel music, historic hymnody and soul. No one in our church should feel the need to hang their culture up at the door when we gather to worship. We believe singing songs that resonate with a person’s musical heritage can help remove an obstacle from them connecting with God, which is our main aim as we gather.
We believe we have a responsibility beyond the walls of our church to equip and prepare the next generation of worship leaders, artists, and creatives to serve their varied local churches in ways that are helpful and biblical. Our 2 year Worship Institute has been created to serve that end.
We work with those leading worship to develop them in a handful of key areas— in theology, leadership, craft and character. Our monthly meetings consist of presentations from reading assignments, guest speakers, and occasional labs where students get to exercise the skills and disciplines they’ve been learning throughout the program.
For more information on our Worship Institute program and how to apply click below.
Next Steps
If you have any additional questions, please feel free to email us below.