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If you're involved in church leadership, inevitably you'll face the question of how to incorporate contemporary praise music into your worship services. That will lead to further questions, such as: What kinds of musicians and instruments do we need to lead the congregation in praise music? What type of music will best serve our ministry? What will it cost?

Dream Up a Band
If you could plan the ideal praise band for your church, what would you include? As a church planter in Seattle, ministering to 20- to 30-something adults, some of whom go to church and some who don't, I have my own take on a dream band. My bias reflects a shift from traditional praise music to nontraditional, because most of the people I lead in corporate worship have grown up with popular music. They've listened to many of its various forms: rock, alternative, grunge, techno, R&B, acid jazz, folk, rap, lounge, reggae, and world beat. So my dream band would use pop music to lead worship.

Musicians with a Beat
Musicians of any age can play in a pop-style praise band, but younger musicians usually do better, probably because they like contemporary music and are more familiar with it. More important than age, though, or even whether someone reads music or plays by ear, is a person's ability to adapt to different types of music.

A talented jazz pianist, for instance, with little experience in pop music, could feel awkward doing rap. An experienced folk singer could be uneasy about working on R&B. Then again, maybe both could learn to appreciate and play new kinds of music. My dream band would include musicians who appreciate many types of music and are willing to learn how to play it.

Swing Singers
How many singers are needed in a praise band depends on what type of music the band will play. Most pop-style praise bands can be led by one or two vocalists, since basically all that's required of them is a good sense of rhythm and the ability to carry a melody.

For alternative rock music, you need a lead singer plus one or two backup voices. R&B music, on the other hand, may require three or four singers who can do tight harmony. Gospel music sounds more like a vocal choir with four-part harmony.

Still, each genre allows variation. For example, a rock tune, which sounds great with one or two lead singers, can sound even better when accompanied by a gospel choir.

The bottom line? In most situations, only one or two singers are necessary for a good praise band, because people listen to the drums for inspiration as much as they listen to the soprano. The important thing is to strive for voices and instruments to work together as co-leaders. Don't make one accompany the other.

Instruments to Buy
A praise band's instruments vary according to the type of music the band plays. The ideal pop praise band would include an acoustic guitar, electric guitar, electric bass, electric keyboard, drum set, percussion, and, at times, horns, such as saxophone, trumpet, trombone, and/or flute.

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