| 1. | A description of proposed
plan and how it relates to the church's basic purpose:
Music is the centerpiece of Christian worship (Ephesians 5:19), and
scripture is replete with instances of worship performed (Matthew 9:18;
Revelation 4:10, 11). It has been commanded by God (1 Chronicles
16:29), and the aspects and uses of music are more than adequate to
emphasize its importance (Isaiah 5:12, Jeremiah 7:34, 1 Chronicles
13:6--8).
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| 2. | Why is this ministry needed?
As mentioned above, worship is a requirement by God (1 Chronicles
16:29). Music specifically is useful can be used for witnessing
(Deuteronomy 31:1922), rallying the people of God (Numbers 21:17),
and as integral pillars of worship services (1 Chronicles 13:7, 8).
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| 3. | The Costs to the church (in
detail):
Last year: $9,500.00![]()
This year: $10,000.00
As our church increased in size, more participants became available to the
music ministry. This growth was more or less parallel; consequently, the
purchase of new music will need to be expanded to accommodate this
level of participation.
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| 4. | What this will mean to the church in
opportunities and costs in 1--3 years:
Psalm 98:1 emphasizes the main purpose of song: "O sing unto the Lord a
new song; for he hath done marvelous things." The passage goes on to
describe this new song: the celebration of the final victory God has
promised us; the free availability of His salvation; and his open acts of
mercy. Scripture does not tell us of more powerful tools for communicating
this great news to the people of God and to the lost.
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| 5. | Alternatives:
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| a. | In order to accommodate the
necessity of purchasing new music, fewer units can be ordered. This will
result in sharing music, which itself will result in slowing the choirs'
learning curves and diminishing overall quality.
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| b. | Music can be written in-house, which will be
essentially free (less paper costs and other related overhead). However,
writing and developing music is a time-consuming process and will prevent
those who would be performing this service from offering their talents in
other important places. This seems to be not cost-effective if resources
already exist to make new music available.
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