Congregational Worship Development
to create, to teach, to sing
Summary of our work for the period
January to November 2019
2017
Please, choose the direction of our ministry which is most interesting for you to learn more about it:
1. Writing new hymns and translating old ones. Read more...
2. Seminars and Singing Workshops. Read more...
3. Annual Christian Singing School. Read more...
4. Participation in the ministry activities of local churches . Read more...
5. We thank and ask for you help. Read more...
1. Writing new hymns and translating old ones
Four hymns, “Jesus lover of my soul”, “For help and mercy I will cry”, “Guide My feet”, and “Only You are Holy” have been translated into Russian. After two years of work, the project “Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs” has been completed. We made high-quality recordings of fourteen (14) songs for worship on biblical texts. Audio recordings are available on the site www.psalomgroup.com, and three collections are available for listening on YouTube:
2. Seminars and Singing Workshops
In March 2019 we visited eleven congregations in five states, working with more than 500 particiants. Two- and Three-day seminars covered diverse topics: The primary purpose of the trip to churches in the US was to introduce congregations to songs I have written on texts taken directly from scripture. This year these included two recently composed songs – “For help and mercy I will cry”(Ps. 142) and “O, come to bless the Lord” (Ps. 134), allowing us to emphasize a connection to the early church. Singing the psalms is one of the oldest of Christian practices, traceable back to the first century A.D.
Bellevue Church of Christ, Nashville, TN
Central Church of Christ, Huntsville, AL
Cox Boulevard Church of Christ, Sheffield, AL
East side Church of Christ, Cleveland, TN
Cole Mill Road Church of Christ, Durham, NC
Broken Arrow Church of Christ, OK
Northside Church of Christ, Temple, TX
Church of Christ in Hyde Park, Austin, TX
Holland Street Church of Christ, San-Marcos, TX
Mcdermott Road Church of Christ, Plano, TX
We have been encouraged to hear that the songs shared through our seminars are finding their place in the worship assemblies of the churches we visited and are being share further to other congregations we could not get to. We are striving to rekindle interest in the Book of Psalms as an unrealized treasure and inhertance for the Church, one that even teaches us about Christ and prophesied of the Messiah’s coming and of His character.
NEXT TRIP WE PLANNING IN WINTER 2020! Please, CONTACT US, if you want to host our Singing Workshop in your church.
Meeting with сommittee of Timeless Psalter & Commentary Project ( Austin, TX)
Wonderful congregation of East Side Church Of Christ (Cleveland, TN).
Our old friends from Ukraine in Broken Arrow, OK.
Mark Shipp - main editor of Timless project, autor of many translations and texts of our songs in English.
Matthew Bassford - author of the words for song based on psalm 142 "For help and mercy I will cry".
Singing workhop in Northside church of Christ (Temple, TX)
May – preparation and presentation of the Seminar “Jesus Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow. Faith in the Modern World.” in Tallinn Estonia (50 participants).
June – presentation of songs lessons at a youth camp in Estonia (around 150 participants).
September – Worship leader and teacher of lessons on the Book of Psalms at the seminar “Praise the Lord, My Soul” in Odessa, Ukraine (150 participants, with 4 baptisms).
October – Worship leader at the seminar “May Your Will Be Done” in Tallinn, Estonia (55 participants).
November – singing seminar in Stuttgart, Germany and seminar "Book of Psalms" in Cologne, Germany.
3. Annual Christian Singing School
The main goal of Singing School is to help believers realize the unbelievable gift to our faith that music can be through its capacity to reflect the grandeur, beauty, and holiness of God. Our mission is to present theologically- and musically-sound training for congregations of the Church of Christ. We offer education on the basics of musicianship, and of choral and congregational singing. Beyond this, Singing School supports the formation of a mature and biblical conception of the role of congregational singing in the life of the church and society. This year, thirty-six (36) brothers and sisters from six Siberian cities participated; for eleven (11) teen and young adult participants it was their first singing school.
Morning devotional
Each day of Singing School begins with Bible readings, prayer, and worship in song.
Fundamentals of Music
Lessons on musical fundamentals are divided into four study groups, based on experience. In these classes we introduce elementary musical knowledge and develop fluency in reading sheetmusic.
Learning songs in voice parts
Preparation for the combined singing session begins with group work where every participant learns the music for their appropriate voice part.
Combined Singing
Every day we bring all our work together so the students can hear how what they have been learning fits together with the other voice parts of new and familiar songs.
Recording
Each year, Singing School concludes by making recordings of the songs that have been learned. These recordings are made available on the site www.singingschool.ru, where believers from anywhere can hear, learn, and share new songs.
4. Participation in the ministry activities of local churches (Sermons and Lessons):
I traveled to teach lessons, and to support and participate in the worship services of congregations in the cities of Barnaul, Samara, Tallin, Moscow, Saint-Petersburg, presenting eleven (11) sermons and five (5) lessons on various themes. I prepared twelve (12) sermons for radio broadcast.
5. We thank and ask for your help
Presently, the tradition of a cappella congregational singing is facing serious trials from the influence of worldly values. We are grateful for the congregations and people who recognize the value of this tradition and are striving to support our ministry. Our ministry has existed for only a few years, but we have already witnessed many times how the Lord multiplies the little that we do. We are hoping to continue this work to the glory of our God by singing praise to Him and by spreading the Good News of His salvation.
Our special thank to Huntsville Church of Christ in MS, Cox Boulevard Church in AL and Cole Mill Road Church in NC. We hope that you will continue to support our work - for the strengthening of the Body of Christ to the Glory of God!
We are also thankful for financial help that came from churches in Russian, namely, Church of Christ On Shabolovka (Moscow) and Church of Christ On the Neva (St. Petersburg).