We've Got the POWR (pronounced POWER)

So the whole point of this website is to encourage and empower creativity in worship, but how do we facilitate an atmosphere in our churches and worship committees where we truly can be creative while remaining in touch with our congregations.

This is a struggle in most places as the worship planning process consists mainly of filling in the blanks where the hymns/song sets should go, with little consideration of how the “parts” of the service fit together and what those “parts” convey when considered as a whole. So things happen in worship, but not always intentionally or with much forethought.

The worship planning process in many churches also usually only involves a few people (and in some places only one). The problem being that creativity can only really flourish in the midst of the community (community being understood as more than one or two, and preferably more than five).

For us at St. Paul, the solution to dealing with these struggles has been the POWR (pronounced power) Model. A model for worship planning developed out of the by Rev. Barbara Day Miller at Candler School of Theology.

So what is POWR?

POWR stands for: Planning – Ordering – Worshiping – Reflecting

And POWR is a process of intentionally thinking about our worship, the ways that we are helping worshippers encounter God, the thoughts we’re trying to convey, and how the different parts of a worship service come together to create a dynamic whole.

The strength of this model is that it can not only encourage creativity in worship, but can empower others outside of the standard Pastor-Worship Leader-Music Director-Band circle to begin thinking creatively and theologically about worship. So this is the model we use in planning our youth and contemporary worship services where creativity and volunteer input and involvement is a high priority.

The key to the whole model is understanding that the POWR Model is a SYSTEM for an ongoing creative thought process. It’s not something you do once and quit doing. As a result, this model is centered around a series of sessions both before and after a single worship service in order to intentionally think about what is going to happen in worship, how it’s going to happen, making it happen and then thinking and reflecting critically about what actually happened. This can take place over a series of four meetings (I know that’s a lot) or be condensed down into two meetings, the important thing to remember here is that you are being intentional about thinking and discussing worship with a group.

So get ready for a new way of thinking about worship planning, creativity, and involving others in the process of developing worship services. All you need to get started is a Bible, pen, a notebook, and a few people to bounce ideas off of. I hope this process can benefit you as much as it has benefited all of us here at St. Paul.

NEXT WEEK…Planning