As some of you may be aware, I really like Christian music and listen to it a lot. Because of this, I had come across the names ‘Nick and Becky Drake’ a couple of times due to the songs that they write and sing, so it stands to reason that when I discovered they had written a book, I just had to read it.
‘Worship for Everyone’ is a book named after the ministry, which includes writing and releasing songs, of husband and wife duo Nick and Becky Drake. They are currently based in Birmingham at Gas Street Church. The ministry, and therefore the book, is excellently named as their heartbeat is to make worship accessible to everyone – not just a particular age group or generation.
I was pleased to see that the understanding of what worship is within the book reaches far beyond just merely the songs we sing together to Jesus and encompasses the entire time of the corporate gathering of a church. Having said this, the musical and singing elements that help to create a time of worship are still addressed .
The book is essentially split into three main parts. The first looks at the theology and theory of why gathered worship can and should be an expression for everyone present. They explore vision, Old and New Testament examples, things that make all-age worship difficult and unpack very well what children need in order to be able to participate as equals (and this may not be doing things that are terribly childish).
The second section looks at how songs can be chosen and delivered in a way that works for everyone in the gathering, how and why to use actions – and when not to use them. Things that help to deliver an all-age talk and there is even a section about how this can be done in an online setting, given the recent rise in online church services.
The third section is more of an appendices of samples and ideas of talks, service plans and song suggestions that help to put feet onto the theory discussed in preceding chapters.
This book was insightful and helpful. As someone who leads church services regularly that have a wide spectrum of ages and abilities present it has equipped me with some good ideas as well as caused me to re-think the way in whcih I do some things. To be more intentional about thinking about everyone present in the room, rather than just doing something because hey, it’s always done that way.
Nick and Becky’s passion for creating a time of gathered worship that helps everyone to connect with God is infectious and comes through clearly in their writing.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone involved in creating, planning, structuring any part of a worship service.
