After reading Part One of this article (see previous post) you may be thinking, “Okay, I agree that multicultural worship is important and beneficial to my congregation, but HOW DO I LEAD IT?”

For leaders of congregational worship, it is important to consider how best to plan and implement multicultural worship services that faithfully respect cultures and honor Jesus.

It is impossible to cover every option for leading multicultural worship in this short article, but here are a few ideas:

Before you begin planning or leading multicultural worship, PRAY. Ask God for clear guidance on how to proceed. Next, BE A LEARNER. Spend time with people in your church that are from a different culture than your own. Listen to their stories. Learn about their cultural traditions, songs, and worship practices. Don’t just listen to gain ideas for worship planning. Listen in order to really get to know them and develop a relationship with them.

Next, speak to your church’s leadership (senior pastor, elder board, etc.) to discuss your vision and conviction. Once you’ve communicated your vision and have the support of your church leadership, begin to slowly incorporate multicultural elements into the worship service. Cultural changes/shifts take time so DON’T RUSH.

Let’s discuss three areas of worship to consider:

MUSIC

Begin singing songs from cultures other than your congregation’s primary demographic, written by songwriters from those cultures. What if you don’t know any of those songs or songwriters? This is why I have encouraged you to spend time with those in your congregation from other cultures. Ask questions. I have also provided a resource list at the bottom of this article. And if you don’t have anyone who can lead musically that is from a culture other than the primary culture within the congregation, it’s okay. You can still lead multicultural worship.

Did you know the popular worship song Way Maker was written by a female Nigerian worship leader? Does your congregation know that? Does your congregation know A Mighty Fortress Is Our God was written by a 16th century German pastor? Unless your congregation is a German reformed congregation, A Mighty Fortress is a multicultural song for you. Before singing one of these songs, tell your congregation the background story of the song. Share with them about how singing songs from other cultures reminds us that we are part of the global Christian community.

You can also sing songs in different languages. Is there a large Hispanic population within the surrounding community of your church? You can incorporate Spanish into your songs. Again, start slowly. When you first introduce this idea, select a chorus of a song that has simple Spanish lyrics. For instance, you can sing Open the Eyes of My Heart by Paul Baloche. The chorus is “Holy, holy, holy. Holy, holy, holy. Holy, holy, holy. I want to see you.” The Spanish lyrics for that chorus are pretty simple, even for those who might not know Spanish: “Santo, santo, santo. Santo, santo, santo. Santo, santo, santo. Yo quiero verte.” After a couple of instances singing a simple chorus in another language, you can then add a verse. You can even place two languages side by side on the screen or in the bulletin so your congregation can sing both languages at the same time. For instance, those whose heart language is Spanish could sing the Spanish lyrics, while others will sing the primary language of the congregation. This is a wonderful way to remind the congregation that we are practicing for worship in heaven as multiple languages sing together, at the same time, united in Christ.

PRAYER

Invite someone in your congregation who speaks a language other than the primary language of the congregation to pray. A great way to implement this is by offering two prayers–one in the primary language of the congregation and a second in another language. These could even be the same prayer. Since this is congregational worship we should be encouraging the congregation to participate in worship, and this allows the congregation to know what is being prayed and to agree with the prayer.

SCRIPTURE

Design Scripture readings that incorporate various languages. You can see some ideas on our Worship Quest Resource page on this website. For instance, take a look at these examples: Revelation 19:1–9 or Psalm 103.

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Again, a key aspect of beginning to incorporate multicultural worship is to begin slowly, but purposefully. If multicultural worship is a new practice for your congregation, begin on Pentecost Sunday or on the National Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. These are natural times for the congregation to hear multiple languages within the worship service and have their attention drawn to multicultural expressions of worship. You can then incorporate multicultural worship throughout the rest of the year and soon it will become a natural expression of worship for your congregation.

In conclusion, multicultural worship is an important aspect of our response of worship to God as a community of believers. When we join together with people who might not look like us, speak like us, or seem to have much in common with us at all, we are blessed and encouraged to realize that it is within our diversity that we find unity – in Jesus Christ.

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RESOURCES

Arts Release is a wonderful ministry encouraging congregations to think about multicultural worship. You can invite the band to hold workshops or lead worship at your church or local gathering.

The Global Consultation of Arts and Music in Mission will be offering their popular GCAMM conference in Dallas this year July 12–15, 2021