title: Today’s Song for Tomorrow’s Church: The Role Played by Contemporary Popular Music in Attracting Young People to Church
Creators: name: Hall, Margaret
Publisher: name: Griffith University
Year: 2007
Subjects: subject: youth
subject: church music
subject: megachurches
subject: Australia
subject: contemporary popular music
subject: mainstream churches
subject: Christian

description: This thesis is a phenomenology highlighting the phenomenon of declining youth attendance at mainstream churches where traditional church music is used in worship and the emergence of megachurches where young people are attending and contemporary popular styles of music is used in worship. An Australian Broadcasting Authority survey in 1999 revealed that music is a major influence in the lives of youth, assisting in their identity creation, in their making friends, and in relieving their stress. The survey also notes that youth prefer contemporary popular music and, in particular, rock. This is in stark contrast to the traditional music played and sung in mainstream churches, which tends to be neither meaningful nor relevant to youth, largely because they do not identify with it. An increasing proportion of youth are rejecting the mainstream traditional churches such as Anglican, Catholic, Baptist, Uniting Church. National Church Life Surveys in Australia show that by 2001, only fourteen percent of church attenders were young adults. Young non-attenders complained they found church services boring and unfulfilling. This declining youth membership does not auger well for the mainstream church’s future. It is clearly evident that, in Australian society a culture gap has emerged between the secular world and the mainstream Christian church. This thesis examines the role of contemporary popular music in attracting young people to church. Although, in comparatively recent times there has been some movement towards contemporizing worship services in mainstream churches, the change has met strong resistance, but that resistance is based on invalid arguments and the mainstream church is yet to respond effectively to the increasing culture gap and growing alienation of the young. Mainstream congregations are not adequately encouraged to participate in singing praise and thanks to God. Although the lyrics of songs that focus on thanks and praise can teach a Christian message, as well as promote an awareness of the presence of God, the importance of this aspect of worship appears to have been overlooked, even though music has always been a part of worship, with multiple biblical scriptures cementing its pivotal role. In 1980 twelve people began Christian City Church (CCC), a new church which was not one of the mainstream churches, with a vision to communicate the Christian message to the whole of Sydney. CCC used contemporary music as a vehicle to make their message relevant. That church has been strikingly successful, and had grown to five thousand members by 2004. This thesis focusses on a case study of the music of CCC to test a hypothesis that the use of contemporary popular styles of music, with a focus on thanks and praise, can play a significant role in attracting young people to join and remain as members, and that such music can be influential in communicating an experiential understanding of the Christian message. The aim of the case study was to discover whether the music was similar in style to young people’s preferred styles of music, whether they actively participated in its performance, whether it communicated to them, whether the lyrics conveyed a Christian message, and finally whether the congregation was both increasing and retaining young people as members. The songs examined in the study revealed that the music and paramusical aspects of the songs were similar to those of contemporary popular songs. The lyrics of the songs included themes of thanks and praise to God, and as such conveyed a Christian message. Thirty percent of the worship service was devoted to music praising God, and forty-nine percent of the church’s 5,000 members in 2004, were under twenty-five years. Further, the congregation participated enthusiastically in singing, an emphasis on belonging to small groups encouraged fellowship, and sermons addressed problems relevant to young people. It is proposed that CCC provides a pattern that mainstream churches could adapt, including the encouragement of congregational singing and worship, creation of effective small groups, relevant preaching, education opportunities, and culturally appropriate music. It is clear that contemporary and culturally appropriate music has played a significant and vital role in CCC’s successful development. To attract and retain youth membership, music needs to be contemporary, and culturally appropriate, thereby filling the gap between the secular world and the church. Contemporary popular music could provide today’s song for tomorrow’s church.