Posted June 17, 2002
From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise. . . . (Psalm 8:2 NIV)
 In my opinion, nothing
compares with the sound of children's voices singing praises to God. The
purity of tone reminds me of the purity of heart we need to have when we
worship. Through their singing, I can see more clearly why Jesus says we
must become like little children.
I have worked with children's choirs in the church off and on for about 15 years. For much of that time my involvement was rather impulsive and sporadic. Whenever I was inspired with an idea, I threw a choir together. Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth, sing praise to the Lord... (Psalm 68:32 NIV) About 2½ years ago, my friend, Aaron Breford began to encourage me to take a more organized, thoughtful and prayerful approach to children's music in the church and to build the ministry. When he asked me to jot down some of the things I've learned in this experience, I was eager to do so. I am grateful for his vision, his contagious passion and his support. The following tips are just some things I've tried that have worked pretty well for us after much trial and error. I hope you can find something that is useful or helpful. 1. Take time to dream, and then EXPRESS those DREAMS AND EXPECTATIONS clearly to ministry staff, parents and children. After you have met with appropriate ministry people and they feel great about your ideas, set up a parent meeting. Provide a list of goals and dreams for a children's music ministry. Make sure the parents understand the reasons behind your expectations so that you are able to work together as a team. This will help you avoid misunderstanding and frustration in the future. At the beginning of each quarter and other times as well, share your dreams and goals and go over rules and expectations with the children. 2. After you have had a general meeting and have made a list of interested singers, FIGURE OUT WHAT AGE-GROUPINGS WILL WORK BEST FOR YOU AND YOUR CHURCH. This will vary with the size of the children's ministry and where the talent and interest is greatest. Try not to make too wide of an age range in any one choir, or the older kids feel "uncool" and the younger ones may not meet the musical challenges. Currently Cincinnati has a 4-5-year-old choir (Little Star), a K-2nd grade choir (Shining Star), and a 3rd - 6th grade choir (Golden Star). If we had a larger preteen ministry with more musical interest, I would divide the older choir into a 3rd - 4th grade choir and a Preteen choir. You may want to start with one or two choirs and let them evolve and grow as your musical influence builds the children's confidence and draws in more interest. 3. ASSIGN PARENT VOLUNTEERS. This not only helps you stay sane and unfrazzled, but it allows the parents to share ownership in the choir. More specifics about ways parents can help will be included in subsequent points. 4. Try to PLAN OUT PERFORMANCES 6 months to a year IN ADVANCE. Work closely with your worship coordinator to decide how often and when the choirs will perform. My older kids usually perform at least once every 5 - 8 weeks. The younger choirs sing between 2-5 times a year. 5. FIND A CONSISTENT WEEKLY TIME TO REHEARSE. In Cincinnati, Sunday mornings work best. Golden Star practices from 8:45 - 9:30 a.m. This is especially convenient for parents who are Kingdom Kids teachers and have to be at church early anyway. It is a little more of a sacrifice for the other parents, but at least they don't have to make an extra trip on a different day or evening. Parents can use the extra time to fellowship or finish their quiet times before church starts. Shining Star meets 15 minutes after service. This rehearsal ends 1/2 hour after it starts. The Little Star choir has a different director and practices during church in their classrooms. This group performs about twice a year. The practices are only about 15 minutes each and occur weekly for about a month before a performance. 6. COMMUNICATE REGULARLY AND OFTEN WITH PARENTS. As a parent of two very busy school-aged children, I have come to realize that there is no such thing as too much communication. We parents need all the help we can get to remember our families' schedules and activities. I try to cover all bases: midweek announcement sheets, notes distributed to individual classes at midweek and Sunday mornings, and weekly telephone messages and reminders. Here's one place where parent volunteers can be a big help. You (or they) can type up an alphabetical phone list, you can give them the weeks announcements, and then assign names for them to call. 7. HAVE A ROUTINE FOR YOUR REHEARSALS AND KEEP IT FAIRLY CONSISTENT. This makes the children feel secure, cuts down on discipline problems, and has proven to be efficient and effective. My routine is something like this: Silent stretches, rhythmic and vocal pattern-imitation, breathing exercises, "thought for the day", opening prayer, vocal scales and other warm ups, song rehearsal, and announcements. Although my basic routine is the same for all age groups, the content and amount of time on each element is adjusted for age appropriateness. 8. KEEP THE REHEARSALS SPIRITUAL. Make sure you have a great quiet time first and foremost. Share a motivating scripture or spiritual "thought for the day" before every rehearsal. Always discuss the meaning and motivation behind the text that they are learning to sing. Occasionally prepare a more in-depth devotional for the older choir to address specific heart issues as they arise - jealousy, selfishness, laziness, commitment, responsibility, whole-heartedness, etc. If children are habitually late, miss practices without an explanation, or do not give their heart to rehearsals, this must be addressed with the children individually and with the parents of the children who are having these problems. Pray before rehearsing and performing. My choirs remind me if I ever forget to do this. I feel like they are learning how important it is to bring God into the rehearsal or performance through prayer. 9. SAFETY FIRST. I have a sign-in and sign-out sheet and a parent volunteer at the door. Make sure there is at least one or two other adults in the room at all times during the rehearsal to handle bathroom needs or other "emergencies". One time, due to a misunderstanding, a parent was an hour late picking up their child after practice. I canceled my plans and waited with the child, even though someone volunteered to wait with them for me. Remember, you are responsible for the safety of the children until the parents pick them up. 10. DON'T JUST TEACH THE SONGS, TRAIN THE CHILDREN TO SING. If you are not a music teacher by profession, get some tips from someone who is on how to teach musicianship, vocal technique, rhythm and pitch, etc. Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy. (Psalm 33:3 NIV) 11. ENCOURAGE HOME PRACTICE. I make practice tapes for my choirs. It can be time-consuming to dub vocals for each voice part of every song, especially those with 2-3 part harmony, but I've found it really pays off. Home practice makes a huge difference. I provide folders with lyrics typed out of each song we are working on. You can either keep receipts and be reimbursed by the church for tapes, folders, etc., or you could ask parents to pay a small choir fee before each quarter. Ideally, it would be nice to have enough sheet music for each child. This would provide opportunities to learn sight reading (a very valuable skill!), while still complying with copyright laws. Unfortunately, many churches do not have enough in the budget to cover this expense, so most learning is rote. 12. HAVE A GREAT SOUND CHECK on performance day. It is a shame to prepare so diligently for weeks with the children, only to have the microphones out of balance or the accompaniment drowning out the singers during the special service. Stress to the parents the importance of being on time for sound checks. If only a few children are present when you test the microphones, you are not going to get an accurate balance of sound. Also, the children will look and feel insecure, not knowing where to stand.
Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap . . . (Luke 6:38 NIV) Cincinnati Children's Choir Goals
Cyndie Imfeld is the Children's Choir Director for the Cincinnati Church of Christ. She has a degree from Bowling Green State University in Music Education, and has been a music specialist for Hamilton County MRDD (Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities) for 15 years. She also has sung as a soprano soloist and as a vocal ensemble member for the church over the last 20 years. Click below to see three video clips from the Father's Day 2002 Service.
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The goals that follow
were compiled last fall, and I am amazed at how many of them God is fulfilling
already this year. In February, Golden Star sang 3-part harmony with a
confidence, joy and cohesiveness I have never seen or heard before. In the
auditorium were grandparents, teachers, dads, moms and friends, many of whom
came out to church primarily to hear their loved one sing. While in the service,
they were able to hear the word preached powerfully, and to experience the
electricity and wonder of music, worship and fellowship in God's kingdom.
Do you see the value and need for a children's choir in your congregation?
Can you meet that need? Don't wait for someone to ask you to do it. Don't
wait for someone else to make it happen. If God has blessed you with musical
talent and training, you answer the call.
