Today I visited a church that I had visited a number of times before and there are many reasons to keep returning. One reason is that they care about other people, not just themselves. They have a program that encourages the members to give a tithe (10 percent of income) but to divide it between the church and other ministries. They call it 5 and 5. They encourage you to give 5 percent to the church and 5 percent to another Christian ministry. I have never seen a church suggest this.

Statistically, most American church members give the church 3 percent or less, so encouraging 5 and 5 is a way to get them to actually give more. I'm sure that many of them give a percentage of their income to other ministries, so encouraging them to give 5 percent to the church might be an increase, and it may even encourage people to give more than normal.

Since we're not living in a time when people have learned how to give to the church, the church must find ways to encourage parishioners to give more to the church.

Interestingly, as much as I enjoy this church they have begun doing something that is beginning to trouble me—they have quit using a choir and a praise team and have gone to a star kind of worship leader. I have been to the church four times in the last six weeks and the choir has not sung once. Each time they have had one singer and a band. They are excellent musicians. But the congregation has basically quit singing. There are a few people who sing, but generally speaking the people have stopped. I know that this is a personal prejudice of mine since I have been a music director for many years, but when the congregation quits singing there is a need to reconsider what you are doing.

I will continue to visit this church because they really do most things very well, but just like any church they will make mistakes at times and it's important that they continually evaluate what they do and its impact on their congregation.

[Editor's Note: Church Central's Church Health Encyclopedia suggests that low participation in singing may indicate a worship style change that is too abrupt; new and unfamiliar songs; or just the opposite—old and stale worship services. According to the encyclopedia, "Worship is always best if the greatest percentages of attenders are actually participating in worship. If church members are not participating in the singing at your church, the problem may lie more with the worship ministry than with the members themselves."

In addition, the encyclopedia recommends no choice of music style over another. Instead, teaching about the nature of worship may be more effective for lackadaisical singers in a congregation. "In reality, worship does not depend on any one particular style of music; it depends on the heart of the person and that person's relationship to God," according to the encyclopedia.

Determining styles that may be appropriate to a particular congregation is as simple as asking church members what Christian music they listen to, what Christian music their kids listen to, and what their favorite Christian songs are.]

Ken Johnson is a graduate of Church Central Consultant Training. He heads the Ken Johnson Group, consulting small to medium-sized churches that are struggling to stay alive.

Reprinted with permission from The Ken Johnson Group.