WAM! You may be asking yourself, what in the world is WAM? No, it is not a misspelling of the English pop duo from the 80’s. WAM is our Worship Arts Ministry for kids here at FBCW. Let’s take a walk down memory lane. Back in 1995, we began a Children’s Music Ministry with a Children’s Choir for grades 1-6. The choir met weekly, during the school year, and presented a concert in the spring. We soon realized that we were missing an opportunity to reach the younger children of our church and added a Preschool Choir for ages 3-kindergarten.
Those early years proved to be a wonderful foundation for what is now Worship Arts Ministry for kids. What began as primarily a focus on singing, rhythm and instruments has evolved to include multiple creative arts including dance, drama, sign language, photography, sewing, art, cooking, carpentry, etc. WAM was born out of a desire for kids to have an opportunity to express their worship through all areas of creative arts.
A brief look at church music history reveals that the debate surrounding the appropriateness of using the arts in worship dates back to the earliest centuries of Christianity. We know that early Christians sang during worship, but the use of instruments, let alone other forms of creative arts, was scarce. I believe scripture helps us move past tradition in our understanding of worship. I love how the psalmist calls believers to praise the Lord.
“Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens! Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness! Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals! Praise the Lord!” Psalm 150:1-6
God has given each one of us so many gifts, talents and abilities. I believe He wants us to use them all to glorify Him and point others to Him. What a blessing it is seeing the kids in WAM use their creative arts to worship and praise the Lord.
Fast-forward to 2018. On Wednesday, December 5, we enjoyed our 2nd annual WAM Christmas Open House. The kids were able to use their creative arts gifts to share about the greatest gift of all…JESUS! We look forward to our 2019 Kick-off on Wednesday, January 9, as we continue to explore ways to worship and glorify the Lord with the creative arts gifts He has given.
Please pray for WAM! Pray that the kids who already know the Lord grow to know Him more and worship Him in Spirit and Truth. Pray for the kids that don’t know the Lord to hear the gospel and give their lives to Him. Pray and ask the Lord if He’s calling you to serve in WAM.
My prayer for all of us is that we would make Him known, not just through the songs we sing, but also the words we say and the lives we live. May all that He has created in us be used for His glory!