WRSP 501 Principles of Worship and Ministry

This course provides an overview of worship studies. Emphasis is given to principles of worship, history and theology of worship through the Old and New Testament and leadership skills necessary for worship leaders.

For information regarding prerequisites for this course, please refer to the Academic Course Catalog.

At the heart of successful worship leadership is the preparation and presentation of worship. The course seeks to help the worship leader accomplish these tasks on a regular basis by raising awareness of the historical development of worship, foundational principles of worship, and biblical leadership expectations within the evangelical tradition.

Textbook readings and lecture presentations

No details available.

Course Requirements Checklist

After reading the Syllabus and Student Expectations, the student will complete the related checklist found in the Course Overview.

Discussions are collaborative learning experiences. Therefore, the student is required to create a thread in response to the provided prompt. Each thread must demonstrate course-related knowledge while also sharing experiences as related to class concepts and be at least 250 words. In addition, the student is required to reply to at least 2 classmates, with each reply being at least 150 words. Optional Live Discussions may be offered in this course and require the use of Microsoft Teams (a link to Teams is provided in the course). When participating in the Live Discussions, the student must show an understanding and application of the content in response to the prompt and show clear engagement with other peers in the meeting. (CLO: A, B, C, E)

Kingdom of God Timeline Assignment

Using the Roberts text, the student will develop a timeline to include the 8 kingdoms found in God’s Big Picture: Tracing the Storyline of the Bible. The student will use creativity in providing specific details about each kingdom as well as a step or plan of action he or she can take in his or her life as a point of application. (CLO: A, B, E)

The student will write an 8-10 page paper (excluding title page contents, and bibliography) on the text True Worshipers: Seeking What Matters to God by Bob Kauflin. The paper must include an introduction, summary of the key themes of the text, a personal response to the chapter principles, application for the modern church, and a conclusion. Turabian formatting is required. (CLO: A, B, C, D, E)

Order of Service Evaluation Assignment

The purpose of this assignment is to help the student look past personal preferences and apply the theological and philosophical principles of worship to practical corporate worship planning. The student will use Microsoft Copilot to assist in analyzing a service from his/her local church. The student will reflect critically on the results from Copilot offering support from the Noland text and Scripture as appropriate. The student will then submit his/her critical reflection, service order, and Copilot’s analysis in a single document. Turabian formatting is required.  (CLO: A, B, D)

This assignment provides the opportunity to apply principles of worship planning that demonstrate creativity and theological depth in service design. The student will integrate formative worship elements based on the readings from the text, Transforming Worship by Rory Noland. At least 2 of the key elements from the text must be incorporated into the service order, and the design must reflect application to the principles from the text. After formulating a well-structured, clearly labeled service order, the student will craft a cohesive 2 to 3-page rationale explaining their design choices. The submission must be in Turabian format and include a title page, rationale, bibliography, and an appendix that includes the service order created by the student. (CLO: A, B)

Quiz: Turabian

Turabian formatting is the standard format for professional and academic writing in the fields of music, worship, and music education. This formatting will be used throughout the class and in the student’s doctoral thesis or dissertation. Therefore, the student will review current Turabian formatting and complete a short quiz. This quiz will cover the Explore material from the assigned Module: Week. This quiz will be open-book/open-notes, contain 13 multiple-choice and true/false questions, have a 45-minute time limit, and allow 2 attempts. (CLO: A)

Quizzes (2)

The student will complete 2 quizzes based on the Learn material in the course. Each quiz will be open-book/open-notes, contain multiple-choice and true/false questions, and allow 1 attempt. Quiz: God’s Kingdom and Worship History will have a 1 hour time limit and Quiz: Culminating All Course Concepts will have a 90-minute time limit. (CLO: A, E)