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Initiatives

Belonging to the Community of Faith

“We value integrity in relationships and mutual accountability in an atmosphere of grace, love, and acceptance.”

Access digital exclusive resources including: music, sermon outlines, and worship practices.

Additional resources for all categories are available in the downloadable Compelling Worship workbook.

Music

Facilitating a Shared BIC Identity Through Music

We’ve selected five songs centered on Belonging to the Community of Faith to serve as a resource for musical worship and as a catalyst for new creativity and imagination. For each featured song we’ve provided all the information you need to use it in your next worship service, including:

  • links to download chord charts and lead sheets (some free!)
  • optimal keys
  • licensing coverage
  • recordings
Access Song Recommendations & Resources

Come All You Weary

K. Bluett/P. Zach
Song Perspective: Corporate
Optimal Keys: Bb, C, D
Licensing Coverage: CCLI
Chart/Lead Sheet: Compelling Worship
Recording(s): Eternal Light (Paul Zach)

Morning and Evening

G. Bonifant/T. Green
Song Perspective: Corporate
Optimal Keys: Bb, C
Licensing Coverage: Used with permission
Chart/Lead Sheet: Compelling Worship
Recording(s): Compelling Worship (Towel and Basin Worship Collective)

Somos el Pueblo de Dios 

M. Witt
Song Perspective: Corporate
Optimal Keys: E, F, G
Licensing Coverage: CCLI, Multitracks.com
Chart/Lead Sheet: CCLI
Recording(s): Homenaje a Jesus (Marcos Witt)

The Blessing/La Bendicion

C. Brown/C. Carnes/K. Jobe/S. Furtick
Song Perspective: Corporate
Optimal Keys: E, F, G
Licensing Coverage: CCLI, Multitracks.com
Chart/Lead Sheet: CCLI, praisecharts
Recordings: The Blessing (Kari Jobe)

The Lord’s Prayer (It’s Yours)

B. Fowler/J. Scooter/M. Maher
Song Perspective: Corporate
Optimal Keys: D, Eb, E, F
Licensing Coverage: CCLI
Chart/Lead Sheet: CCLI, praisecharts
Recording(s): The Stories I Tell Myself (Matt Maher)

Additional Songs

Bind Us Together (Leslie Jordan), Come Christians Join to Sing (#1 HPW*), Leaning on the Everlasting Arms (E. A. Hoffman), Shout to the North (Martin Smith), They’ll Know We Are Christians By Our Love (Peter Scholtes), We Will Feast in the House of Zion (Sandra McCracken)

*Hymns for Praise and Worship © 1984 Evangel Press

Word

Teaching and Studying Our BIC Core Values

The act of reading Scripture together is itself an experience of God’s love, through which we preach to our hearts the good news of Jesus, and reshape our experience of the world around this reality. Through sermons, teaching, and corporate study, our core values move from being abstract ideas to convictions written on the hearts of each one of us. These sermon outlines are designed to equip churches to teach and study through our BIC core values.

The outlines for Following Jesus begin on page 54 and include:

  • Known by Love | John 13:31-35
  • Place of Belonging | Acts 2:42-47
  • True Community | Romans 15:1-13
Download Sermon Outlines

Practices

From Spectators to Active Participants

These practices aim to whet our spiritual appetites with many different practices that can help us to live lives of worship with our church families. Some practices may seem out of your comfort zone as a congregation, but you may be surprised to observe the reactions that come from trying something unexpected in the life of the church. There is so much beauty in seeing a congregation transform from a group of spectators to active participants in meaningful worship. 

Ways to Encourage Intergenerational Worship in Our Churches

In our times of corporate worship, we often forget to ask, “What would it look like to engage all generations?”

Thinking in this way might be a stretch for some of our congregations, however corporate worship is a beautiful opportunity to involve all ages. Children are not an afterthought, or an interruption to our worship. Worshiping with older adults, parents of children, single adults, and youth is how worship is modeled to our youngest brothers and sisters.

When we ask people from different generations to be involved in the planning of our times of worship, we experience a much richer expression of our unique faith communities coming together to worship our God. In addition to involving different generations in the planning of times of corporate worship, it is also important to invite them to contribute their gifts to the church through corporate expressions of worship.

It is interesting to observe the change in the atmosphere when activities that are focused on engaging with the youngest among us also capture the interest and attention of everyone in the room. Jesus used many simple images and stories to communicate important truths to the people who followed him. Shouldn’t we do the same?

Here are some resources to help incorporate a range of generations in corporate worship: