About half of the churches spent no money on their music programs in 1938, and few had trained professionals on staff. Music was led most often (58.8%) by a male quartet, while 6.95% of churches had orchestras.
Several smaller surveys found that about a third of churches had choirs (1952) and that large churches were more likely to have a full-time janitor than a minister of music (1956).
Bishop’s new survey found that today almost three-quarters (72%) of churches have a worship band, while just over a third (36.5%) have an adult choir. However, only 7% have a junior choir, which he saw as a worrisome sign that churches weren’t investing in the future of their music programs.
The 1938 survey also included a list of favorite songs among churches. The most popular song was “What a Friend We Have in Jesus,” followed by “I Am Thine, Oh Lord,” “Standing on the Promises,” “Have Thine Own Way” and “The Old Rugged Cross.”
“What a Friend We Have in Jesus” didn’t make the list of most popular songs in Bishop’s survey, but several others that appeared in the 1938 list remain popular, including “Amazing Grace,” “The Old Rugged Cross” and “Holy, Holy, Holy.”
Martin Cherry, an associate pastor and worship leader at Flatonia Baptist Church in Texas, said the congregation often sings “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” and other older hymns during services, though with a more modern arrangement. The church had been mostly traditional till about a decade ago and slowly transitioned to more contemporary music.
Cherry said he and other leaders try to pick songs that fit the church’s identity, rather than trying to copy the latest trends.
“When churches try to push too hard, in different styles of music, it’s like asking your people to put on a costume, pretending to be something you’re not.”
He said “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” feels more relevant in the COVID era, given how isolated and divided people feel.
The church tried singing “Living Hope,” which is popular in other churches, but it just didn’t take.
Bishop’s survey did include some surprising results. He’d heard that some churches will play secular songs in services and decided to ask if that was the case. Some of the responses seemed to fit in church, like Carole King’s “You’ve Got a Friend” and Bill Withers’ “Lean on Me.” Others, like “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” and “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” left him scratching his head.
If a church really was doing a singalong of the John Denver hit during services, “I’d like to see a video of that,” said Bishop.
This article originally appeared here.
