Praise and Worship Service Gets a New Look

The Praise and Worship Service introduced its new center staging Feb. 14.

By Wayne Thompson

It didn't take long for those attending the Praise and Worship Service Feb. 14 to notice something was different.

For the first time, Mark Baynes, associate pastor of praise and worship and single adult ministries, the singers and all the band members were on the same level and visible across the sanctuary.

The drummer, percussionist and guitarists had been off to the side and below Baynes and the other vocalists. The changes required building rolling, elevated platforms for the drum and percussion sets, wireless microphones for singers and some rewiring. Once the service is over, the platforms are rolled back so they're out of the way the church's remaining two services.

"Our hope is that it will help unify our service by lifting our voices together in greater praise and worship and we’ll be able to bring everyone together into the worship no matter where they may be sitting in the congregation," Baynes said.

Baynes, whose third anniversary at Triad comes this June, told worshippers that the improvements were designed to make the service the best it can be to glorify God. But he said that worship remains a matter of the heart and relationship between the worshipper and Jesus Christ.

"We need to keep our hearts focused on Him," he said. "Our desire is that God will be honored not just in the stage setup, but, more importantly, by the way our hearts are committed to Him and the way we glorify him in everything we do, including God-honoring lyrics, music and Pastor Rob's messages."

Triad launched its first praise and worship service in 2004 in the activity center. In January, an average of 367 people attended the service, which begins at 8:45 a.m. each Sunday morning.