Fellowship Ministries is committed to helping congregations,
pastors, and worship leaders with worship resources whether worship
is traditional, blended, or contemporary.
In early
1987 Fellowship Ministries was the first organization, within the
Lutheran denomination, to focus attention on "alternative worship"
(in those days, no one used the word "contemporary"). In
January of 1987 Fellowship Ministries sponsored the first of nine
conferences, held over three years, called "The Conference
on Worship and Music as they related to Evangelism and
Discipleship".
Without
a doubt, this was the longest conference-title in
history!!
Five
"alternative" worship services were modeled at each of these nine
conferences. Pastors and church musicians went home and
started to make changes. They began to design worship
experiences which would connect with individuals and families who
did not come from a Lutheran background or any church
background.
Like
fires starting in several places at the same time, others became
involved in what became a church-wide and world-side worship renewal
movement. Those "others" included Prince of Peace Lutheran,
Burnsville, Minnesota and Community Church of Joy, Glendale, Arizona
as well as other congregations within the Lutheran
denomination.
Since
1987 Fellowship Ministries has sponsored more than 250 worship
conferences and seminars all over America. For 14 years FM's
annual conference was called, "Created To
Praise". These conferences and seminars have
been attended by thousands of pastors and full- and part-time music
ministers and members of worship/praise teams. The "worship
life" of hundreds of thousands of individuals as been
impacted as the result of these events. We thank Lord for
being able to serve the Church by expanding the ways in which people
can be led into His presence....and ways in which more people
can lead in worship.
For
several years our Canadian colleage, Arlen Salte, led excellent
one-day contemporary worship workshops called, "Break
Forth". This practical and hands-on event brought
together praise teams and church music staff throughout
America.
In the
Fall of 2007 and beyond, Fellowship Ministries and Concordia
University Chicago will partner to sponsor a new one-day seminar
called, "Contemporary Worship 101". This event will serve to
assist small and mid-size congregations with contemporary worship
issues. Each CW101 workshop will include two models of
worship and at five electives which will be offered
twice.
In 1983
Fellowship Ministries published The Other Songbook,
now over 500,000 copies in print. This book, compiled and edited by
Dave Anderson, is still helping the church "sing a new song to the
Lord". In 2000 Fellowship Ministries published The
Best of the Best in Contemporary Praise & Worship,
compiled and edited by Rev. Mike Zehnder. Now
180,000 copies in print, the "BOB book", as it is called by most,
has served to present the "best of the best" both in contemporary
congregational singing and in the Christian theology represented in
the songs.
Since
1975 Fellowship Ministries founders, Dave and Barb
Anderson, have presented over 5,000 worship
concerts/worship services throughout America and around the
world. For more information about Dave and Barb, their concert
ministry, and The Rescue Story, go to visit here. 
