A Renewed Approach to Undergraduate Worship Leader Education

The church music degree program at Charleston Southern University, based on a European traditional/classical sacred music degree model, has been attracting fewer and fewer students. The last two students pursuing this degree were graduated in May, 2011. Prior to their graduation, the administration encouraged the music department to investigate current career markets and the worship leadership training strategies of other institutions. The purpose of this project is to design a suitable worship leadership degree and thus assist the university in its mission to equip churches with properly trained ministry leaders. Survey instruments will be used to discover the expectations of lead pastors and worship leaders currently serving local churches. Knowing competency expectations of local pastors raises the hiring potential of graduating students. The recommendations of worship leaders will confirm the required specific skill set. Survey results, analysis of other university degrees, and National Association of Schools of Music accreditation standards will be studied to design a complete undergraduate degree including syllabi, learner outcomes, course content, recommended textbooks, and library holdings strategy