What purposes and principles undergird the music we sing?

1. Most basically, we sing out of the joy and gratitude that we have over what God has done for us in giving to us freely eternal life through Jesus Christ.

2. We also sing to God because He is good to us in so many ways and we adore everything about Him and are in awe of Him. See Psalms 13:3-6; 28:7; 30:4-5, 11-12; 33:1-4; 57:7-9; 92:1-4; and, 150:1-6 for a few examples.

3. We also sing to witness to the world concerning God's great deeds. Our songs proclaim Him to "the nations” and "before the peoples,” and not just to ourselves. See Psalms 57:7-9; 96:1-3; 98:1-2; 105:102. Notice the wonderfully profound call to such singing in Isaiah 12:1-6.


How do we do this at Wellspring Presbyterian Church?

1. In keeping with the theme of joy for what God has done and does for us, we want the songs we sing to be often (but not exclusively) those with a strong, lively, and joyful sound. We also recognize that the Christian life is not always mirth, but includes seasons of sorrow. Music should minister to us appropriately in all seasons of life.

2. In keeping with the theme of proclaiming Christ to the nations, we want the songs we sing to be a vehicle for communicating the good news of Jesus to those who do not yet know Him. Accordingly we are committed to singing new songs with up-to-date arrangements, believing that God is still sanctifying hearts and gifting songwriters and composers for the wonderful work of lauding Him in song. Wellspring Church will, however, be discerning as to what new arrangements it chooses to include in worship, ensuring that, while the tunes may be new, the message will be the same as it has been for 2,000 years. All music at Wellspring Church must be Christ-centered, God-glorifying, and Scripturally-based, and in keeping with the doctrines of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church.

3. We also recognize that church history is a wonderful gift of God. We do not stand alone in our generation, but with all the generations that have preceded us in the Lord. Accordingly, we are also committed to singing the great hymns of the church, with their profound theology and recognizable tunes. In combining this item with the preceding one, we will also seek to sing the great hymns of the church placed to new arrangements.


We hold these commitments for the following reasons:

1. Music is knit into the very natures of human beings. Every culture has music. We sing because we are human; we sing songs of praise, because we belong to the Lord.

2. In these efforts, we are joined by our forefathers in the faith. Most notably, the Reformers made a great effort to write music that would speak to the people of their day. One of our fathers in the Scottish Presbyterian Church, Horatius Bonar, wrote "new” hymns in the mid-1800's. He was oft-criticized for doing so, but he persisted in his work. And today, what hymnal of great church music would be complete without his music? And so we are committed to singing God-exalting music from every era of church history, past and present.