Most other worship nights are just one local church putting on an event and, rarely but possibly, inviting other churches. These events often include teachings, dogma, or traditions that are unique to that denomination or sect. Sounds of the City seeks to de-couple the event from the local church that happens to host it. Instead, the church building acts as a living room where brothers and sisters from all different Christian communities join together, not in agreement with everything (or even most things), but in agreement that God is worthy of our praise.

Simplicity is key. Sounds of the City worship nights are acoustic and intentionally low-key. We do not feature electric instruments or a light show on a stage. The goal is to keep things simple enough that no rehearsal is required, and we aren’t consumed with the pressures of over-producing or overthinking anything. The more complicated an event is, the less likely we are to have the capacity to keep them as regular occurrences. We don’t want the “production” to prevent participation.

We try to allow Sounds of the City to be an organic worship session like one you could hold in a living room. We aren’t concerned about it being perfect. We’re simply the family of God gathering around his table as siblings in Christ, adoring our perfect Father.

You are not only welcome — Sounds of the City exists for you. These evenings are designed so that anyone who considers themselves a disciple of Jesus can join believers from other church communities and celebrate at least one shared truth: Jesus is worthy of our praise.

There are no teachings, traditions, or rituals, so everyone is welcome to come just as they are. The churches who participate aren’t endorsing each other’s denominations or doctrines, and that is completely okay. Whether we agree on very little or on many things, we all share the same heart: to worship Jesus together as one, unified bride.

Sounds of the City nights occur in a particular city four times a year, which ends up being every three months. We have found that January (Winter), April (Spring), July (Summer), and October (Fall) have worked well.

Leading these nights are members of worship teams from various local churches. The goal is to divide the night into a few rotations of musicians so that we get to hear from a variety of churches, as well as allow these same musicians and worship leaders to worship without having to lead when they’re rotated out for the night. We have found that 3-5 churches playing together per night works out best. Any more than 5, and you don’t get to really hear much from that particular church house.

Generally, worship nights are around 90 minutes in length, not including any fellowship that happens before or after the worship portion. Typically, the night opens up with an invitation to worship from a church leader, followed by 4-5 songs, an intermission time of prayer, followed by another 4-5 songs, and a closing prayer.

Our times of prayer are intentionally centered on showing God our adoration, along with prayers of blessing and encouragement for all the churches represented. During these moments, you will not hear mini-sermons, political endorsements, or the promotion of divisive or dogmatic beliefs. Our desire is simply to bring glory to God by lifting Him up. Because loving God and loving others are inseparable, we also set aside time for communal prayer in small groups as a way to lovingly care for and support one another.

Refreshments are served either before or after worship, and this time provides terrific opportunities to meet new friends, churches, and leaders in your city! Making connections helps remind us that we are not alone. We are all in this together. Maybe you lead the youth group at your church and are looking for new ideas to live out the vision God has placed on your heart! You may very well meet a whole bunch of other youth group leaders and gain some beautiful encouragement and wisdom! This happens all the time and is one of the many reasons these nights are so meaningful.

Most hosting churches won’t have the capacity to provide childcare for worship nights, so while this is a family event and all are welcome, all parents with kids are responsible for watching their own.