Worship profile: Jim Martin

Jim Martin cherishes the corporate worship services of his childhood—music from the Hymns for Worship hymnal followed by a sermon to “edify and build up,” as he recalls. Now, as an organist at the Antrim Brethren in Christ Church in Chambersburg, Pa., Martin tries to bring his fondness for traditional hymns into an understanding with the more contemporSary praise and worship services of today.

Jim observes that many of the “off the wall” worship songs—a phrase he uses to identify praise and worship songs projected onto a screen rather than printed in a bound hymnal—are unfamiliar for the older members of the congregation. For Jim, this familiarity plays an important role in any worship service, and he is often uncomfortable in worship services that cater to this specific niche of praise music.

Nathan Karen Tony Sandra

Jim identifies corporate worship as a physical expression of his need “to express my appreciation, dependence, and love” for God. Quoting from the Gospel of John, Jim says that “the Father seeketh those to worship Him,” a reminder that the true followers of the Lord will worship Him “in spirit and in truth”—ideas that transcend any form or style of worship. For this reason, Jim envisions a church service that provides a balance—“familiar praise and worship with a hymn or two [that] provide permanency for the future.”