Worship Teams

Unifying the Church Through Worship w/ TEMITOPE

TEMITOPE, a singer/songwriter and worship leader, sat down with Loop Community Founder Matt McCoy to talk about unifying the church through worship and his latest music!

[Matt] What would you say is your purpose now?

[Temitope] I would say my purpose is to help people to see that standing together versus against each other is how we see the heart of God on display, and I think that worship is the key to that. You look at Revelation 4 and Revelation 7, it talks about the diversity amongst Heavenly beings first, the cherubim and seraphim, and how none are the same. Then it goes on to say that around the throne of God ‘every tribe, every nation, every tongue, all people’. That right there denotes diversity. They were around the throne singing one song. It’s truly coming together with our differences, and I think it’s cool that worship is the core of that. That’s my purpose.

[Matt] I love that. How can worship leaders unify the church through worship at their own churches? 

[Temitope] I would say to a worship leader that you have opportunities all around you to engage with people who don’t look like you, don’t speak the same language as you and see God differently. Find them locally and start simple. Take them out to lunch one on one. Build relationships. Don’t come into the conversation saying, “Let me show you how we do things at our church.” Ask about what’s happening at their church, what songs are resonating with their people, how their pastor speaks about the Lord.

Then if you’ve built two or more relationships, bring them together and have a conversation. Then start sharing ideas. Take a song, “Hey I’m gonna try that song I heard they’re doing in Spanish. Can you help me translate it to English?” Bring the ideas into your church. We have such a unique opportunity. People remember a three-minute song better than a 30-minute sermon. If we can bring in diverse pieces simply through relationships and conversation, I think that does way more for people.

Your congregation singing a song that culturally feels a little different, can do a lot. Like “Praise” by Elevation Worship. That’s African rhythm that they brought to mainstream worship culture in the United States. Maybe for some people it helps them want to learn more about Africa and their worship. You never know what bringing in these little pieces can do and what seeds it’s planting in people’s hearts, for the Lord to grow a tree and live out what He’s asked us to do: Love the Lord your God with all your strength and love your neighbor as yourself.

Watch the rest of the interview, and more tips for how to unify the church through worship, below!

Download the Master Tracks for TEMITOPE’s latest music on LoopCommunity.com and the charts & lyrics on SongSelect.