Teaching and admonishing one another as we sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.

At Firm Foundation Bible Church, we believe that the church is for the Church. The Lord’s plan for the corporate gathering of His people is not outreach and evangelism of the lost, but worship and edification for the people of God (Eph. 4.11-16, 1 Cor. 14.1-12). The same is true concerning our worship.

In every place where the New Testament talks about music, it does so with the community of believers in view (Col. 3.16, Eph. 5.18-19, 1 Cor. 14.26), and in each place, the point is the same: the purpose music in the church is to teach and build up the people of God.

In other words, when it comes to congregational worship at FFBC, our desire is not to entertain the goats, but to feed Christ’s sheep.

What Our Music is Like

Traditional and contemporary church music. That is what our music is like in a nutshell.

In principle, we are not opposed to any genre or style of music per se, and we do draw from a wide musical pool. However, we aim to keep all our music congregational—which, for us, means “clear” and “true.” To find out what we mean by that, scroll down and read our Philosophy of Worship.

Here are some common questions about our worship music:

As we said above, traditional and modern church music makes up the bulk of what we sing from Sunday to Sunday. Here are some random examples of songs you might hear during a Sunday morning worship service:

  • “And Can It Be?” by Charles Wesley
  • “In Christ Alone” by the Getty’s
  • “Jesus, Thank You” by Sovereign Grace
  • “There Is a Fountain” by William Cowper
  • “There Is a Redeemer” by Keith Green
  • “Christ the Sure and Steady Anchor” by Matt Papa
  • “All Glory Be to Christ” by Kings Kaleidoscope
  • “His Mercy Is More” by Matt Boswell

Depending on who’s serving, on any given Sunday our worship instruments typically include the piano, guitar, bass, and drums.

For several reasons, we lean heavily on music from the Hymns of Grace hymnal for our congregational worship music selection (learn more about Hymns of Grace at www.hymnsofgrace.com). We do not have hymnals in the pew at this time, however.

Virtually never. There is a significant theological and philosophical gap between us and groups like Bethel, Hillsong, Jesus Culture, etc., and their music is reflective of that gap. However, this does not mean that we wouldn’t sing one of their songs if it met our two-fold criteria for “clear” and “true” (see our Philosophy of Worship).

Does this mean that Christians should not listen to Bethel, etc.?
In the words of Justin Taylor, most of the music from groups like these “is going to pass a basic doctrinal smell test.” Nevertheless, these groups are theologically-aberrant, therefore it is crucial that Christians be cautious and discerning when it comes to their music, listening with “eyes wide open,” as it were. That said, we do not believe we can or should draw lines where God has not drawn them, and we affirm every believer’s right to his or her own conscience, which comes with the biblical obligation to be discerning, wise, and mature (cf. Romans 14, 1 Corinthians 8).

As FFBC continues to grow, we continue to be in need of talented singers and especially musicians. In short, to serve on the worship team, you must be a member at FFBC and have some degree of musical ability.

For more information about serving on the worship team, contact Pastor Tony at tony@firmfoundationpv.org.

Our Philosophy of Worship

To learn more about our theological and philosophical approach to church music, read our Philosophy of Congregational Worship.