Many of you are my dear personal friends. I’ve met some of you through the company I lead — CCLI. I’ve met others of you at worship conferences, including the long-running International Worship Institute.

And, yes, some of you are “friends” whom I’ve not yet met personally.

It has been my honor and deep delight to serve with Steve Fry, Glen Roachelle, and Ed Chinn as part of the leadership team for WorshipInstitute.com. In this, my first ministry letter to you, I want to open my heart about the current activity and vision of the ministry. I hope you will gain a new peek into what we see the Lord unfolding for all of us.

We recently concluded the Unveiled Worship Institute at North Church in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, under the direction of Pastor Lawrence Kennedy and Worship Pastor Brian Ming. This event, along with the recent Northeast Worship Institute at Calvary Full Gospel Church in Fairless Hills, PA, reflects a significant transition of the Worship Institute ministry. We have departed from the large, hotel-based, “international” worship institute and have moved to smaller, church-based, regional worship gatherings.

This transition is a direct result of strong and clear direction from the Lord last year to “put the Ark in the house of Obededom” (read the whole story in I Chronicles 13) - that is, the Worship Institute ministry and conferences should become “regionalized” - placed under the covering of local church ministry and oversight.

As the leadership of WorshipInstitute,com, this word was both challenging and uncertain… how could we maintain our stewardship responsibilities for the “DNA” of this ministry while releasing the administrative control of the conference to the local church authority? We did not know.  But we knew we had to act in faith on that which was not yet clearly seen. Furthermore, we had assurance that, just as Obededom was blessed for having the Ark reside in his house, so would all of us — including you — be blessed.

We believe we saw the fruit of our obedience at the Unveiled Worship Institute. Once again, we heard that unmistakable “sound” that attends true encounters with His Presence.

True worship is a sound more than a song.

We all love songs. They are mysterious creations, often capturing transcendent reality in a three-minute package. The great epics of faith — A Mighty Fortress is Our God; Great is Thy Faithfulness, It is Well With My Soul – carry us away into profound consideration of eternal truths. And some of the newer songs, like How Great is Our God, Open the Eyes of My Heart, Revelation Song and Shout to the Lord capture the heart groans of worshipers everywhere. Of course, these are great and very important songs.

But, there is a “sound” of worship which surpasses songs… an expression from Heaven that echoes throughout all creation. Isaiah described it this way when he saw the Lord high and lifted up (Isaiah 6) - “The angels cried, ‘Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of His glory’.” The created beings are able to proclaim the awesomeness of His Character - He is Holy.

However, another expression uttered on earth echoes throughout His Kingdom. John described it this way when he was “in the spirit” (Revelation 5) - “Ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands cried, ‘Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing.’ ” The redeemed ones are able to proclaim the awesomeness of His Work - He is Worthy.

And when the expression of His Holiness intersects with the expression of His Worthiness, there is an incredible unfolding harmonics of “sound” that is so exquisite, so ultimate, so impeccable, so dynamic, so flawless, so precious, so consummate - it is the essence that reflects our eternal intimacy with Him - WORSHIP!!!

This is what we have begun to see, hear and feel again in the Regional Worship Institutes that have occurred this past year. Over and over again, we have heard conference attendees say they have never experienced such a dynamic encounter with His Presence as they had at the WI conferences. Over and over again, we have been urged by attendees to please continue this ministry.

We have heard you… and Him.

We’ve heard your pleas. More importantly, we have heard the Lord. And, frankly, we are excited about our future together. We are excited that the “Ark is in the House.” In the months to come, we will be announcing new Regional Worship Institutes in new locations.

As we see these Regional Worship Institutes unfold, we must continue to purge ourselves of the clutter of showmanship, glitz, glitter and artist imagery that has so permeated the worship ministry. His calling upon us requires this purging. And our response to this calling requires this purging.

Stay tuned…we believe the best is STILL yet to come!!!

Will you help us build the road?

We believe that we see a new way of fulfilling God’s ministry in God’s ways. If you have read these monthly update letters, you’ve certainly caught sight of that.

Someone once said, “It costs more to build a road than to travel on it.” On behalf of this ministry, I ask you to help us build a road leading to that future.

Specifically, I ask you to consider the following:

• Pray for this transition to a new local church-based platform for worship institutes.
• Let us know how you see this transition. Write to us with any concerns or questions you may have. Feedback is so valuable as leaders try to see and consider the whole family. You may see something which we do not.
• If you are a pastor and would be interested in hosting a regional worship event, please let us know.  
• Consider giving a financial gift — one time or monthly — to this ministry. We really do trust the Lord. However, we also want our family to know where we are. We do have monthly expenses. Since we no longer distribute books and other products, we operate exclusively by the support of our friends.

Thank you for considering this letter. If we can help you or answer any questions, please let us know. We will do anything we can for you and/or those you serve.

God bless you. We hope to see you at a regional worship event.

Sincerely,

Howard Rachinski