Center for Worship and the Arts
Equipping congregations to engage intergenerational, artistic worship practices that glorify God, honor Christ and join the Spirit's transformative work in the world.
Animate
Animate is Samford's Center for Worship and the Arts original summer program in worship arts for teenagers and their adult mentors that takes place on the campus of Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. Save the date for Animate - June 26-30, 2024!
Mentoring young people to become faithful worshippers lies at the heart of the Animate philosophy. Through Animate, teenagers become conversant in multiple styles and expressions of worship, connect with both adult mentors as well as their peers, and catch a vision for intergenerational worship – then carry these new skills and ideas back to enrich the life of their own church congregation.
Church Community Engagement
Church Community Engagement provides networking opportunities and resources for our faculty, staff, students, and church ministry leaders related to exploring innovative worship practices.
The Worship Exchange Program is an ongoing exchange of ideas among church ministry leaders regarding the challenges and opportunities related to intergenerational worship practices and the creative use of the arts in worship with the goal of developing lifelong worshippers of Jesus Christ.
The Community Partners Directory is a collection of job, internship, and ministry needs submitted by local churches who have contacted the CWA with the hope of discovering current Samford students who would be good candidates.
Online Certificates
Would you like to offer your church staff members an opportunity for high-quality continuing worship education? Interested in studying worship deeper but unable to pursue a degree right now? Whether you are a volunteer, bi-vocational worship leader, or a well-seasoned minister or administrator, our certificate programs offer biblically sound worship instruction without the commitment of pursuing a degree or attending classes on-campus. The Center for Worship and the Arts in partnership with Samford’s Ministry Training Institute offers two non-degree, Online Certificate Programs: Worship Leadership and Music Fundamentals for Worship (NEW). Registration for 2023-24 courses opens July 1, 2023.
The Online Certificate in Worship Leadership offers a strong foundation for biblically and theologically sound worship leadership.
The Online Certificate in Music Fundamentals for Worship (NEW!) provides training for those who want to grow in the musical dimension of worship leadership.
Latest Resources
The Center for Worship and the Arts is committed to leveraging worship practices into resources that can be disseminated to a broader audience, especially those that create agency, develop responsibility, foster intergenerational mentoring, and encourage long-term relationships.