Christian Worship: Service Builder is the exclusive digital platform for Christian Worship

Christian Worship: Service Builder represents a change in paradigm, not only in the tools and resources that congregations will have at their disposal, but also in the overall strategy of how Northwestern Publishing House publishes digital versions of our denominational hymnal.

Previously, the best way to distribute digital versions of the hymnal and the subsequent worship supplement was via physical media. Congregations received optical discs full of files and subsequently maintained the files in their local setting and acquired appropriate annual licensing for their use.

But now and into the future, Christian Worship: Service Builder will replace physical media as the way to access and use digital versions of Christian Worship. New technology developed in recent years resolves several limitations in the previous model and supports the long-term success of Christian Worship.

Above all else, a centralized repository — a single source — is far more practical. Features like global search and richly related metadata make finding and cross-referencing materials possible in a way that could not be accomplished in the previous distribution model. The entire system is designed to make questions like, “Where is that file located?” far less common. Worship planners will interact not just with a file system but with a powerful and intuitive software application.

But the advantages of this system are not limited to the materials included in Christian Worship. Congregations may import into Christian Worship: Service Builder materials that they purchase from third parties and access those materials in the same way that they use the core Christian Worship corpus. A Christian Worship: Service Builder subscription offers not just better access but increased capability.

Some benefits of this new approach are less glamorous but important nonetheless. For example, a centralized repository makes the process of correcting errata possible. Changes or improvements made to the material take place at the source and are subsequently accessed by every congregation using Christian Worship: Service Builder. The matter of copyright permission and reporting is dramatically improved as well. Christian Worship: Service Builder will handle virtually all of a typical congregation’s mandated reporting. Such processes were largely impossible or impractical before.

Finally, this new paradigm better reflects our shared investment in a denominational hymnal. It is vital to understand that offering Christian Worship: Hymnal and Christian Worship: Psalter in digital format for a nominal fee is not economically feasible. I can assure you that the Technology Committee, together with Northwestern Publishing House, worked thoroughly to ensure that pricing is fair for congregations and sufficient to support the long-term viability of the platform. The overall pricing model of Christian Worship: Service Builder reflects the reality that part of walking together in a synod includes funding together the work the synod has agreed to do.

I am confident that you will quickly grasp the value of Christian Worship: Service Builder when you start using your free trial account later this year. Not only that, the software will remain in development so that new features and capability are added over time. And, happily, congregations who determine that the costs associated with digital publishing are too high may still use Christian Worship in their congregations. Hard copy pew editions of the Christian Worship: Hymnal and Christian Worship: Psalter are currently shipping. These versions maintain the tried-and-true simplicity of buying and using books in print.

Christian Worship is, in a sense, a hybrid product. We designed it to meet the needs of congregations that work in digital formats, print formats, or some combination of the two. Pricing has been carefully calibrated to ensure that congregations get good value. Between the durable value of printed books and the capability of a digital platform every congregation will find a solution that works in their setting and that supports the long-term success of Christian Worship for themselves and for their brothers and sisters in WELS.