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Worship Leadership Degree Offered at Mississippi College


Mississippi College’s new bachelor’s degree in worship leadership should meet the needs of a changing music ministry in the 21st Century.

Starting this fall, the degree “is designed to prepare students for music ministry in a variety of settings,” says Angela Willoughby, who chairs the MC Music Department. “It incorporates all the skills needed for preparedness in worship technology and contemporary music styles.”

The Music Department degree program is among the latest academic offerings at the 5,000-student university, America’s second oldest Baptist college.

The curriculum includes foundational music courses, music technology, conducting, as well as a course on popular music and society. In addition, students must take a year-long seminar in worship leading and an internship at an area church.

Essentially, Mississippi College Music Department leaders engineered the degree as a bachelor of arts with a minor in worship studies. That makes it an interdisciplinary degree with a total of 27 hours in Christian Studies, art and communication.

The worship studies minor includes such classes as graphic software, digital presentation, graphic design, worship media, and stagecraft and design.

On the Clinton campus, students will study applied music on their major instrument or voice and will take part in an ensemble each semester. The ensemble experience is a combination of traditional choir and involvement in a newly-formed worship collective. The group will perform on campus and in worship venues in the region. Requiring auditions, the ensemble is open to all students regardless of major.

Revamping the way the MC Music Department offers its degree programs reflects changing trends in churches, big and small, across the USA.

“Current trends in worship demand a fresh start with a new curriculum for worship leadership, alongside MC’s traditional bachelor’s degree in church music,” Willoughby said. “By offering this new program, we are confident that students will have the opportunity to be fully prepared for ministry in any worship setting.”

Several students have already signed up and more will enroll as the word gets out. MC’s Music Department staff recently contacted many Baptist churches across the Magnolia State. “It is our hope that we can have as many as 20 students,’’ Willoughby said.

Salaries for worship leaders across the USA vary from state to state and across regional lines. The average salary for worship leaders nationwide stood at $33,000 in 2013, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Salaries reached $37,000 in states like California and Alaska and as much as $52,000 in Washington, D.C.

The bachelor’s degree in worship leadership is one of several changes coming this fall for the MC Music Department. In the area of personnel, one new key hire is Mark Nabholz as director of choral activities on the Clinton campus. His post includes serving as conductor of the award-winning MC Singers. He joins the Christian university after leading choral groups at Erskine College in Due West, South Carolina.

The sterling reputation of the MC Singers and his interest in further development of the university’s master’s program in choral conducting helped attract Nabholz. ”My desire is to see that program of study grow and have a strong impact on churches and schools in Mississippi and beyond.”

For more information, contact Dottie Serio of the MC Music Department at 601-925-3440 or Serio@mc.edu