Worship Is More Than We Ever Imagined.
Our Essentials Courses equip worship leaders and musicians with vision for the grand story and practical tools for the journey.
Courses are 4 weeks long (about 6 hours/week), available completely online and flexible for any schedule. Receive a PDF Certificate when you complete each course.
You Have Several Training Options
INDIVIDUAL STUDY: Life changing courses that will change the way you think about worship. Based on university level content – but made accessible for everyone.
CHURCH TRAINING: For 5+ people, get UNLIMITED courses and a full access Membership for everyone. From only $4/mth.
UNIVERSITY STUDY: Looking for some higher education? Start with a 3 credit hour course, or even work your way up to a Masters Degree.
Special Offer: Join any course and receive a complimentary 1 year Membership to WorshipTraining.com.
How Will Taking An Essentials Course Benefit Me?
- CONNECT with our international Learning Community and resources.
- GAIN an exciting, fresh vision of the God we worship.
- CREATE your own materials for training others to understand worship.
- ENRICH your spiritual life and leadership as a worship influencer.
- PARTICIPATE in a worship dialogue with an international class.
- RECEIVE a PDF certificate upon completion of the course
Choose From Any Of The Following Courses
ESSENTIALS BLUE: Worship Theology. Blue is an exploration of foundational worship theology and worldview – the nature of God, people and worship. Based around N.T. Wright’s Simply Christian. Learn More
ESSENTIALS RED: Worship History. Red is the study of worship languages (like time, space, architecture, art, communion, baptism) throughout Church history, and the Christian Year (holidays). Learn More
ESSENTIALS GREEN: Worship Values. Green is the study of foundational worship value like intimacy, integrity, cultural connection, Kingdom expectation and an introduction to your own heart’s formation. Learn More
ESSENTIALS IN SONGWRITING. Songwriting focuses on the craft of songwriting for worship. Learn and create with other songwriters from around the world. Leave with a song that you’ve written. Learn More
ESSENTIALS IN WORSHIP LEADING. Worship Leading focuses on the skill and practices of effective worship leadership. From honing your musical craft, to building a set and rehearsing a group of musicians. Learn More
ESSENTIALS IN SPIRITUAL FORMATION. Formation is all about being transformed into the likeness of Christ by attending to the elements of our interior life – earth, wind, fire and water. Enter the Elemental Life, and explore the riches of spiritual formation ideas across history. Learn More
Who We Are
Essentials Courses embody our distinct passion to train creative leaders:
- to think biblically, historically, creatively and culturally about worship
- to draw from the riches of the ancient past to engage our present and future
- to creatively and uniquely speak into a postmodern world
With over 3000 worship leaders, artists, pastors, and worshippers through our programs and conferences, from over 30 countries, our Learning Community continues to grow together in our theological, historical, creative and leadership formation related to worship. Learn more about us.
Download our Information Flyer PDF here for yourself, or for your pastoral leaders and those who could help you get involved.
Upcoming Course Dates
Each Essentials Course is offered several times a year. Here are upcoming dates:
Winter 2010
January 8 – February 5 (Register by January 1):
Essentials Blue: Online Studies In Worship Theology
Essentials In Songwriting
February 5 – March 5 (Register by February 1):
Essentials Red: Online Studies In Worship History
Essentials In Worship Leading
March 5 – April 1 (Register by February 26):
Essentials Green: Online Studies In Worship Values
Essentials In Spiritual Formation.
Summer 2010
May 14 – June 11 (Register by May 7):
Essentials Blue: Online Studies In Worship Theology
Essentials In Songwriting
June 11 – July 9 (Register by June 4):
Essentials Red: Online Studies In Worship History
Essentials In Worship Leading
July 9 – August 6 (Register by July 2):
Essentials Green: Online Studies In Worship Values
Essentials In Spiritual Formation
Fall 2010
September 10 – October 8 (Register by September 3):
Essentials Blue: Online Studies In Worship Theology
Essentials In Songwriting
October 8 – November 5 (Register by October 3):
Essentials Red: Online Studies In Worship History
Essentials In Worship Leading
November 5 – December 3 (Register by October 30):
Essentials Green: Online Studies In Worship Values
Essentials In Spiritual Formation
Who Is Essentials For?
Worship leaders, worship musicians, pastors, artists, small group leaders, youth pastors, youth worship leaders and worshippers.
How Much Time Does A Course Take?
Approx. 6 hours/week or 10 hours/week for university/college credit.
How Does A Course Work?
During the first four weeks of each module participants WATCH VIDEOS, listen to AUDIO and read BOOKS and ARTICLES related to the course. Participants then POST their responses to weekly questions on their modules Facebook classroom and blog. Instructors and classmates INTERACT with each other’s posts as each week unfolds.
During the final week of each module, participants work on a CREATIVE PROJECT which draws from material covered in the course with the goal of being practically used in local and/or global church communities. Opening and closing ONLINE CALLS bookend each module.
Because our participants are from various parts of the globe, we always leave at least a couple of days between assignment due dates so that the course can fit into various schedules. Discussions in the classroom site further enhance the peer-group learning environment.
Participants can do coursework from their home desktop, in an armchair, on a beach or while fixing the plumbing – Essentials Courses are built to work for you.
Which Books/Resources Are Required For The Courses?
Here is a list of required and optional resources for each of the Essentials Course modules. All of the resources below are required for students taking the course for university credit. For those taking it as a seminar only the first resource in each category is required. All of these resources are available from our Store. (Members have a discount code in their Members area waiting for them.)
Essentials Blue
- Wright, N. T. Simply Christian: Why Christian Makes Sense. San Francisco: HarperCollinsPublishers, 2006. - Required for all Participants. Buy Now
- Wilt, Dan and others. What Is Worship? DVD. Houston: Vineyard Music USA, 2006. – Required for University Credit only. Buy Now
- Wright, N.T. and Dan Wilt. Reclaiming Worship CD. Houston: Vineyard Music USA, 2004. - Required for University Credit only. Buy Now
- Wright, N.T. Surprised By Hope: Rethinking Heaven, The Resurrection and The Mission Of The Church. Grand Rapids: HarperOne, 2008. Required for University Credit only.
Essentials Red
- Webber, Robert. Ancient-Future Time: Forming Spirituality Through The Christian Year. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2004. - Required for all Participants. Buy Now
- White, James. Introduction To Christian Worship. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1990. – Required for University Credit only.
Essentials Green
- Wilt, Dan. Envisioning Encounter: Reclaiming Our Values In Worship – Provided for course.
- Note: Green relies heavily on extra article and media content, so there are no outside books required for the course.
Essentials In Songwriting
- Baloche, Paul. God Songs: How to Write & Select Songs for Worship. Provident-Integrity. -Required for all Participants. Buy Now
- Wilt, Dan and others. Songwriting For Worship DVD. Houston: Vineyard Music USA, 2003. -Required for all Participants. Buy Now
- Doerksen, Worship Songwriting: Embracing Heart and Developing Skill, Doerksen Productions. 12 week DVD course. Required for University credit only.
- Webb, Jimmy. TuneSmith: Inside The Art Of Songwriting. Grand Rapids: Hyperion, 1999. Required for University credit only.
Essentials In Worship Leading
- Park, Andy. To Know You More: Cultivating the Heart of the Worship Leader. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2004. - Required for all Participants. Buy Now
- Wilt, Dan and others. Leading Worship DVD. Houston: Vineyard Music USA, 2003. – Required for all Participants. Buy Now
Essentials In Spiritual Formation
- Richard Foster and James Bryan Smith, eds. Devotional Classics, Revised Edition: Selected Readings for Individuals and Groups. San Francisco: HarperOne, 2005. - Required for all Participants. Buy Now
In addition to the texts above we will provide you with an eBook PDF text for each module written by Dan Wilt, M.Min.