Dwan Hill
Your congregation isn’t quiet because they don’t care. They’re quiet because they think the stage is singing for them.
Dwan Hill leads worship at Cross Point in Nashville and started The Choir Room, a gathering that began with one Instagram post and a borrowed room with an organ in the corner. He expected 20 people. A hundred showed up.
In this conversation he breaks down the summer his church ran an initiative called “a singing church”: they pulled the band off the stage, went down to piano and acoustic, turned the house lights up, and picked only songs people already knew. Two years later, he says the volume of the congregation is still dramatically higher.
You’ll also hear why five people in unison on “Goodness of God” can carry a room better than a polished choir, how he teaches every vocal part by ear in five or six minutes with no sheet music, and what to say from the platform to someone who honestly doesn’t think of themselves as a singer.
His reframe for anyone with a small team: don’t depend on your five people to sound like a choir. Use them to inspire the congregation to be the choir.
If that’s the kind of Sunday you want, it starts with a team that already knows their parts before they walk in. That’s what Worship Online is for. Learn more at https://worshiponline.com/
Mentioned in the Episode
The Choir Room at Carnegie Hall
About Dwan Hill
Dwan Hill is a 3-time GRAMMY Award-winning songwriter, producer, musician and worship leader with a passion for helping the Church rediscover the power of congregational singing. Based in Nashville, Tennessee, Dwan has served as music director for CeCe Winans and worked alongside artists including Lauren Daigle, Tauren Wells and Jonny Lang. His songwriting and production credits include the chart-topping worship anthem “Believe For It” by CeCe Winans. He is also a 2-time Dove Award winner and 2-time ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Award winner.
As a worship leader at Cross Point Church and the visionary behind Choir Room, Dwan is passionate about bridging the gap between the platform and the congregation. Through songwriting, creative leadership and teaching, he encourages churches to move beyond performance-driven worship and cultivate communities that actively participate in singing together. In this episode of the Worship Online Podcast, Dwan shares practical insights on building a singing church, encouraging congregational participation, rethinking Christmas Eve services and preparing for Choir Room at Carnegie Hall alongside Brooke Ligertwood and Fred Hammond.
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The Worship Online Podcast is produced by Worship Online in Nashville, TN.
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