Traditional choir shrinking... when to call it quits?

[jrskaalerud]

Hello,

I am brand new on this forum. I haven't even introduced myself yet but am in need of suggestions pretty quick. Our church is a blend of older and younger generations, and contemporary and traditional styles. I've been there 3 years and have directed the choir for the last year. The choir has been shrinking and shrinking over the years. As we gear up for this fall I had no choice but to go to my pastor and say, "We need to draw a line and call on the congregation to fill this choir. Otherwise I don't know if I can manage such a small, inconsistent group of a few people." It has been a struggle over the last year with inconsistent members, most of them being older with much weaker voices now, and less of an ability to catch on quickly or sing intermediate to advanced music. So this last Sunday, my pastor did a great job as usual at demonstrating the need in our choir and called upon the congregation to take charge and commit, otherwise we have to find some sort of alternative because things just won't work the way they've been heading. Well, I haven't heard from a [B]single[B] person. well, except one woman who was slightly considering. So right now we have 5 basses, 1 tenor (well, one more but he can only committ to every once and a while), 4 sopranos and 2 altos. I guess, my main question is, based on the "line" my pastor and I discussed, the response was not enough to verify a full time choir this year. Is it time to call it quits? We might wait til' the first rehearsal to see if more people just "show up". But if not, does anyone have suggstions? What has happened to those of you who've gone through this before? Have you lost your choir? Did you just do a seasonal choir? I'd like to hear anything you have to offer. Oh, and your prayers :)

Thanks.

[russhutto]

Personally, I would scale back to a quarterly or seaonal choir, and then possibly phase it out altogether. But that's just me.

[milepost13]

Dude...you already know that it's a dying horse. As a leader, you have the responsibility to choose when and how it dies. You can let it continue to bleed, or you can put it out of it's misery. You gave it your best shot, and the people have spoken (or, haven't spoken as the case may be).

We have a rule at our church...we don't waste time, energy, resources and people on ministries that are dying. We either revitalize them, or kill them.

If I were you, I'd end it now, without a lot of fanfare, wait a few years, and revisit the idea of a choir when you've got a clean slate to work with.

Nate

[mikeymo1741]

You've got two choices:

Kill it, and now. What was said above is correct. You're wasting energy on something that the congregation is obviously not interested in.

or

Reinvent it into something fresh. Our choir is four sopranos, four altos, two who can sing either, two tenors and one baritone. We do not sing regularly at service on Sunday, but do sing at least once a month, as well as all special occaisions. We also do a lot of singing outside the church. We've had about thirty engagements this year already.

What kind of music do you do?

[Bondservant2k]

When I came to this church (FBC Key Largo) three years ago, 25 people showed up to meet me at a preliminary choir practice. Within five weeks after accepting the position it dwindled to 12. By the end of the first year I had about four people showing up regularly. Of the others who "could not" be regular, most insisted we "had" to have a choir, but I became more and more frustrated.
The ones who were committed were committed, the rest I'm sure were doing it for a dead Grandmother. So, through prayer, we changed the format. Without going all Hillsongs, we gave the committed ones a chance to worship, no robes, no frills. And they came alive. Over time, new people joined and the small group has grown. Now we have a team of 12 vocalists who lead with me, but not in a traditional choir sense. And when I come accross a song that touches me, we learn it and they present it in a more traditional package, still no robes, though. We reserve those for Christmas and Easter.
I think the biggest thing is to listen to what God is speaking. If it's a style or focal change, go for it. If you have to "shoot the horse," well, ya gotta do it, remembering that either is a hard thing and that walking boldly, trusting Jesus is all you can do.