The Center for Worship Arts at GCU

With the vision to create a new generation of worship leaders who impact churches around the world, Grand Canyon University has launched the Center for Worship Arts.

The inter-disciplinary center has been a collaborative achievement for the university. Through the biggest names in the Christian music industry, GCU has leveraged a depth of industry knowledge and access. Bart Millard, the lead singer of MercyMe, will serve as GCU's inaugural director of the Center for Worship Arts.

Bart Millard's extensive industry experience and passion for worship gives him a one-of-a-kind perspective that will help shape the next generation of worship leaders.

Relevance in the 21^st Century

Recent years have witnessed significant transformations in Christian worship. These transformations reflect a number of revolutionary trends in the Christian music industry, which have led to a pressing need for a new breed of worship leaders in churches across the nation.GCU's vibrant campus for the arts connects the worship industry to students who have the gift of making music and feel the calling to lead in worship. As the next step for a high school graduate, the center provides a relevant theology degree to become a worship leader in a contemporary church or ministry setting.

Learn the Gospel, Live the Gospel

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God" (Colossians 3:16).

Through the Center for Worship Arts, we offer the Bachelor of Arts in Worship Arts with four areas of emphasis:

         Worship Ministry

         Worship Production

         Worship Management

         Digital Media

With a strong theological focus, the program trains students in ministry to effectively communicate the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Each emphasis deeply explores a feature of contemporary worship ministry and the Christian music industry.

For instance, the worship management emphasis handles the business end of these industries. The worship production emphasis focuses on technical excellence and production quality. And, worship ministry appeals to the performers who want to lead worship and perform more than anything else.

Engage in Practical Learning

A blend of industry experts, instructors and seasoned worship ministers contribute to the learning experience in this integrative program. On a regular basis, industry experts will lead worship summits and Bart Millard himself will host songwriting workshops.

The public nature of a worship leader's role demands a profound depth of theological knowledge to communicate the Gospel message with clarity and through music that glorifies God. Students are offered a comprehensive set of knowledge and expertise in this arena to deliver transformative performances.