The "New" LPM

Since its inception in 1995, LPM has provided a unique approach to help "undertrained" church musicians, pastors, and worship leaders empower their ministries.  The large number of LPM graduates attests to the success of the program. 

Photo: Carol Teague, Texas-Louisiana-Gulfcoast LPM, at the organ of Christ Lutheran, El Campo, Texas

 Recently, the LPM Board has begun to respond to new challenges:

• What are mission and goals of LPM as we move beyond our first decade of existence?
• What new technologies can we employ to better distribute LPM curriculum and other materials to those who need it?
• How can the board provide LPM faculty with instruction and opportunity to practice delivery, activity and evaluation strategies?
• How can LPM move past financing the program by grants into a sustaining business plan that will better enable us to respond to changing needs?
• How can we communicate the need for changes to the LPM business plan and help develop budgets for local and National LPM?
• How can we better enable local LPM coordinators to make their local programs more effective in terms of recruitment, advertising, publicity, site management, course sequencing, budget, and other concerns?
• How can we involved a younger generation in LPM and share our passion with them?
• How can we help develop a network of LPM coordinators and other leaders that helps provide an on-going base of support in addition to that of the LPM Coordinator-Consultant and board?
  

These questions have no quick and easy answers and will not be resolved overnight.  However, significant progress is being made toward meeting these needs.  The LPM Board welcomes input from local coordinators, faculty, and others who believe in the mission of LPM.  Please address your comments to any board member.

To date, the LPM Board has responded to these needs as follows:

• Updated the mission statement of LPM: “empowering musical leaders in churches to lead worship that is vibrant and participatory.”
• By offering LPM coordinator & recertification training across the country, thus enabling us to discuss recruitment, advertising and publicity, site management, course sequencing and other issues and concerns of local LPM leaders. Information about training and graduates are listed on the Coordinator Training  page.
• Provide new and updated training materials to graduates of coordinator and recertification trainings as changes are made.  These materials will offer specific help to coordinators starting new programs.  These files are on the Documents page under "Starting & Running a Local LPM Program."
  
• Provide LPM coordinator training that meets current needs.  Training information is found here.   In addition to planned trainings, the National Board will take coordinator training to sites where promising local programs are planned.
  
• Take "LPM on the Road" by presenting workshops of interest to church leaders in local communities. This can "give a taste" of LPM to those areas considering having a regular LPM program in their area.  See Upcoming Events on the homepage. 
• To involve younger persons, an LPM group was created on Facebook (the online community) to enable many generations to share with each other more easily their passion for church music. 
  
• We added a board member under 30, John Weit, to the national board in 2008 to help bring a younger outlook to the national LPM board. John is now editing our Enewsletter and bringing his own unique vision to us.
  
• Make revisions to the LPM curriculum to meet ecumenical needs and changing needs of church musicians. All courses have had additional resources added to them.
  
• Provide support and on-going regular updates to the curriculum and other teaching materials and communicate the same through the Enewsletter.
• LPM coordinators now have access access to the curriculum on a reduced fee basis for currently certified coordinators. Contact John Marsh (713-206-8896; marek2go@gmail.com), or Ellen Johnston (804-353-1819; ellenjohnston95@hotmail.com)
  
• Provide instruction and opportunity to practice delivery, activity and evaluation strategies suggested for the faculty of each course.  In other words, to provide educational strategies that help local faculty better teach the courses.
• Continue developing an evolving  business plan for LPM to make it self-sustaining and not reliant on grants that change from year to year; and to assist local LPM programs in budgets and other financial concerns. The Amazon.com link on the homepage is one such effort in this direction.
• Continue to help establish a network of LPM coordinators and other leaders to provide an on-going base of support in addition to that from the board.
• Develop ecumenical ties with as many partner organizations as can mutually benefit from LPM.
• Update the LPM website to reflect the changes outlined above.
• PowerPoint presentations that help introduce LPM are available from John Marsh, or Ellen Johnston.  They come in two varieties: 1/complete with sound; 2/no sound, but with an accompanying script that can be read.

This work is on-going, and, by its nature, never finished.  Keep LPM in your prayers that it may continue to be a relevant, thriving, spirit-filled, educating organization that empowers church musicians to honor God by providing the best musical gifts possible.

Photos: (left) Quincy Dobbs, Ken Courtney & Janet Loman at LPM National Board meeting; (right) Anna Leppert-Largent teaching at Coordinator Training at All Souls Cathedral, Asheville, North Carolina, May 2007.