By Susan Shinn Turner
For the Salisbury Post

“From the Inside Out” is a contemporary worship song made popular by Hillsong Church.

It’s also the name of a worship service this Saturday evening in the Faith Center of St. John’s Lutheran Church, 200 W. Innes St., in Downtown Salisbury.

“From the Inside Out: An Evening of Worship,” begins at 6 p.m. The church’s 9:27 Musicians will lead an evening of favorite songs of praise, according to Ondria Witt, St. John’s contemporary worship co-leader.

A time of fellowship and light refreshments will follow in Peeler Hall. The event is free and the community is invited. Attendees may use the building’s Jackson Street entrance directly across from the church’s Child Development Center.

“We’re going to be integrating contemporary music from the last 20 years,” says Rob Durocher, minister of worship and the arts. “This is an evening of song for the congregation and community, remembering our musical past and present.”

Along with selections by Hillsong, the evening will also include compositions made popular by Bethel and Elevation churches. The 9:27 Musicians and the congregation helped shape the set list.

Witt and Michael Board serve as contemporary worship co-leaders.

“Michael and I could have chosen what we wanted,” Witt notes. “But we really wanted to have input of our team to share their favorites. From there, we asked each vocalist to lead a favorite song if they chose. Everybody chose completely different songs. At the beginning of the summer, we asked the congregation to submit favorite songs.

She continues, “We’ve been using some of the songs in our morning worship services this month, so when people come to worship night they can sing. We’re offering a mix of newer songs, along with older songs that are still very meaningful.”

Contemporary worship at St. John’s has its genesis in Center Celebration, which began in October 2003, Durocher says. Indeed, one of his main responsibilities when he was hired was to create a contemporary worship service.

“Pastor Carl Sachtleben had the foresight that churches were moving toward,” Durocher says. “We wanted a service that was Christ-centered, meaningful and theologically solid.”

The temporary space used for the service eventually maxed out, creating the impetus for building the Faith Center, which opened in September 2015.

“After we moved to the new space, we began having 180 to 220 people in worship,” Durocher says. “We had more than 300 people on Easter Sunday. It was packed. This space continues to grow and flourish in its ninth year. We have two solid worship leaders.

“Michael and Ondria have a heart for leading this style of worship. We collaborate with the pastors for content and flow. Taylor Hutchins, our production manager, is very important in coordinating the sound, lights and slides. We’re grateful and we’re blessed, and we’re excited about this event.”

Witt agrees.

“When we had Center Celebration, we hosted Total Praise nights, in which we invited the congregation and community to come and sing popular worship songs among our congregation. It was a night of absolute praise. When we moved into the new space, those nights shifted to the back burner.

“We resurrected a worship night last summer with ‘Deeper,’ and it was well received. I have personally missed it. This night is for our musicians, too. We get a chance to come and worship without all the logistics of a Sunday morning service.”

She adds, “You can just come and be fully immersed in the worship experience. Hopefully, everyone will leave feeling more closely connected to God.”

Susan Shinn Turner is staff writer for St. John’s Lutheran Church.