John Thornburg is a pastor, hymn writer, and song enlivener. After 22 years in parish ministry in North Texas, John started an itinerant ministry of song leading and worship consultation called A Ministry of Congregational Singing. In March 2013, he became the North Texas senior area representative for the Texas Methodist Foundation (TMF), assisting congregations with generosity strategies, endowment consultation, and strategic discernment. Though he retired from full-time work in July 2020, he works part-time with TMF’s Leadership Ministry as the director of learning. John’s writings (articles, poetry, hymn texts) appear in over 40 different journals, magazines, hymnals and collections of Christian worship songs.
Last Updated: September 10, 2025
It was an ordinary Sunday morning for the church in Obala, a village 40 kilometers from Cameroon’s capital city of Yaoundé. But for me it was anything but ordinary as I witnessed the evangelical power of singing that called people to worship the triune God.
Not long ago, I led a study of Charles Wesley’s hymns with a group of older adults. Despite their interest and attentiveness, there was pain in the room. One of the class members spoke up. “My son said to me, ‘Dad, the music at your church is boring and awful. You should come to my church so you can really worship.’” I asked whether this had happened to anyone else in the room. Of the eighty people in the class, over half raised their hands.
Connect
Reformed Worship Resources in Your Inbox
Sign up for the newsletter to receive the latest Reformed Worship resources and other news.
