What Is Multisensory Worship?

Multi-sensory worship seeks to engage all the senses in the worship of God. In the Postmodern era we understand that man has five senses, and he learns best through the use of all of them. Though "multi-sensory worship” may be a relatively new term, this style of worship actually dates back to before the Modern era.

Centuries ago the church was known as the center of visual arts. The masterpieces of Michelangelo, DaVinci and others were part of the fabric of worship. Brilliantly colored stained glass windows told the story of Jesus’ life and death. Incense exuded sultry odors from the altar. Rich musical numbers were performed by elaborately robed choirs to exalt God and enrich the worship experience.

When Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press in 1440, he triggered the beginning of the Modern Age. Over the years, much of Christianity lost its multi-sensory heritage. Church became something one experienced through one’s ears: a choir singing or a minister lecturing from behind a pulpit.

Now, less than 20 years since the inception of the Internet, current estimates are that more than 80 million people are connected to each other by the Internet and through satellites. A large shift is taking place in our culture due in part to electronic media. Without us being fully aware, the information and technology revolution has reshaped the ways in which we learn, work, play, communicate and think. Our culture has developed into a visually oriented society. The screen has replaced the page as the dominant form of communication.

We call this period in time the “Postmodern Era”. Michael Slaughter, noted author and pastor of Ginghamsburg church in Ohio, maintains that electronic media is to the Postmodern era what Gutenberg’s press was to the Modern era. For years teachers and pastors alike despaired that postmodern people no longer had an attention span. Current research shows that people who experience multi-sensory, multimedia learning techniques seem to be able to almost absorb information out of the air around them.

This is wonderful news when it comes to experiencing the presence of God! Just as the apostles spread the good news of Jesus in the language of their day, so, too, multi-sensory worship is reaching the postmodern generation of today.

According to Michael Slaughter, “The media screen is the stained glass window of the twenty-first century.”

Multi-sensory worship services utilize contemporary music that stirs the soul and invites the presence of the Holy Spirit. The rhythm of the drums and the poignant, often mournful sounds of the electric guitar add a dimension that has been missing to worship services that utilize only the piano and organ. They make one sway with the music and tap one’s foot, involving the whole body in the worship of one’s Creator.

Multi-media video and dramatic skits are also used in multi-sensory worship. Like an object lesson frequently used in the teaching of children, video clips and skits allow one to connect with the message in a language the Postmodern culture immediately understands.

Likewise, candlelight and fresh flowers, the smell and taste of coffees, cappuccino, and cookies, invite one’s sense of smell and taste into the mélange that creates the worship experience. The warmth of a hug or handshake and a smile invites the sense of touch.

In conclusion, the message has not changed; the way it is delivered and is absorbed has. The multi-sensory movement is an attempt to recover some of the church’s multi-sensory heritage and communicate the Word of God in the language of our culture. The Postmodern culture desires a more three-dimensional approach to worship, and multi-sensory style worship services deliver this and more.