ORANGE PARK, Fla- In the October 2013 issue of Worship Leader Magazine, the Robert E. Webber Institute for Worship Studies (IWS) was selected for the third consecutive year as one of the top educational programs that influenced Christian worship in the past calendar year. Yearly, Worship Leader surveys worship leaders and media teams around the world, sifting through myriad suggestions from the leaders in worship and worship technology to come up with its lists of outstanding contributors in the field of Christian worship.
Worship Leader’s eagerly awaited guide to the best of the best in the world of worship was released in early October, 2013 by subscription, at newsstands, and for downloadable purchase. The “Best of the Best” is a vital directory of everything from the best music resources to the ultimate software, technology, worship training, musical instruments, apps, sound and recording equipment, books and devotionals, leading products in lighting and projection and more.
This is the fourth year that the Institute has earned a slot in Worship Leader’s exclusive “Best of the Best” directory of worship resources. In 2011 the publication cited IWS as “the industry standard for excellence and theological foundation.”
IWS President James R. Hart commented, “The Robert E. Webber Institute for Worship Studies is honored to receive the Worship Leader Magazine 2013 Readers’ Choice designation. This award honors the continued hard work, dedication and world-wide impact of the students, alumni, faculty, board and staff of IWS, as well as Bob Webber’s rich legacy in worship renewal and education.”
Dr. Chuck Fromm, owner and publisher of Worship Leader Magazine, recently wrote:
For the student who wants to understand deeply the biblical foundations of worship in a context that is historically tuned, culturally aware and sensitive to the needs of those who are-or long to be-in worship ministry, IWS is unique. A warm, welcoming place that combines distance learning with onsite intensives, IWS makes pursuing an advance degree attainable, even for those already involved in fulltime ministry, and delivers the kind of education that is only possible with a world-class faculty. I love visiting and teaching there. To see the dreams of my dear friend and IWS founder Robert Webber become incarnate reality is such a joy.
The Robert E. Webber Institute for Worship Studies offers the Doctor of Worship Studies and the Masters of Worship Studies degree programs, using a unique mix of in-class instruction on its Florida campus near Jacksonville and distance learning. More than 600 students from over 60 denominations in the U.S., Canada and 19 other countries have matriculated at IWS since its founding in 1999. IWS holds accredited status with the Commission on Accreditation of the Association for Biblical Higher Education.