Rev. Dr. Constance Cherry is Professor Emeritus of Worship and Pastoral Ministry, and Affiliate Professor at Wesley Seminary, Indiana Wesleyan University. She is also a founding faculty member of The Robert E. Webber Institute for Worship Studies, teaching DWS 702 every term since 2000.
In addition to her work in the academy, Constance has served in local church ministry for many years as a worship leader, church musician, and pastor. She is the author of six books and a published composer of various compositions for the church. Her first book, The Worship Architect: A Blueprint for Designing Culturally Relevant and Biblically Faithful Services, has been or is currently being used by more than 160 institutions of higher education, representing more than thirty denominations, as a required worship text. It is now in its second edition (2021) and published in five languages.
In honor of her achievements in the academy, Constance was awarded the university-wide Outstanding Scholarship Award by Indiana Wesleyan University in 2015. An active hymn writer, her hymns appear in six major hymnals. Constance earned a Bachelor’s in music from Huntington College (University), a Master of Music from Bowling Green State University and the Doctor of Ministry in Christian Worship from Northern Seminary where she was mentored by Robert Webber.
She is passionate about the local church and focuses her teaching/speaking on equipping leaders to achieve authentic worship renewal by helping them to identify and contextualize transcultural biblical principles that define Christian worship as truly Christian.