Salem Baptist Church launches Fruitful series after summer worship experiment

Salem Baptist Church in Omaha is building on a summer worship series that paired Scripture with music across genres by launching a fall series called Fruitful. Senior pastor Jarvis Ellis and minister of music Ananias Montague say the goal is to deepen worship, strengthen discipleship and help members carry faith beyond Sunday morning.

Why it matters: - Salem Baptist Church is using worship planning to shape discipleship, not just Sunday programming. - The church says the goal is for worship and preaching to work together in ways that help people leave changed, not simply entertained. - The new series centers on the fruit of the Spirit, which Ellis frames as a test of spiritual growth in daily life.

What happened: - Salem Baptist Church in Omaha launched a fall worship and preaching series called Fruitful based on Galatians 5 and the fruit of the Spirit. - Senior pastor the Rev. Dr. Jarvis A. Ellis Sr. and minister of music Ananias Montague discussed how the church is intentionally pairing the pulpit and music ministry. - The new series follows Summer in the Psalms, a summer worship series that combined Scripture with music from gospel, hymns, contemporary Christian music and songs from popular culture. - The church released the discussion as an interview and directed viewers to watch the full interview on YouTube.

The details: - Summer in the Psalms centered on the Psalms, which Montague said gave the team room to explore joy, struggle, confidence, questions and trust in God. - The series used songs with lyrical connections to Scripture, including Marvin Gaye’s "What’s Going On." - Montague said the music was not separate from the message, but part of the worship experience that supported the preached Word. - Ellis said a session at the IC3 conference in Houston sharpened his thinking about weekly worship planning between the pastor and music leader. - Montague said the summer series pushed him to look beyond a song’s title and focus on the lyrics. - Ellis said the summer format stretched him as a preacher by forcing him to think about how to help people see themselves in Scripture. - Salem members responded during and after worship, with people stopping leaders to talk about what the series meant to them. - Montague has served Salem for 18 years and said the church gives him room to study other productions, attend conferences and bring back ideas about creativity, presentation and excellence. - Ellis said Salem’s leadership has intentionally supported learning and development for the church and the wider Omaha community. - Fruitful will focus on love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. - Ellis said the series is meant to ask what is growing in believers and whether churchgoers are producing evidence of God’s work in their lives. - Montague said the church wants to help people bring burdens such as disappointment, stress, family concerns, financial pressure and grief into worship. - Montague said the aim is for people to receive the Word and leave differently than they came.

Between the lines: - The conversation shows Salem treating music selection, sermon planning and worship atmosphere as one integrated ministry strategy. - Ellis and Montague are presenting worship as formation, with the preacher and the music leader both responsible for preparing people to receive the Word. - The focus on multiple genres signals an effort to reach a multigenerational congregation without flattening the church’s musical tradition. - Ellis’ comments suggest the church sees spiritual maturity as visible in everyday character, not just church attendance.

What’s next: - Fruitful is expected to continue through the fall as Salem explores the fruit of the Spirit through preaching and music. - Ellis and Montague said they hope the series will produce visible spiritual growth in Salem members and a wider impact in the Omaha community. - The church’s leadership appears likely to keep building on the collaborative model tested during Summer in the Psalms.

The bottom line: - Salem Baptist Church is turning worship into a deliberate partnership between word and music, with the goal of producing lasting spiritual fruit after Sunday morning.