What "Come, Now Is the Time to Worship" means
Brian Doerksen wrote this song in 1998 and it has not left the church's vocabulary since. That kind of longevity in congregational music is not accidental. It points to something the song did, and continues to do, that the congregation actually needs.
The song is not complicated. That is its genius. In an era when worship music was beginning to require significant musical sophistication to track, Doerksen offered a song that a room full of strangers could learn in the first eight bars. The simplicity is not a concession. It is the design.
What "Come, Now Is the Time to Worship" does theologically is frame the act of gathering as an urgent invitation that belongs to this specific moment. The word "now" does real work. Worship is not a thing to be prepared for across a long runway of qualification. It is available now, in this room, with whatever you carried in. The song refuses to let the congregation defer.
The Vineyard context matters for understanding the song's ethos. The Vineyard movement's core conviction was that intimacy with God was accessible to ordinary people in ordinary settings without requiring extraordinary experiences. This song is that conviction in musical form.
The word "choose" in the lyric is also doing theological work. Worship is not coercion. It is not a performance. It is a decision. The song invites the congregation to exercise that decision in the present tense.
What this song does in a room
This song is one of the most reliable congregational on-ramps in the evangelical worship catalog. When a room includes visitors, unchurched guests, people who do not know the other songs, or a wide age range that does not share a common musical reference point, this song can reach all of them simultaneously.
At 76 BPM in 4/4, the tempo is gentle enough to be approachable but not so slow that it requires advanced musical tolerance. The melodic range is accessible. The lyrical density is low. This is a song that almost no one fails to find their way into.
In a room that is warming up or arriving in scattered fashion, this song can function as a gathering tool. By the end of the first chorus, the room that was fragmented tends to be moving together. The shared melody creates a shared experience faster than most other tools available to a worship leader.
For established congregations that have sung this song dozens of times, the familiarity is an asset rather than a liability. There is something in singing a song you know by heart that allows you to mean it more fully than a song you are still learning.
What this song is saying about God
The song makes a layered claim about God's nature. He is the one "who is worthy." That is a royal, transcendent claim. Worthiness is a category of ultimate value. To say God is worthy is to say nothing compares to him, nothing outranks him, and nothing else deserves what this moment of gathered attention offers.
But the song does not stop at transcendence. It moves to intimacy: "the greatest treasure remains for those who gladly choose you now." God is not only worthy of worship as a cosmic category. He is also personally valuable, the greatest treasure. That movement from throne-room to intimate encounter is the song's theological spine.
The lyrical choice to say "now" repeatedly keeps the claim rooted in the present moment. This is not abstract theology. This is a statement about what is available to this room in this hour.
For a congregation that has grown comfortable with familiarity, this song can be a reminder that what they are doing in gathered worship is not routine. The familiarity of the melody can be a vehicle for deeper engagement if you help them see it.
Scriptural backbone
Revelation 4:11 is the clearest anchor: "Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created." The language of worthiness in the song is throne-room language drawn directly from this scene.
Psalm 95:6 adds depth: "Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!" The invitation to come, the communal posture of bowing, the acknowledgment of God as maker: all of it resonates with what Doerksen wrote.
Matthew 13:44-46, the parables of the treasure and the pearl, underpin the "greatest treasure" lyric. The kingdom of God, and by extension God himself, is the treasure for which everything else is traded gladly.
How to use it in a service
This song is among the most versatile in the catalog. It can open a service and establish the posture for everything that follows. It can function as a bridge song between two sections of a set. It can close a service by returning the congregation to the simple invitation that initiated the gathering.
It is particularly strong as an opener for services with high guest or visitor counts, because it teaches the congregation what they are doing before they have to know how. By the time they have sung the first chorus once, they know why they gathered.
For multi-generational congregations, this song is rare common ground. Older members who remember the 90s Vineyard catalog know it from one context. Younger members may know it from contemporary worship culture. It lands across that divide.
If you are planning a service around the theme of worship itself, what it is, why it matters, why we gather, this song is an obvious and strong anchor.
Things to watch for as the worship leader
The song's simplicity can create a temptation to under-prepare it. Do not. Simple songs require the same attention in rehearsal as complex ones, and the margin for error is actually smaller because there are fewer elements to distract from a problem.
Watch the congregation during the first chorus. Because the song is well known, you will be able to read engagement quickly. If the room is flat, consider whether a brief re-orientation from you might help. Not a lengthy speech, but a single sentence that names what you are doing and why this moment matters.
The repeated chorus structure can feel circular if you lead it without internal intention. Know what you are building toward in each repetition. The third time through the chorus should feel different from the first, even if the words are identical. That difference lives in your leadership posture, not in the arrangement.
Be careful not to rush the ending. The song has a soft-landing quality that you should honor. Let the last note resolve fully before you speak or move.
A note for the team behind you (techs, vocalists, band)
For the band: the piano or acoustic guitar is the natural lead instrument here. The arrangement should feel open and congregational, which means leaving space rather than filling it. At 76 BPM, the rhythm section should be supportive without being dominant. If the drummer is playing with sticks, consider brushes or hot rods during the verses. Let the chorus open up, but do not let it get loud. This song's ceiling is medium-full, not wall-of-sound.
For vocalists: your role is to model engagement more than anything else. Because this song is simple and the congregation knows it, they will be watching how you sing it more than learning from you. If you look like you mean it, they will mean it with you. If you look like you are performing it, they will watch you perform. Lead from the inside. Keep the harmony simple, and do not step on the melody with decorative parts that distract from the lyric.
For the tech team: this song is forgiving of room acoustics, which is part of its value in varied settings. Your primary job is to keep the mix clean and warm. The vocal needs to be clear and present without being loud. A slight pad of reverb on the lead vocal, with a shorter decay than the slower songs, keeps it articulate without sounding dry. If you are running a click for the band, make sure it is settled before the song starts and is not a source of instability. For lighting, keep it moderate and inviting. This is not a high-drama song. It is a gathering song. The light should feel like a room being prepared for a welcome, not a stage being set for a performance.