- The names of the composers are anonymous to both the volunteer judges and the Church of the Servant (COS) minister of worship. All paper and electronic submissions are directed to a contest administrator and the identities of the composers are not accessible by anyone at anytime other than by the administrator.
- The judges review all entries independently of each other and evaluate and rank based upon the shared criteria as described in the Psalm Contest guidelines. The contest administrator does not participate in the rankings.
- After an initial round of ranking, the judges meet to sing and discuss the top ranking entries. They are also invited to advocate for any entry they felt strongly about that did not rank among the highest entries for all judges.
- The judges are solely responsible for selecting the winning entry. The contest administrator is present for the discussion but does not participate in selecting the winner.
- Every year the judges include a mix of COS members and outside musicians/worship planners. Some have judged in years past; others are new to the process. All have some combination of musical, theological, and literary training.
If you have any questions or concerns about the selection process, we welcome you to direct your communication to Maria Stapert at music@coscrc.org