On a scale of 1-10, how engaged is your church?
Do you look forward to worshiping on Sunday or are you worried that everyone in the room hates you?
It’s frustrating, isn’t it? To put so much time and effort into preparing for Sunday…to be met only by staring (sometimes glaring) faces. Why don’t people engage?
While you’d like to blame it on their lack of spiritual depth, it’s most likely something you can work on. Of course, that’s a general statement. There are other factors at work. But this is something I’ve observed in my own leadership for 18 years as well as coaching many other worship leaders and teams.
How should we approach engagement? Should be obsess over it, counting the number of hands that are raised? Is that worship leader success?
Or should we forget about it and just pursue Jesus? I’ve seen both. The right answer is somewhere in the middle. We can’t ignore engagement, because we’re called to lead the church. It’s our responsibility to help them discover their voice in this midst of their victory and trial.
But we also can’t obsess over it because that’s just an adventure in missing the point.
Here are a handful of tips for navigating these waters.
13 Reasons Why Your Church Isn’t Engaged in Worship
1. People don’t know the songs – If you lead too many unfamiliar songs, people will have a hard time engaging. They’re thinking too much about the newness and can’t fully dive in.
2. People don’t connect with the songs – It’s possible you are leading songs you love, but your congregation simply doesn’t connect with. Lead the songs that have a visible effect on people. If a song isn’t working, have the courage to toss it out.
3. You’re not an invitational leader – Many congregations don’t respond because you haven’t invited them to. There’s a disposition, a vibe a leader gives off that is either invitational or a spectacle. Be an invitational leader – give vocal cues, encourage, coach, speak up, smile, be engaged, help them sing.
4. Your team isn’t engaged – Have you looked at your team recently? You may have an unresponsive church because your team looks like they want to kill someone. Think about it. Do you feel motivated to engage in an activity where the leaders don’t want to be there? It’s not enough for you as the leader to be engaged. Coach your team to step outside their instrument and worship.
5. Your set isn’t structured well – Many times the actual setlist is a deterrent to corporate worship. Once you’ve chosen your set, filter it with these questions:
- Have I planned my transitions?
- Is there any room for silence or spontaneity?
- Where can I place a simple, stripped back chorus or hymn?
- When am I going to address the congregation?
6. There’s not enough space – Let’s talk a little bit more about space. It could be your church isn’t engaging because it’s just too produced – it moves from full song to full song to full song to full song, like an album tracklist. A setlist that engages utilizes space. There’s moments of spontaneous worship, contemplation, Scripture, and exhortation. People want to feel a part of the moment and engagement will never happen unless you create space for it.
7. You’re singing but not coaching – Say this out loud, “Vocal cues are my friend.” You might be the best singer in the country. Your talent may very well be mind-blowing. But an engaging worship leader isn’t just one who shows people how great they are. They help others find their voice. Of course, there’s a wrong way to do this. Constant vocal cues can be annoying when they’re before every line of the song. For me, I determine the most anthemic moments of a song and always encourage the church to sing out before heading into those sections. Don’t miss this. Vocal cues are the quickest way to increase your church’s engagement.
8. The mix is poor – Is your sound guy managing volume or mixing music? There’s a fundamental difference. I understand how difficult it is to find any sound techs, let alone good ones. But this could turn into a great coaching opportunity with your current roster. It’s hard to engage if the mix is awful. Too quiet, and people feel awkward. Too loud, and their brains hurt. As Chris Greely says, a good mix doesn’t have to be a loud. Coach your techs to mix sound like it’s an instrument, not just pull the volume down.
9. Your team doesn’t sound good – Let me be careful here. A local church worship team doesn’t have to sound like Bethel to be effective. I’m not talking about the glorification of excellence. But there needs to be a standard of excellence to avoid distraction. If musicians and vocals are out of tune constantly, everyone will notice. Have team members who are constantly making mistakes? Work with them one on one to make sure they know what you expect of them.
10. There’s no depth – You may not think you’re a rockstar, but your persona tells a different story. There’s a way to present yourself that is self-seeking, self-serving, flashy, and quite frankly, a turn-off. Lead out of the depth of your story. Lead with a fire for Jesus. Lead with a depth in God that connects with the depth in others. Of course, you can’t fake this. You need to live the life before you live the stage.
11. You don’t talk – People will follow you if they trust you and connect with you. It’s hard to do that by just singing songs at people. At some point, you’re gonna have to speak up and engage. Ask questions. Connect with the room. Minister. Practice your public speaking.
12. Some aren’t believers – Some people might seem disengaged because they’re not believers. They don’t now what is going on. Maybe they’ve never been to a church like yours. Don’t be frustrated with everyone. Realize there’s more going on in people than you may realize.
13. People are overwhelmed – Have you ever been so stressed that it’s difficult to do anything except worry? That could very well be most of your congregation. This is why leading with compassion is so important. Rather than guilting people into raising their hands and jumping around, help the suffering saint to sing. Be patient, choose the right songs, and lead by example.
Let’s discuss this. How is the response of your congregation?
What challenges are you experiencing?
Let’s talk it out in the comments.
[ois skin=”Beyond Sunday 2″]
Great article David. What’s great at the church I’m a part of is that because none of the 13 reasons are true (with a slight exception to #11) for us, the premise is true isn’t true either.
But hit the reasons squarely. Any church that tackles your 13 points will find your congregation actively engaged in genuine worship. Not only that – but genuine worship is in and of itself evangelism.
What a blessing.
Oh, a lot of our people are non-believers (so far) but that doesn’t hinder worship for the others.
I recently visited a local church where they post YouTube links of all the songs (with lyrics) that they will play in services in the next 6-8 weeks. What a simple but effective use of their website to allow people to learn and use the songs in their private & corporate worship settings!
Great idea!
Worship leaders should refrain from giving out meaningless platitudes as a way of engaging the audience. “Shout it out!” “Sing it out!” are not effective ways of drawing the audience in.
Then there’s the whole aspect of starting a service without so much as a prayer – so the congregation doesn’t know whether to watch or participate. We should do more as leaders to cultivate an authentic worship atmosphere that leads the congregation to render heartfelt worship
Brian, I disagree slightly. I think vocal cues can be very effective if done well. They’re not just meaningless platitudes in my mind. It’s a way of helping people sing with you rather than you singing at them. But if done poorly, it is for sure a turn off. It needs to have a pastoral, passionate, tone and not overdone. Thanks for the balancing thought!
Not that I am superstitious or anything like that, but I want to make it 14.
I Corinthians 3
“And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ. 2 I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able, 3 for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men? 4 For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not mere men?
5 What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one. 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. 7 So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth. 8 Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. 9 For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.”
The take-away from these verses: MERE MEN WORSHIP
14- Misplaced devotion assures spiritual immaturity (babies)
which in turn hijacks the true meaning of worship (“we are still fleshly”)
which in turn puts men, gimmicks and gadgets (and music) in charge
which in turn makes us think that we can make worship happen
which in turn creates a stage, production and actors who pretend for the sake of “results”
which in turn creates an audience who worships the actors and their trade
which in turn assures that we engage with personalities and production, not spiritual worship of God. (over and over)
Solution:
Get rid of the stage and the music that glorifies “Paul and Apollos”.
For three months–have services of worship with nothing more than the Word of God and prayer. (go on a music fast) It is doubtful that this church will bring back the show sponsored by “mere men” worshippers and led by the same. The milk of showmanship will be lost in preference to the meat of scripture. “Mere Men Worship” is no more!
I’ve been leading worship for 3+ years in our Wednesday night service. Initially, some of our people seemed disengaged. I sought and God showed me that I needed a deeper relationship with and understanding of our congregation, to ask about their desires during worship and praise. I listened to their hearts and made adjustments in my set lists accordingly. I began to see them transform and engage more deeply in worship. This deep worship has overflowed into our Sunday morning service as well. I have a diverse age group on Wednesday nights, so the challenge has been blending songs and arranging choruses old and new, which has beautifully closed the gap. There has been nothing more rewarding than leaving a worship service knowing that we’ve all exchanged the worries of our day for intimate fellowship with our Savior.
Connie, I love that. A deeper relationship and understanding is everything. So good.
David! Great article!!! I’ve been leading worship since I was a teenager, some of those times with you and Kate!! I’m actually now leading with my husband and another guy at Element Church. My struggle is engaging the congregation with vocal cues and talking/praying. I can sing a song and lead anything you want but if you ask me to talk I tend to clench up, but I’m getting better as I step out in faith and have God lead my words. I get scared I’m gonna sound dumb or say something stupid! But I’m learning to let go and let God’s words come!
I’m so blessed to have this gift of worship and to be doing it with my husband makes it even cooler!
God bless David, I love reading your articles and listening to your pod casts. So cool that I grew up with you too!
So awesome that you’re leading, Alyssa! Talking and engaging is so difficult and scary when you first set out. Something that helped me was remembering that people simply wanted to connect with Jesus, not just hear me sing. That helped me overcome the fear. Keep up the good work!
Hi David,
Thanks for preparing and sharing.
I was curious… are the 13 reasons listed above from your own experience or are they based on some research you did (or both)?
Thanks
Gary
Southern NH (USA)
Keith Getty in an interview in Christianity Today talks about a poll they did among hundreds of worship leaders to find out what concerned them. The worship leaders talked about the instruments, the newest music, music style, the soundboard, lighting etc. No one asked how the congregation was singing. Points # 1 and 2 are the biggest reason for non participation. Keith also states, “This is the first time in Church history that Wall Street is deciding what we should sing”. Congregations are looking for singeability and depth of message. Our obsession with the newest song promoted by the Worship Industry’s marketing machine needs to be replaced with a body of songs that the congregation enjoys and can effectively sing together. I have often seen over 50% of the people around me not singing. If the people in the chairs are not singing then what am I doing up on the stage? Ask the congregation for regular input on the choice of new music. Accept their critique. Practice humility and service.
I’ve long been concerned about the little regard shown to the people in the pews so the team on the platform can present the latest “hot” songs which often don’t connect but only allow the leader to mimic the original. Who cares if it’s too high, too low, too wordy, etc. Fortunately, we’re increasingly asking, “What’s the take-away for our folks? Will they leave today remembering a powerful lyric matched with a melody they can even hum in the car?” This may mean leaving out one or more of the verses, eliminating a bridge, cutting out unnecessary instrumental measures…whatever it takes to get to the heart of it. We may take a pass on the most popular songs on the radio, but we’ll be better at leading people to a meaningful encounter with the King.
This is a remarkable subject. I absolutely agree with these thoughts. I left church today where I felt like I’ve watched a mini-concert instead of engaging with the whole congregation connecting together with all of our voices, (high and low, off key or on, young and old, harmonizing or not). I love to look around the church and see everyone praising our Lord, Jesus. Today, it was a show that we were watching. We watched other people praise the Lord on stage. I didn’t go home today, with a powerful lyric or tune stuck in my head that would carry me through the week until next Sunday. But I will turn on my radio and sing 🙂 Bless our worship ministry for they too are growing in humility, becoming more like Christ.