Leading worship can be overwhelming sometimes, right?
Not only do you have to worship God with all your heart, you have to lead a band, play an instrument, sing, engage a room, please your leaders, and be theologically sound. There’s a lot to juggle.
Of course, worship isn’t about music, singing, stage presence, personality, but it doing it well does include all of these. My goal with this article is to break down 4 essential skills that every worship leader needs to focus on.
This was part of a workshop I recently organized to equip my worship leaders. I also shared it with my newsletter and received such positive feedback.
So here it is: 4 skills that separate great worship leaders from good song leaders.
Enjoy:
1. The Song
A worship leader needs to be familiar not just with the structure of a song, knowing the verse, chorus, & bridge, but needs to internalize the message.
When you internalize the message, you tend to deliver it with more immediacy and intensity. Some worship leaders are not believable in how they sing. There’s no ache, no desperation.
Know the lyric in your mind, believe it with your heart, and deliver it with your soul.
Hesitancy comes from being self conscious and nervous. We are worrying what people are thinking so we don’t risk vulnerability. Your vulnerability will help others discover their own.
I like to encourage worship leaders to not be self confident but God confident – secure in the fact that God is moving and He has appointed you to lead.
Don’t just sing songs. Live them.
2. The Segue
You may be prepared with your songs, but are you prepared with your transitions? This needs to be thought through.
The most powerful worship times happen in between songs. It’s a time where people can be free to really express their worship in that moment.
How will you connect your songs? Will they flow right into each other? Will you say something? What instruments will be playing. How will you change keys?
Also get comfortable with using medleys for flow moments.
3. The Soul
Are you connecting with the people in the room? We’ve all been in worship environments where we just don’t connect with the leader. They are doing their thing and we’re watching it happen.
As a leader the most important skill you can develop is building trust with the room. If people trust you, they will follow you. If they don’t, well, they’ll watch you do your thing.
The best way to connect is to say something – to relationally connect with the room.
Here’s how I encourage worship leaders in their speaking:
- Empathize with them – be real, down to earth, understand them, make a connection.
- Engage them with Scripture – connect their circumstance to God’s truth.
- Help them Express their worship – lead them in an action step: singing a song, raising hands, kneeling, declaring, etc.
The goal of corporate worship isn’t for a group of people to agree with songs. It’s for them to declare God’s promise, goodness, and glory over their lives.
4. The Silence
Great worship leaders don’t just know songs. They know God.
They know what to do with silence. They are comfortable with spontaneous moments because they practice those moments.
Learn how to lead people in worship beyond songs. Become a worship leader who genuinely pursues God. Knowing songs and music is a necessary skill, but not at the expense of knowing God’s voice, how He works, what He’s doing, who He is.
Worship Leader, what would you add to this list?
How are you doing a better job connecting to God and connecting to people?
Let’s discuss it in the comments. You can leave a comment by clicking here.
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[ois skin = “Beyond Sunday 2”]
For over thirty years now I have led songs and music within small group and corporate worship settings. To this day, I still experience the dichotomy of “This is joyous” and “what in the world am I doing here”.
The concept of leading worship, as opposed to leading in worship, has never appealed to me. In fact I refuse the very thought. The title of “Worship Leader” reminds me of the story of Simon in Acts 8. Have we not spawned a generation of those who say, “Let me have this power too.”? (v19)
Have we not created a fleshly industry around an activity that is simplistically holy? Have we set ourselves up for the fall when we pretend to lead worship? Do we not become mystical, if not magicians, attempting to “connect everyone to God” via our puppet strings, hoping for His approval?
We pretend this is all for God, getting our lingo just right, but perhaps it is more about what Simon wanted: “Let me have this power too.”
Glenn, I’m so sad to hear that after thirty years, you speak of leading people in worship with such disdain!
I can only speak for myself, but in my 17 years of being on our worship team, with the last seven years as the Worship Leader, I can’t tell you how many people have come to me with tears and hugs, thanking me for allowing God to use me to minister to them. I’m not saying this to boost my ego, but to show that worship in church services is hugely important. Most people (again, in my experience) live with so much guilt and shame that they don’t worship God on their own because they often think that God is angry with them and that He would reject them. Of course that’s not true, and if you talk to them about it, they know it’s not true – but it FEELS true and so for that reason, or a hundred other reasons, they just don’t worship privately.
As the Worship Leader, I feel a huge sense of responsibility for my congregation. And I see them as that – my congregation. I am the one they look to when they need to “feel close to God”. When their whole world is falling apart and they’re hurting so bad they can’t even pray, they look to me to create an atmosphere where it’s easier to talk to God.
Are all Worship Leaders doing it with the right heart and right attitude? While I’m sure the answer is “no”, only God knows the thoughts and intents of people’s hearts. So who are we to call people “pretenders”?
Anessa i like what you said worship is the way we are used of God to minister it is his work thru us to touch hearts and lives.The issue is where are we at with the lord he is more interested in our heart condition rather than our service is our heart tender and responsive or are we just going thru the motions sometimes it can be the second option and i know i need to spend time in his presence you cant give out what you dont have and if you dont have you cant give to those in need.A good indicator for me is am i grateful for what God has done for me regardless of my circumstances.That always brings me back and i say Lord i am sorry help me in my weakness my flesh is weak and i need you strengthen me in your strength..
Been leading people in worship at a church for about 10 months now. A huge obstacle thus far is that it doesn’t seem like the people engage. Like. At all. I know that just because people don’t sing doesn’t mean they are not engaging. You never know how God is working. But Sunday after Sunday I feel like I am just performing. Idk. Any veterans out there with any thoughts?
Whoops. Meant to say DON’T engage lol.
Hi John!
I think that churches form habits in their worship services. They can be good habits or bad habits. If your church is “used to” just standing there watching the band/choir/singers worship God and not joining in on that worship, then you’ve got a real battle in front of you to change that bad habit. So, how do you change it?
#1) Talk to you Pastor. Make sure the two of you are on the same page and want the same changes. Then encourage HIM to start engaging in worship differently. Often, the congregation looks to the Pastor for ques on how to behave. If your Pastor is reviewing his notes, reading his Bible, talking to his wife, etc., etc., during worship, then you’re never going to change the congregation. And even if he is engaged in worship, having him change things up or speak to the congregation about it will give them permission to change.
#2) PRAY. PRAY. PRAY. Cover your services in prayer. Cover your team in prayer. Pray together as a team on practice nights and before services.
#3) Be an example of what you want to see from the congregation. Don’t just TELL them to raise their hands – you raise your hands – yes, let go of the guitar, don’t play the piano, raise YOUR hands. If you want them to dance – YOU dance. If you want them to kneel – YOU kneel. And it should be ALL of the worship team, not just the worship leader.
#4) Be very, very, very patient. Change takes time and permanent changes takes even longer. You may have an incredible worship service one Sunday, then the next things go back to normal. Don’t get discouraged! Just keep doing what’s in your heart to do.
I hope these suggestions help!
Great suggestions! Thank you for your encouragement and your words of wisdom!
John i am also sensing the same with our congregation at the moment i have been praying about this to the Lord.It bothers me seriously.As a worship leader i am aware that the Lord is my first priority whether the people enter with me or not i have to leave that with him.The question is where am i at i need to make sure my heart is prepared without the holy spirit i can do nothing the worship leading is only a fraction of the time i spend with the Lord it is the rest of the time i believe that makes the difference to our ministry.
.Lord help us to be a light to our people let your light shine through us that they are drawn to you.amen brentnz
In 15 years of God’s grace and faithfulness to the worship team here are a few secrets I learned:
1. Bathe your worship in prayers.
God is Spirit, and you must help people connect spiritually. Sometimes I feel a barrier or a resistance among the congregation. Oftentimes, there is spiritual warfare going on.
So what we do is, before the start of the service we pray together as a group, and as we sing there are also individuals in the congregation who are interceding for us. And it feels a whole lot different. You get overwhelmed because you feel the Holy Spirit working amongst people. Then, after the service we again gather as a group and pray.
2. Make your worship Jesus-Centered, not me-centered, not we-centered.
Often times , I have been tempted to choose Christian songs just because the message makes me feel good, especially when I am experiencing some life situation. Or because the song is so catchy or because I know a lot of people know/like it.
Hence, when worship becomes much subjective to myself and people, the focus gets directed to myself/others and circumstances. (Maybe that could have been one reason that I felt disconnected from the congregation. After all, we face differrent situations).
The main objective of worship is for people (including myself) to focus on God, His Name, His character,
and His greatness! Because He is greater than me, greater than us, far greater than our situations.
One way to choose a good song is to look at the lyrics. Sometimes using the words “I, me, my, we, us, our” more dominantly in the song than “You, Your, He, His” could be an indicator of who the focus really is.
For me, a Jesus-centered song is one that affirms what has been written in the Scriptures. I have nothing against songs that have been written out of experience or testimony; all I am saying is that if it is based on the Word of God, it penetrates more hearts. God’s Word is a double-edged sword. And also, God seeks worshippers who worship Him in Spirit and in TRUTH. More than feelings, It’s God’s Word that enlightens and liberates lives.
3. The way you worship in private will determine how you worship in public:
God WILL expose your HEART.
You have been called to lead people to worship God. How can you do that without enjoying your fellowship with God firsthand? Let’s put it thia way: It’s as though you were asked to cook for the hungry, but you yourself have not eaten in days! How can you help those who thirst for God when you yourself have not experienced the overflow of His presence?
When does the preparation of the heart really start? Is is a day or hour before Sunday? Actually, the secret is, the preparation shold be EVERYDAY. Always be filled with God’s Word and prayer.
As a worship leader, there are times I have come unready; I thought an eloquent segue or short Bible verse would do the trick, but you know what? What I said just backfired on me! I suddenly got nervous and sweaty. I stammered. I suddenly forgot what to say next. It was an epic fail because I knew deep-down that what I have said was not from my heart and that my heart contained a million other things that I didn’t want God to expose. It felt awkward and purposeless to stand in front, persuading people to worship God, when my heart itself was disconnected. Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks! I admit, that countless times while leading worship, I have to avoid speaking to God in the second person (You, Your, Thee, Thine) because I feel like a hypocrite and guilt sweeps in. But then again, why talk about God in the third person degree (or avoid mentioning Him at all! ) as if He was distant?
No matter how I sang or played the song, in the end, what matters is, did it really please God? I may fool others, but I cannot fool God.
Psalm. 51:17 states that the sacrifice that pleases God is a broken spirit and a contrite heart.
Another advice is to avoid distractions that could occupy your heart and mind especially before the Lord’s Day!
2 years ago, our Worship Head suggested that we have a “No-Media-Rule” (social media, games, movies, secular music, etc.) from the time we ended rehearsals until the end of the worship service.
And it helped a lot!
Philippians 4:8 says, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things..”
4. The Worship team must be united in Spirit, faith and purpose.
A house that is divided cannot stand on its own.
Do you as worship leaders, (that also pertains to the musicians) have the same goal in mind?
Or are you pursuing your own interests?
Meet together before rehearsing and have a group devotion. One member can be assigned each week, so that everyone can have the opportunity.
Quarterly or monthly evaluation is also important. Identify strengths to develop and areas to improve on.
Don’t settle for “Status Quo”!
Be good stewards of the talents God has given you.
Always come prepared!
-Practice the songs ahead of time. This saves a lot of time and enegy.
-Have your own copy of the songs/chords/etc. It is everyone’s responsibility.
Sometimes, some situations call for flexibility within the team.
Also, communicate properly to your worship team. Mind you, we are not mind readers.
6. Do it properly.
Here are some few things I learned when making spiels/segues/recaps:
-Engage the congregation to respond in worship. Remember, the goal is to help them focus on God!
-Be natural yet mindful of your gestures and posture and mannerisms. They can either be of help or of distraction.
-Practice how you articulate and pronounce words.
-Keep It Short and Simple. (K.I.S.S)
-Say what you mean, and mean what you say.
-Avoid monologues. Remember, this is NOT about you!
And last but not least…..
7. No need to impress others, just do it for the audience of One, for the glory of God!
Enjoy His presence!
God bless you! 🙂
Thanks so much for your feedback! When you were describing situations that you have been in I was like “YES..YES! I’ve been in that boat too!” Lol. I will definitely keep your advice in mind for the future! Thanks again!
I thought awesome ideas thank you so much brentnz
Thanks for your comments! And Davids good article! Blessings.
Something that I have found helpful in leading the worship journey, is to sing songs that are specifically TO the Lord, rather than songs that are simply ABOUT the Lord. That is why we come together in the first place – is to worship God and give Him all the Glory, because He Alone is worthy! Amen!
I’ve really been enjoying the comments on this post!
I wanted to put my two cents in where choosing songs is concerned. First off, I completely agree that it’s important to sing songs that focus on Jesus and are sung TO God and not just ABOUT God.
With that said – – – I don’t think those are the ONLY songs that should be sung in corporate worship services. Col 3:16 says “teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs”. These are three distinctly different types of songs that we are supposed to be using when ministering to one another!
Psalms – just look at the Book of Psalms – a psalm is a prayer that is sung. These are the songs sung TO God, AND they are also sometimes me-centered. where the central theme is: “I need You” “I long for You” “I’m hurting and desperate”.
Hymns – songs of praise and songs taken from scripture. These are the songs sung ABOUT God. They declare who He is. They praise what He does. The celebrate being His children, His church, His people.
Spiritual Songs – songs that come straight from your spirit. When you look these words up in the Greek, you’ll see the root meaning is (this is my translation) a song that conveys the emotions of your spirit. Sometimes they are “spontaneous songs” where you just start singing straight out of your spirit and it’s powerful and awesome and blesses the whole congregation. Sometimes it’s one of those tried and true songs like “I Exalt Thee” that isn’t really a psalm, isn’t really a hymn, but was born out of someone’s spirit while they were worshiping God.
I believe that you need a good mix of all three of these types of songs in your songbook.
I think being a worship leader must come with understanding of who we are and what we do.
We must know our role and who we are to God;Children who worship their God.
We must have a develop a heart for people and especially for the Holy Spirit for we worship by Him.Phil.3;3
At the centre of us must be a desire to give Jesus glory above leading the crowd.
Our gifts mustn’t be viewed as a hinderance but as expressions of worship.
Lets love God,the worship of Him alone and people and lets love ourselves…
Mikko i agree its all about our relationship with the Lord and how much we love him .We cannot minister if we dont have a love for Gods people.Our role is to Love the Lord and to serve him with all our heart,The gifts we have have been given are so that we may build up the body of Christ. The work is him in us shining through he is the one that changes lives he is the one who knows the hearts he is the one that brings healing and hope and restoration.brentnz