Trust me, I don’t mean to frighten you.
But what if you took a survey, asking your congregation how your music and worship leading connected with them?
What would their answer be?
Because we all know that the best worship leaders aren’t just great singers or musicians.
It’s not even that they really love Jesus a lot. You can have both of those and still leave the room scratching their heads.
The best worship leaders work hard on connecting with people.
Connect With the Worshiper
When I look back on the worship services I’ve led that were the most powerful, there are defining characteristics about them.
And honestly, they don’t always have to do with great music. Oftentimes, these worship services were led with nothing but a keyboard or a guitar.
My worship leading changed when I realized that people didn’t care about my music. Sure, some may enjoy it. Some may hate it. Some may be proud of it.
But the main reason people are coming to church?
To encounter God.
They’ve had a rough week and need God’s peace. They have a struggling marriage that needs His breakthrough. They are surrounded by pain and need His comfort.
What are we providing for them? Entertainment?
I don’t know about you, but I want people to leave my meetings with a deep sense of God – His nearness, His love, His glory. We need to strip everything away so our vision of God is clear.
Connect with the worshipers by being one.
How To Make it Easy for People to Worship
That’s our goal, right? To make it easy for people to worship. We want to remove all barriers and hindrances to the human heart connecting with its Maker.
I’ve outlined that process here:
Connect: At the outset of your worship set, you want to make a connection with the room. You want to let them know that you’re there to lead, to worship with them, and to go on a journey together. Make it clear that you’re not there to play music for them or show off your skills.
Endear: After you make this initial connection, you want to endear yourself to the people. They won’t travel with you if they don’t trust you. You want to make them smile. You want to connect with their desire for God. When they trust you in this way, you’re ready to lead. They trust that you’ll do more than just serenade them. You are also in love with Jesus, ready to encounter His presence.
Invite: I’ve found that when I invite people into the experience, response is always better. This can feel uncomfortable at times – giving instruction and explanation about what is going on – but it really frees people up. Don’t just perform your worship set or sing it straight through. Explain more than you think you need and you’ll see a difference in how people are engaged.
Engage: Once you’ve invited them into worship, it’s time to let God do His thing. At this point they trust you, they’re with you. Now, you want them to connect with Jesus. Draw out what God is doing in the room. Ask questions that connect with their desire. Worship with all your heart. Remember: the best stage presence is a heart on fire for God.
Enthrall: This is where God simply takes over. The church becomes so enthralled with the glory of God that you aren’t even needed anymore. It’s rare for worship services to get to this point, but when it happens, it’s a beautiful thing. If you do the other points well, you’ve prepared a clear pathway to seeing Jesus.
I would love to hear from you.
How do you connect more with your congregation? How do you engage them in your songlist?
I challenge you to leave a comment. Blog posts are better when brilliant worship leaders (like yourself) share!
You can leave a comment by clicking here.
[ois skin=”Beyond Sunday 2″]
I think you’ve nailed it here. The point of a time of worship is to do exactly these things, but how? How do we connect, invite, encounter? What do we say? I have been at numerous church services and smaller group worship settings (< 20 people) where the "leader" fails to lead, myself included. I so want to do these points you've outlined. That's not hard to figure out. The hard part is HOW do I do this? I have been part of some powerful times of worship and I can't put a finger on what the leader did that worked so well. It's just a gift. I don't think there should be so many "worship leaders" out there honestly. Most of them (myself included) simply sing songs at the front of a group of people and most of the time it's just awkward.
Hey Sean, thanks for the response. I’d have to disagree about your comment about there being too many worship leaders. I think we definitely need more. As our churches grow and more people come to Christ, we need people who can lead. However, you are right that there’s a lot of worship leaders who don’t lead well. That’s why I write to inspire the beginner and experienced to do what they do better. HOW to do this…that’s a great question. I have my opinion but what is yours?
Well.. I think You mentioned it earlier Sire…
Remember: the best stage presence is a heart on fire for God.
One Truth I have learnt from my recent experience is: Sincerely Worship GOD, Don’t rush the songs, Let the HOLY SPIRIT lead You (Very Important, how to do?: just be intentionally sensitive) and don’t cause distractions (they’r costly..lol)
Remember: the best stage presence is a heart on fire for God. and encounter God. And invite them… its not like you are telling them how to respond to God… but to respond. Sometimes thats a little hard for me cause I don’t want to tell them what to do to much or box them in? Do you know what I mean?
Absolutely, Vicki. I know people have mixed feelings about this. What I’ve found to be true is that people are waiting to be led. They are waiting for permission and opportunity to pursue God. As a leader, we need to invite them in a genuine, relaxed, tasteful way. I’ve seen some worship leaders who seem to be mad at the congregation when they lead. Never a good idea 🙂 But don’t be afraid to challenge your people! They are waiting for you to lead!
Thank you for this article David. I’ve never heard the process laid out so clearly before!
Community is at the heart of the nature of church. That includes worship.
Wow. I was totally just talking about this same topic with my pastor the other day. Thank you SO much for posting this! I’ve never really truly “invited” our people to worship… well I guess at least not very well. 🙂 I’m excited to work on this and see what God has in store! Thanks again for your encouragement!
That’s great, Emilie. Do you have anything additional to add from the conversation with your pastor? I’ve found that lead pastors have incredible advice when it comes to this. I know mine does!
I agree that we SHOULD invite people. But no one is talking about HOW to do that? I’ve tried to connect through a personal experience I’ve had in the past week, or maybe sharing scripture that has been speaking to me lately. But I always feel like a fake, like I’m trying to create some moment that’s not really there. So I’ve stopped trying to invite people with words and hope that they will follow me being a worshipper and hear the passion in my voice. I’m not a great speaker, and I haven’t run across many worship leaders who are. Should we continue to lead if we can’t invite people in with our words?
Sean, absolutely I think people should lead who aren’t good with words. I believe public speaking can be improved on. Inviting people and connecting with an audience isn’t something you’re born with. It’s developed. Check out this post: https://www.davidsantistevan.com/public-speaking/ I hope that helps! I appreciate the questions!
Very practical advice…can’t wait to try it and share with those I wok with.
Thanks, Craig! Let me know how it goes with your team!
Every few weeks, I find myself staring at a thousand faces twice in the course of a morning. About a third of those are looking back expectantly; the rest are still rubbing the sleep out of their eyes.
I had attended a few large churches in the past where I had so admired the worship leaders’ abilities – they were like seasoned professionals/rock stars. I recall every time I saw them up close, I’d be struck by the fact that 1) they look nothing like what I imagined them to, and 2) I’d never ever had a single conversation with them (I can appreciate that it’s difficult for leaders to reach out to with every single person in a large church).
Intentionally going through the process you outlined when I’m NOT on the platform has been very helpful for me. Chatting with people in the parking lot, in their seats before service, or in the lobby after service can knock worship leaders off the pedestal that people naturally place “stage people” on. It turns what I verbalize on stage into a continuation of a more intimate conversation I had with them earlier.
I’m not the best speaker, singer, musician, worship leader, or Jesus follower, but I’ve learned to show people that I’m with them, I care about them, that we’re in this together, and that has knit together an organic connection between the platform and participants.
Thanks for all your insight, David!
Valerie, such a refreshing comment. I love this:
“I’m not the best speaker, singer, musician, worship leader, or Jesus follower, but I’ve learned to show people that I’m with them, I care about them, that we’re in this together, and that has knit together an organic connection between the platform and participants.”
So much to be unpacked here. Are you a writer?
Far from it, David! I’m a reader though, and I love words 🙂
I think you should write more often!
I loved that statement also and I feel the same way. When I get a chance to lead I remember that I am a worshiper first and If I don’t know where I am going chances are the congregation doesn’t either. I’m new at leading and most days feel like I have no clue what I’m doing and try to complicate everything. My intent is to pursue God from the stage just like I would if I was at home or in my congregation as a participant. For me its all the same I just get the chance to direct everyone’s attention for a few minutes onto someone bigger then us and all our problems.
Thank you David.. for the open forum, transparent involvement and encouraging blogs.
Trust seems to be a major factor when leading worship at a weekend service and asking people to walk an intimate journey with us. If we’re there for the duration, it behooves us to engage during the week, breakfast with someone, lunch if we can or maybe supper with several families! With more time spent, each person will see our character and our love for God, hopefully that trust begins to happen. Text messages, emails and phone calls of encouragement/connection and prayer throughout the week as the Lord lays people on your heart will also help in building trust.
As David said: “Because we all know that the best worship leaders aren’t just great singers or musicians.”
Thank you David!
I like your perspective on reaching out to “the one” in our congregations. While we can’t personally connect with everyone on that level it helps to (as Andy Stanley says) do for one what you wish you could do for everyone.
I think simple things like making eye contact – it’s easier to stare at the lyrics, or close my eyes (‘worshipfully’) or close my eyes to concentrate on my pitch – but making eye contact with as many people helps, as does showing a response when you hear them sing, you know, if it’s an acapella chorus or something and they really rise to it – I try to show that I can hear them and that it’s lifting me up. Carlos Whittaker had a post not long ago where he said he tries to shake hands with or greet as many people as he can before services. I struggle with that because 1) As an introvert, I prepare best by taking a few minutes to gather myself and 2) Talking over people at the coffee hour between services strains my voice! But in general I do try to be someone that the congregation sees among them, not just in front of them.
Kim, this is really good advice. The more you can make a solid connection with people, the more they will follow you in worship.
Hey thanks for this article. I am leading worship at a pretty conservative church. We have a lot of barriers to get past, and sometimes even the act of connecting with the congregation seems distant and unobtainable. But God is blessing. I love how you laid out the format for communication. We get up, share, open up, and invite people along. Everything else is up to the Holy Spirit. I love how you said the best stage presence is the heart on fire for God. Worship leading is just a extension of what we do everyday. Worship with our whole heart. Thanks for you ministry man, you better believe I’ll be dropping by again.
Thanks Jason. It’s great to have you hear and thanks for commenting! How conservative is your church?