Think about the first time you stood in front of a congregation to lead worship.
Or, maybe your time to lead is coming soon.
It’s the plague of anyone who performs – you get nervous.
But you don’t need to be paralyzed by fear. With a few simple tricks, you can overcome it and begin to lead with a boldness you never knew you had.
Let’s face it. We all get nervous. Especially if you’re a young worship leader, it can be terribly nerve-racking to stand in front of a large congregation and lead them.
I know what goes through your mind:
- “Does my pastor like what is happening?”
- “Is this music too loud for people?”
- “Does everyone hate my song choice?”
- “What are people thinking about me?”
- “Has my band lost respect for me?”
- “Will I have any musicians who will show up next week?”
Before long, you’ve paralyzed yourself with fear. And fear is the worst frame of mind to lead in.
Ignore Your Fears
I’ve been leading worship for 12 years. I still get nervous every single time. But I’ve learned to ignore my fears. And you can too.
Your fears are irrational and unhelpful. You spend too much time dwelling on worst case scenarios. I’ve written this post to gently challenge you to stop it.
Your fear is holding you back from leading with confidence and enjoying Jesus with your church family. It’s holding you back from becoming the best worship leader you can be.
Are you ready to start ignoring your fears? Let’s do this.
5 Tips for Ignoring Nervousness & Fear
Here are five tips to apply:
1. Dwell On Success – Rather than rehearse your unhelpful worst-case scenarios, dwell on what a successful worship service will look like. Believe that God has anointed you to lead. Realize that everyone wants you to succeed. Your church family is your biggest fan!
2. Lead For One Person – Don’t focus on the large room. Focus on one person and lead them to Jesus. Realize there is one soul who is desperate to connect with God – one life that God is going to transform.
3. Relax – I know this is easier said than done. But if you prioritize relaxation, it will help you tremendously. Take deep breaths. Smile. Don’t rush around before service thinking about technical details. Take care of that stuff earlier in the week. For that last half hour before service, enjoy being with God’s people. Thank God for the great work He is going to do.
4. Trust the Holy Spirit to Lead – What would happen to your leadership if you truly believed the Holy Spirit was present, working miracles? How would you lead if you left the outcome in His hands? Because that is greatest reality about the gathering of God’s people.
God is going to show up.
You need to realize that the Holy Spirit is leading in worship. You are simply a vessel he is using in that moment. Place your confidence in His ultimate ability.
5. Waste Yourself On Jesus – Want to know the truth about wasting your life on Jesus? There’s nothing wasteful about it. The more you are filled with His Spirit, dwelling on His Word, and overflowing in service to others, the more confidence you’ll have in leading.
Why? Because you know deep down in your heart, beyond a shadow of doubt, that Jesus is worth it. He’s worth it to you and He’s worth it to everyone you’re leading in worship. Your confidence will flow from personal encounter with the risen Christ.
Don’t strive and stress over perfection. Aim to be happy and joyful in Jesus (click here to tweet this quote!).
Feeling nervous? Don’t worry about it. God has called you. God has equipped you. And God will guide you as you take steps of faith to lead others to encounter the greatness of God.
We’re cheering you on!
Question: How do you deal with nerves as a worship leader or performer? Share your experience in the comments. It’s always better when you share. Go for it!
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Photo Credit: Keven Law (Flickr)
David. Thanx…I need not say more this time.
You are always welcome to say more, Leo 😉
I think the biggest things for me is jus understanding that I have prepared all I can and now I must trust that he is in control. It’s so easy to want to control every aspect of the service. For the most part as far as service flow, I do.
For me, when I first started leading (8 years ago) I really only thought that I was doing a good job if all of my congregation was so deep in worship ( hands raised and just face down ). It took me a while to trust God and understand that as long as I’ve done the things I should have to prepare and I’m just open to his leading, I may not always see the way he has blessed people in worship.
Our church runs about 700 every weekend, I’ve found that I get more nervous now to sing in a wedding. W always pray before we go into worship that any hindrances be taken away and that we can fully seek him. When you are able to put away thoughts like, “where are we going to eat, I have to mow the yard, we have two birthday parties to go to and my favorite I wonder what technical difficulty will happen today”, worship seems a lot more relaxing.
Great tips, Preston. Learning to be present in the moment is a huge help to worship leading. The more your attention is diverted, the more stressful it becomes.
Amen, and thank you for posting this. I guess I have been leading worship for about 8 years now (!) and frankly I wasn’t up to the task when God put me there. For me, it wasn’t even so much the nervousness about the “music” part as everything else that comes along with being “the worship leader” – God has never ceased to amaze me that when I’ve been at my weakest and finally said, “God, I can’t do this without you today” – that’s when He really works!
Never lose that humble posture!
Great thoughts here- this is so important. How can we focus on connecting with God when we have seventeen other things on our mind?! Here are a few specific ways I’ve seen the stuff you are talking about work well:
1. At my church, the production team has done a great job over the years, ensuring that everything goes well (ie. Isn’t distracting during worship.) There are now about 6-7 production members that work each Sunday morning: a main “producer,” a sound tech, slides guy, a floor tech or two (on-stage/back-stage), video, etc. If I prepare appropriately the week before and coordinate well with each of them, things run much more smoothly- no surprises, wrong slides, or samples being triggered at the wrong moment 🙂 I’ve found that the more I can prepare and anticipate what is going to help the congregation worship, the more free I am to lead on Sundays.
2. Know the songs well…but not too well… 🙂 I feel like there is a sort of “sweet spot” in familiarity with the music. I try and learn the songs well enough to where I don’t need a music stand, but not so well that I can sing them in my sleep and they become rote or flat to my ears. (This may work well for me, but not others?)
3. God time- David, you’ve written a lot about this: personal worship times and prayer throughout the week that the Spirit will move. Like you said, the Spirit’s work is not our work. Our job is simple and shouldn’t be stressful each Sunday. If we show up with clear hearts and minds I think worship comes a lot more freely…
THANKS for this post David. It’s super encouraging to be a part of this sort of conversation on a regular basis…
Nick, thanks for the practical insight here. What do you typically do that half hour before worship starts? Are you relaxed or stressed?
Just recently, I’ve become much more relaxed. Worship leading (versus performing in a bar or whatever) has helped me do that, since I know the greatest work isn’t mine. Doing three services back to back (to back) has its pluses, in that it provides a ton of “down time,” allowing for prayer, taking communion, etc…
That said, I do still have a spiritual nervousness of sorts. It is a sort of deep longing for God to move, but i think it teeters of worry a lot of times. Maybe that stems from lack of trust?
I feel the same nervousness, Nick. I think it’s because I forget the Holy Spirit is already planning to do something amazing. I think it all depends on me.
Several weeks ago, I accidentally swapped some words around and said something from the stage that came back to bite me and almost cost me my job.
After the ensuing confrontation with my pastor, I shut down, did my “job” of leading worship, and made sure not to say anything into my mic for fear of something worse happening.
What the enemy did that day was convince me that I’m not qualified to do this, that I lack what it takes to do it well. While it took courage to even get on stage the following week, my “just get it done” mentality took me from worship pastoring to song-singing.
Now now let me clarify – my pastor is a great man/boss and we were not in conflict after that, but I was still gun-shy when it came to leading. He encouraged me last week by reminding me that, although my confidence has been shaken, God has still called me to do this and I need to be pastoring our congregation from the platform and not just leading them in song.
This past Sunday I took a big risk and shared from the platform what I felt God put on my heart during worship. I have no idea who it spoke to, if anyone, but my confidence was restored – both in Christ and myself.
So, to anyone who read this long and drawn out comment – If you’re facing fears because of an experience similar to mine, don’t let the enemy keep you down or hold you back. God gifted you to lead and pastor through worship, and he’s called you to do so with passion, excellence, and confidence. His gifts and callings are irrevocable, so no matter what mistakes you’ve made, you can move forward knowing that all of heaven has your back.
Dude, it excites me to hear you declaring this stuff and keeping your heart tender before God. I’m proud of you, bro! Your best is yet to come!
Thank you for sharing your experience,it’s definitely speaking to me now. I’ve suffered of anxiety for a while in social settings, especially in any privilege that I’ve had in the house of God. This is assurance for me to rebuke my irrational thoughts and feel peace to reconnect through worship. Blessings!
Hey David,
I am 21 years old and come from Germany. I’ve been leading worship for 4 years in our youth group and in our church.
Your blog is really awesome. It’s good to learn from others from around the world and to share.
My most successful tip: It helps me to relax before I lead worship. Talk to people and think of something else. 🙂
Germany! Honored to have you on the site, Stev. I agree with your tip 100%. Getting out and talking to the people you’re about to lead is so helpful.
How did you get started leading worship?
Since my childhood I always wanted to make music and be on stage. Of course I did not know what it means to be a worship leader.
In February 2007, we once had youth in my home. I was asked along with my brother to lead worship. Then it got started. Month after month, God taught me more and used. And now when I look back, I see God’s central theme and I am very grateful. His ways are awesome.
And how did you get started leading worship? What was your defining moment? 🙂
My defining moment was when I experienced the presence of God in worship for the first time. From that day on I felt like I was made to lead people in worship.
We pray as a team before taking the platform. I think that remembering why we’re leading can help calm our nerves.
Great discipline, Wayne. How long do you typically pray?
When I get nervous there are a few things that I do, and yes after years of doing this I still freak out at times. (I stole this tip from Craig Groeschel) right before I walk to the microphone, I pray/claim this: I have been called and anointed to be a worship leader. When I step up to the mic I am stepping into that anointing. I cannot do this in my own power, but through the power of the Holy Spirit I can do what God has called me to do.
I know that we should always be walking in that anointing, but it just reminds me that I am only up there because God has called me to be there.
I also try remember that God doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the called. There is nothing I can do. I can’t sing good enough, I can’t play good enough, I can’t show off good enough, to do an eternal work in someones life. I can only be faithful and trust that God has given me the power and authority to lead His Church in worship. That is a very humbling and freeing thought. It isn’t all up to you. Trust that you can hear Him, and trust that He WILL use you.
If all that fails, I read David’s blog and all’s right with the world.
Haha! I thought about adding this point into the post, but the Holy Spirit told me otherwise 🙂
Brilliant! Thanks for sharing this, Mac.
Oh I just love these blogs David! I have been struggling with fear and anxiety my whole life. It is the devil’s hold on me! When I sing it’s like I have a good angel on one shoulder telling me “You are doing this for God. It’s not about you. You are reaching people for Jesus. He delights in you!” And then I have the bad angel interrupting saying, “You sound horrible. Who cares! Why do you bother?” All this taking place while I’m singing! It’s a constant battle. Of course, God is winning and I hear less of the bad angel every time I take the stage, but I still have yet to reach the point of truly worshiping when I am up leading. I pray I will get there, and I thank everyone for all these posts. They are all very helpful! I’m so glad I found this community in Christ! Thank you everyone!
Cindy Cole Nelson
Thanks for joining the discussion, Cindy. This is something we all struggle with! I would encourage you to read Mac’s comment above and make that declaration every time you lead worship! Great stuff.
I experience the exact same thing. Every Sunday is like the first Sunday. I’m sitting in my seat…getting ready to go on and my heart starts pounding, those doubts start raising…I know who it is…that old familiar voice…after 3 years of worship, I’ve figured out who that voice belongs to…and every Sunday it’s the same. I put one foot in front of the other and walk onto that stage.
Not because the voice stops or because I’m so confident, but because I trust God. I know he’d never lead me on stage to make a fool out of me. To humiliate me. He knows what he’s doing, even if I don’t believe in myself. It’s not me that is going on stage, it’s not me that is going to sing. It’s the power of God through me. I walk on that stage, not because I’m the best but simply because He asked me to. And when he wants me to stop, I’ll stop.
Once I remember why I’m going up there, my fear of not doing my best or even being the best doesn’t matter. The only way I leave that stage a failure, is if I fail to answer his call…I’m singing for him…and he hears my heart. And in my heart every note is perfect regardless of what’s coming out of my mouth…
I appreciate what you wrote about fear. I guess my problem may be a confidence thing. I know God has called me and my husband to do what we are doing, without a doubt. I just have aboslutely no stage presence. NONE! I don’t understand why God wants me to lead this, other than the fact that there is no one else who can.
I can sing, but I can’t seem to connect with the congregation in a fluid comfortable way. Off stage, I am totally comfortable, extremely outgoing, well spoken funny. NONE of that translates when I’m on stage. I am horribly awkward when I’m not actually singing. Transitions, pauses, breaks, I’m nothing but an awkward turtle. I don’t get it! It’s like my personality completely shuts down. I just don’t know how to relax on stage. I don’t feel comfortable being center stage at all. That’s not me!
I feel like I am worshiping God but not leading anyone else, except through example. I don’t open my eyes very often. It’s hard for me to rationalize looking at someone I’m not talking to. I’m not talking to “Sarah Michaels”, I’m talking to God! Why would I be looking at anyone but God? When I’m saying “you are my everything” it seems akward to think about looking at someone. When our pastor prays, he doesn’t look at us while he’s talking to God. We all have our eyes and our minds on God. It’s just really weird to me. But I’m not happy with the awkward not looking at anyone either.
I don’t know how to describe it. I don’t know how to tell people “beautiful, lets do that again…” or “Let me hear you” like you would if you were doing a concert. At a concert that makes sense. But they aren’t singing to me, they didn’t come to hear me…What I think about their worship or whether or not I can hear them doesn’t matter. God is the one who can hear them whether they are whispering or belting it out.
I’m not trying to be difficult but these are the types of thoughts I wrestle with while I’m trying to lead worship…Any advice?
Crystal, thanks for being so transparent here. What you’re describing is something we’ve all gone through. That’s not to say that I or anyone else has “arrived” but it is a common theme among worship leaders.
The best advice I can give you is to not give up. It sounds cliche, but really, I mean it. No one steps on stage for the first time and takes charge confidently and without error. Hopefully your pastor is understanding to your lack of experience and is comfortable giving you the freedom to fail. That is key.
I would also encourage you to seek feedback often from people you trust that will be honest with you. Also, you could record your worship services. I’ve been leading worship for almost 12 years now and just recently started doing this. Wow, was I surprised at some things – “Ok, I know I’m pressing into God there, but it looks like I’m in pain” or “I know I’m in the zone with that guitar riff during the prayer, but I look PO’d” lol. We all always have things we can get better at.
One last thing you could do is watch some videos of people leading worship. Chris Tomlin, Jesus Culture, Hillsong – pick your favorite. But don’t watch just to watch. Look at what each person on stage is doing and how they interact with each other and the crowd. Also take note as to how they transition from song to song – that is key. Take notes, talk about some things with your pastor, and maybe pick one or two at a time to work on. Don’t overwhelm yourself with the need to “perform” and stress yourself out. A working and growing relationship with your pastor is so important and can provide honest, encouraging feedback while cheering you on.
Just remember that this is worship and authenticity is what’s most important.
Lastly, in response to your question about how to challenge the people you’re leading – remember that you aren’t there to be a song leader. You’re supposed to be a worship leader/pastor, and you have a responsibility to lead and pastor people through worship. That can mean different things at different times, but you can do so much more than just sing songs with them. Try reading a scripture verse between songs, or share a line from a song that really resonates with you and why.
I know I just threw a ton of stuff at you, but hopefully something there helps!
Ryan
Thanks Ryan…
That helped me and Joey (my husband) a lot to hear that. We came into the worship leadership scene in an unexpected way. Of course, the more I learn about God’s way of appointing leaders, the less I’m surprised at how odd it was to my human comprehension. If you would have told me 6 years ago we would be leading worship, I would have laughed in your face and told you you had the wrong people. lol…
I greatly enjoy the worship bands you mentioned, but I still go back to the whole “concert” setting. When I see Chris Tomlin or Jeremy Camp, even Kari Jobe, I think “yeah they leading worship, but everyone wants to hear them play.” On top of that, they have a large crowd that fuels their passion as they go. Our church has about 50 people in attendance on Sunday and out of those people, maybe 5 of them are actually singing. Not that singing is essential either. There is a women that I see that doesn’t sing, but when you see the expression on her face, you know something is going on there. The look on her face is so personal and touching you almost feel like you’ve walked in on someone with their clothes off. Then there is the majority who are sitting there gossiping, talking, laughing and pointing at whatever is on their minds or just staring at you. So when you have a group of people just staring at you flipping your soul inside out, it can be kind of intimidating. At times I wish I was just doing a concert or something. Then I could be whoever I want to be, keep up the facade, even add to it for that mannor. But I would never do that in worship. That would completely defeat the purpose of even worshiping much less leading worship. It’s increadibly hard to get on a stage, lay it all down, and open yourself in the most intimate way possible. It’s like taking off your emotional clothes. Becoming completely transparent. That’s intimidating for people to do in a crowd of 200 people, much less get on stage and do it.
Then there is the balance between truly reaching out to touch God and not getting so emotional you can’t play. I’m jealous of people who can just break down and cry out of sheer love and awe at our Lord and Savior. You can’t sing and cry. I start to break down and my voice cracks, I miss a note, I start shaking. In front of everyone!
Not a lot of people share the passion that our pastor, his family, my family and a few others have in our church. They sort of look at us like we’re insane. After 3 years, you start to see depth and sometimes it’s WAY encouraging and other times is discouraging. I don’t want to be the spiritual grown up. I don’t want to be one of the handful who pray everyday and do daily devotions. I came from a church where I’d be considered a baby when it comes to the bible and knowledge of who God is. It wasn’t unusual to see someone raising their hand in worship. You could actually hear other people singing…sigh. You could talk about a collection of things that God placed on your heart and in your day that magically fit the situation you were facing and how incredible it is and people would know exactly what that feels like. They’d even share the “God things” they experienced that day too.
I just don’t know how to connect with a group of people who are going through the motions. I know that sounds judgemental, but it’s the fruit. It’s the heart and the words and actions that spill out of their daily lives. It’s literally seeing people pointing and laughing on a consistant basis.
But then there is the amazing buzz of an amazing worship service. Where you just go to another place all together. Where you are so full that you could just explode and you’re just shaking as you set down your mic and your guitar. That moment when you know that the Holy Spirit has you and you’ve docked with the mother ship. It’s seeing that one lady or not understanding why God put a certain song on your heart for that week and seeing someone crying that you had NO CLUE they were struggling with something. You’re thinking, “What just happened?”. You go back over the song in your mind, thinking, “I didn’t even think that sounded our best and here that guy is crying!” And knowing that you are needed, that you are in the right lane, right where God wants you to be…
What a trip, you know??? 🙂
Hey David,
I’m currently a student at Kingswood University in Sussex, taking music. However, I’ve never actually led worship before. Clearly, my fears are the same as the ones you’ve described. Do you have any advice on how to start leading and what tools I should use to do so?
Thanks!
Ashlei
Hey Ashlei, are you plugged into a good local church where you could start by serving on their worship team? I would recommend that as a good first step. Get involved somewhere and serve – do whatever you can.
Thank you for this blog. I’ve been leading worship for 2 years and I feel like I’m at a dead end. I began to dread the weekends. I have been criticized by my team that I need to work on everything.. Relaxing, talking to the people, keeping on temp, remembering the words, choosing better songs.. Apart from that I struggle with fear that God won’t touch the people and that they will just continue looking at me throughout the whole song, just like what happened last week. I’m so frustrated with it all that I just about want to quit. And on top of that, I don’t know if its necessary for a worship leader to play an instrument, which I do not. And am thinking that it is what I need to help me better my skills. I prepare during the week and practice but I just cannot move confidentially. I have fasted, prayed but been in this rut for a few months now. If there is any encouragement that you can give me I would really appreciate it.
First of all, what’s your name? 🙂
Second, what do you think is the greatest strength that you bring to your team? You’re obviously the leader for some reason. Why do you think that is?
I’ve never actually lead worship before. I’ve been asked to lead in a week and I am counting down the days…hahaha. I have sang a lot and I always remember that no matter how prepared I am, things always goo so much better when I rely on the Holy spirit.
Hello. I am a sixteen year old who believes I have been called to be a worship leader but don’t know for sure. How did you know for sure? I am very passionate about worship and Jesus Christ but I am not sure if this is my true calling because I am nervous to sing/ play instruments in front of anyone. I have been playing piano since I was six years old and didn’t really enjoy it but my my parents told me to stick through because it was Gods gift to me and over the summer I went to my church camp and saw the worship team up on stage & felt like that was my calling and that was what I wanted to do with my life. I do enjoy worshiping God in my bedroom by myself but is working on being better to sing/play instruments in front of the congregation.
Hello. I’m a twelve year old girl, and I know that God has called me to be a worship leader. I have always been scared to go up on stage by myself. When I did, God gave me a word that just blew me away. He told me that I was going to write songs and that he was going to break me out of my shell that i’ve been hiding in since I was a little girl. He is still in working progress.When I couldn’t go to sleep, I had it dawned on my heart to get up and go online at this late of an hour. Ever since God gave me my calling, I was wondering, how I was going to get up on stage again without being as scared as I was last time. So I searched on how to help calm my nerves while I’m on stage, and I found this. Numbers 2, 4, and 5 let me realized that I’ve been focused on what people think of my performance so much that, I forgot that the whole point of me being up there was to let God use me to help other people. I just want to thank you for helping me realize that. God bless you.
Can you also pray for my state, South Carolina. I hope that the hurricane dies down soon.
I’ve been a part of our Praise & Worship Team for about 5 years now, but was just asked by our Pastor to become the Praise and Worship Team LEADER!!!
I’m feeling such an mix of emotions right now…most of all Fear/Nervousness.
I appreciate all the great comments from everyone. I feel a little bit better about leading!
So awesome, Rita! You’ll do great.
I’m a sophomore music and worship major, this past summer I lead worship for a youth group of about 50 students. I recently got a worship leader position through a council at my school to lead our week long spring revival for our entire campus. I’m so excited but at the same time I’ve never lead worship for 2,000 people and I’m terrified. How do I make sure it goes well. Your tips are very helpful too. haha!
I thank God for this message. I was such a shy person, but now I can preach with boldness to over two thousand congregation.
So David, I been recently become the worship leader at my church. I have a lot to learn and have a deep vision for my church and I have been to many other worships. I want to change the way my church sees worship and how powerful it can be. But how do you respond or go upon the fact when you look out and your leading worship, ur congregation pretty much gives you blank stares? It startles me sometimes, making me feel I’m not completing the weeks task God gave me.
Thanks david for this encouragement. God Bless You
I wished I would’ve stumbled upon this amazing word of encouragement when I began ministering in music. It’s so uplifting to hear and be encouraged that The Lord is all up in there cheering you on through all the nerves and the nerves do get SO real. I’ve recently been asked to lead a song alone in front of a very unfamiliar crowd. I was super nervous and then I stumbled upon this. Fantastic!
Praise be to God’s holy name!!! I just read this blog on Saturday and I was told to lead worship on Sunday by my worship leader, oh! I was so scared and couldn’t get proper sleep that night because it was the first time for me and started shivering the moment he told to lead worship, this blog helped me a lot to overcome fear. I just surrendered myself in the hands of Holy Spirit and Wow the worship was so amazing that the Lord started filling the whole congregation with His anointing. I don’t know how the led the worship and it’s was just amazing.
Thank you!!!
For me, it’s having the freedom to stop singing and pray when the Lord leads you and to continue to sing when others are wanting you to stop. When you feel that you are trusted to do this. It seems to open up all possibilities in the Lord. When I am unsure of those issues, I am thinking more about time and stopping and starting and not seeking the Lords face.
I easily become nervous and phobic when ever my music leader says “come and take praise and worship” am just confuse and need help please
The way I deal with fear nervousness / fear is first step out and prove to yourself that the thoughts are way more harsh then it actually is . Our thoughts might say ” it’s going to be aweful ” ” people aren’t interested ” . Ect …
however focusing on your fears will most likely cause you to mess up .
But if you dwell on God and the Holy Spirit you will be amazed on what happens .
Trust in the Holy Spirit
Focus on God
Don’t think you have to sound perfect
Don’t put pressure on yourself before leading a song
Don’t think about it to much because guaranteed it won’t come out how you want it .
Don’t expect , worship freely .
It really help. tankx for the lessons
I want to see the Holy Spirit’s manifestations whenever I lead worship. How do I do that? Can someone help me please???
I want to see the Holy Spirit’s manifestations whenever I lead worship. How do I do that… Can someone help me please???
I will be leading the worship service tomorrow and I am very nervous… thankyou for the tips and please pray for me … and may the holy spirit fill me and may I lead the congragation. Thankyou Godbless!!