Prepare Before the Service
Know your purpose. Know what worship is and is not. Worship should be all about praising God, and as a worship leader, your main purpose is to encourage the entire congregation to praise God through song and prayer. Instead of modeling personal worship on stage, focus on leading community worship. Worship is not a time to show off your own talents or worry about making yourself look good. You may not mean to glorify yourself, but pride often finds its way in undetected, so keep a watchful eye out for it.
Pray. Give thanks to God for the opportunity to lead others in the act of worshiping Him, and ask for the guidance, humility, and courage to make the worship session a good one. A few things worth considering as you pray may include: Understanding of the lyrics you sing and the ability to convey that understanding Love for the people you lead Wisdom in selecting the songs and verses used for worship The ability to act on the truths you sing and speak The humility to lead in a way that glorifies God instead of yourself or the congregation The ability to guide the congregation to an improved relationship with God
Build your worship around the lesson. Find out from the pastor what that week's lesson will be about and try to choose songs around that theme. Doing so will make the entire service more cohesive and meaningful. You'll also need to pick out short scriptural verses that go along with the songs and the overall lesson, as well.
Pick songs that others can sing. The idea is to get others to actively participate in worship by singing along. If the congregation doesn't feel comfortable singing that songs you've chosen, they probably won't sing. People generally don't sing songs that are unfamiliar to them. Stick primarily with songs you know the congregation will know. When you introduce a new song, plan on including it in multiple worship services so that people will have more opportunity to get used to it. Also note that some songs are meant for solo singers while others are more suited to group singing. Obviously, the songs you use for group worship should be songs that groups of people can sing together. You may have a superb vocal range, but know that most people do not share that same skill. The songs you pick need to fall within a shorter, more concentrated range so that more people can sing along.
Consider the format. Know how many songs you need to pick out. In many churches, there is already some set order to the service. In others, you may have a little more flexibility. Regardless, you should pick out enough songs to fit the format and select the right songs for the right parts of the service.
Memorize. Know the lyrics to the songs you plan on singing. Memorize any verses you plan on saying. You can have an open Bible or sheet music in front of you during the service, but it's best not to rely on them. As you practice saying these readings, emphasize verbs instead of pronouns, adjectives, and adverbs. Verbs typically convey the greatest amount action and meaning, so emphasizing them can help draw out the truth of the text. Learning the words you'll be singing and saying beforehand will make you feel much more comfortable during public worship, which will allow you to lead worship in a more natural manner.
Practice. You might be the only one leading worship at church. Then again, you might have an entire worship team to work with. No matter how many people are involved, it is crucial that you practice the songs you plan on singing a few times before you have to perform them at church. Make sure that everyone on your worship team knows when each song will be sung. Try to keep everyone as informed as possible so that there are no surprises. Listen to the input of others on your worship team. If the general consensus goes against your initial opinion, rethink your ideas and consider altering them as needed.
Energize yourself before the service. Worship is a spiritual thing, but as a physical being, you also need to keep your physical strength up. Get a full night's sleep the night before. Hydrate yourself and eat enough that morning to give yourself the energy you'll need to make it through the service. If you're the sort of person who easily gets sick on a full stomach, make sure that you only eat enough to wake yourself up and not enough to make yourself feel queasy.
Warm up before the service. Meet up with any other members of the worship team before the service to do one final, quick practice session. As a worship leader, try to show up 15 minutes or so before the rest of the worship team is due to arrive for your final practice. During that time, do sound tests to make sure that the equipment is set up, tune any instruments you'll be using, and flip through your notes to make sure that everything is in order.
Worship During the Service
Watch your body language. Your body language needs to convey energy and sincerity. Even though worship is not about you, you'll still need to have enough of a stage presence to catch the congregation's attention. If you don't seem excited about worship, those you're leading probably won't get excited, either. Consider asking someone to take a video of you as you lead worship. Watch that video later and review your body language. Note which movements seem awkward or distracting and which are helpful. Make sure that you look the part, too. You need to look clean, and your clothes and accessories should be neat, modest, and understated. Maintain good posture and make eye contact during the service. Smile when appropriate and keep a friendly yet strong presence.
Watch the congregation. Keep an eye on the congregation as you lead them in worship and take cues from them as needed. Be prepared to make small changes as needed during the service to get things in sync with the rest of the church. If people seem bored or confused, they may not know the song or feel comfortable singing it. You can encourage them to sing by making a statement like, "Let's worship God together," but avoid guilt tripping them with statements like, "I don't hear anyone singing with me." It's also possible that a technical error prevented words from displaying correctly on the screen, so glance behind your shoulder to make sure that things are on track.
Worship like you mean it. The easiest way to worship like you mean it is to actually mean it. Focus on the words you sing and speak as you lead. If you're only going through the motions without being sincere, people are bound to notice. While you don't need to "act out" each song, try to use body language and verbal language that matches the tone of the songs you sing. Smile and move around when you sing joyful songs. Be more subdued during serious or reflective songs. Your movements do not and should not be theatrical, but the right movements can emphasize the importance of what you're saying more effectively.
Trim the fat. Keep people actively involved during worship. Lengthy instrumental solos and content of that nature are an open invitation for people to let their minds drift. These things may sound pleasing to your own ear, but they if they aren't practical, you should leave them out. You don't need to cut out all the instrumental parts, but ask yourself which are really necessary and which aren't. When an interlude provides a helpful transition, keep it. When the arrangement breaks up the flow of community worship, discard or shorten it.
Pray and recite scripture. As noted before, the verses you read should be picked out and memorized beforehand. The prayers can be written beforehand, as well, or you can ad lib them if you believe that doing so will make them more sincere. As with the songs and the readings, your prayers also need to connect to the message or lesson being conveyed.
Pay attention to other leaders. When it's time for the pastor to deliver his sermon or for someone else to speak, give that person your undivided attention. You're a leader in the church whether you're “on” or “off,” so your actions will be noticed by the rest of the congregation even when you aren't singing or speaking.
Be real. While you need to set aside your personal feelings to some extent, you shouldn't push yourself to make a show of worship if doing so doesn't come naturally to you. On days when you feel more subdued, allow your worship to be more subdued. On days you feel energized, let it show. A little bit of honesty can go a long way, but again, make sure that you do not spend time focusing on yourself as you lead others in worship. Instead of saying, "I'm having a really bad day," point out that there are times in life when praise can be difficult, but state that it's important to continue worshiping during those times nonetheless.
Reflect After the Service
Pray some more. Prayer is vital throughout all parts of this process. Thank God for the worship session after it passes, even when things did not go the way you would've liked. Ask God for guidance as you reflect on the service and plan for next time.
Take notes. Shortly after the service ends, write a few notes for yourself about what did and did not work. Use these notes to as you plan for future worship sessions. A few things you might need to work on may include diction, volume, and pitch. You may not know how you'll sound in the sanctuary until you actually lead worship there once or twice. Make adjustments to the way you speak as needed to compensate for things like echo and poor acoustics. If others critique you or make suggestions, listen to them humbly and with an open mind. Some of the advice others give may not be practical, but some of it will be. Make sure that you're able to honestly distinguish the difference between helpful criticism and destructive criticism without letting your ego get in the way.
Let go of past mistakes. Learning from your mistakes and mishaps is great. Dwelling on those problems and allowing them to negatively taint your thinking is not so great. Think about ways to correct mistakes of the past and let go of those errors as soon as you make plans to avoid them. Flaws and mistakes often serve as helpful reminders to keep yourself humble. Those imperfections can also remind the people you're leading that all of us are only human. If you accept your own faults gracefully, you can encourage those watching you to do the same.
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