Worship Leading Tips and Techniques
  • Why don't people sing?

 I have found a few reasons why an audience may not be singing. Here are some things to consider:

    • They don't know the music well enough. Don't expect your audience to sing until they have heard the song at least a few times.
    • The music is to soft. - If your sound system is not turned up enough, then people may feel a little exposed and wont sing. Also, if you notice a certain section of your audience consistently not participating, then you may have poor sound coverage. Work with your sound engineer, or your system to try to improve it. Take a walk around your whole worship center while you play some music and listen to the music levels. If your system seems loud enough, but just too thin, then you may want to look into adding a sub-woofer speaker, to add some low end. Check with the people who installed your sound system.
    • Your music is too loud. Usually this is self evident by people holding their ears.
    • Your audience doesn't like your music. You must know your audience; what they like and what they don't like. Sometimes it is not that the song by itself if bad, but that it is placed poorly in the service. For example, if you have just finished seven minutes or so of soft worship music, your audience may be ready for a change of pace in the instrumentation/tempo. Another slow song may tend to bore your audience. Pay close attention to your audience's response to your song selections. Also you may wish to read the section "How to Select the Right Songs" under Effective Worship Leading Topics .
  • The never ending chorus/hymn debate. What can you do?
    • First of all let's look at what makes hymns different than choruses. There are two basic differences. 1. Hymns tend to be longer and have more words. And 2. the arrangements for hymns usually found in hymnals are written in block chords. (One may try to add that the words in hymns are out dated, but I would contend that any form of music lyric could become culturally out dated to a given audience on any given day.)
    • So the debate over hymn vs. chorus is really no debate at all. But rather, what arrangement style should I use for a given song, and how long can I sing that song before those that I lead in worship are distracted or become bored.
    • In many cases, I find that the block chord structures for many hymns are a little to formal, so I create an arrangement that is more flowing - more chorus like. Also, I may only sing the chorus of the hymn, or just a verse or two before I go on to another song.
    • I love any song with great lyrics and great arrangements that fit the song. I often layer in both choruses and hymns in the same worship set. This may be a helpful hint for those who are making the transition to a more contemporary order of service.
  • Have Something to Say.
    • If you talk while leading worship, make sure you have something to to say that is relevant to worship.
    • Speak clearly.
    • Don't be long winded.
  • A tip that I've noticed that works for me is simply to be careful to reference the Scriptures from which a particular song or chorus comes from. As part of the process of knitting the songs together, the Worship Leader can reference the Bible passage from which the song comes from. That way, the audience realizes that they're really singing the Word of God. Not only is the Word of God powerful & effective, but there's something about referencing it which allows people to focus, understand the Scripture(s), and get more out of their worship experience. What do you think ? Wayne Hewitt, a Worship Leader from Kingston Jamaica.wayne.hewitt@toj.com
  • Worship leader's Blunders & Common mistakes
    • Not spiritually prepared to lead worship - without spending that time building a relationship with God, the worship leader will find that all his efforts will not amount too much.
    • Failure to worship yourself with the people
    • Failure to give reason for the various actions of worship - from time to time we need to remind the people why we clap; why we shout; why we raise our hands. If we don't, we are in danger of having these things become no more than a tradition or mimic, rather than a dynamic expression of worship to God.
    • Standing too long
    • Worshipping too long - It is usually better to stop earlier and leave your congregation wanting more, than to drag out the service and have them regret coming back
    • Teaching too many new choruses all at once
    • Talking too much in-between each song - One of the biggest annoyances for the congregation is that the worship leader always tries to say something. Let your songs flow one into another without always having the addition of your opinions and comments.
    • Improper key selection - If a worship leader chooses to lead a chorus in a key that is too low or too high for the average singer, the congregation will tend to stop singing because of frustration and inadequacy to reach their notes.
    • Not supplying the lyrics for the people
    • Not enough repetition of a chorus - Statistics show us that the majority of people need a chorus repeated through at least three times before they can really put their heart into the song and worship.
    • Everything is too loud]]] - Usually the biggest complaint in churches with worship (especially buildings with smaller auditoriums) is the volume level. Unfortunately, it seems that many worship leaders don't seem to care about the Ear's of the people. Music is a big attraction for any church. However, if the volume is too loud, it will discourage your own congregation from wanting to attend anymore. Provided by: Dean Cuke ->faith@iaw.com

Just a note in response to your excelent worship leading page: It's always important to include the congregation. Worship is not a performance before an audience, but unity before God. It took me a while to learn this, coming from a classical performance background. The best musicial performers are not necessarily the best worship leaders.

Also a note about choosing the songs. It's not about playing the songs we like, but the songs God likes. A simple point, but quite important.

Thanks again for the excellent page.

Jon Tofts < England@wye.ac.uk>

 

1. Congregational Focus.

As worship leaders, we need to identify where and what God has for the people, not ourselves. Obviously this requires preparation, however, it can be very spontaneously. One of the common mistakes I see with my worship leaders is the inability to separate out what is personally for them, and what should be for the congregation resulting in "missing it" completely.

2. Smile Please!

Its a simple thing, however something that we miss easily. I have to pinch myself continuously. The problem is that worship leaders are normally trying real hard, but in the process give the impression of being too serious and demanding. A happy face works wonders!

Paul Schneider    < pamsch@senet.com.au>

I just ran across your request for helpful tips and I figured I would send one
that really helped us this weekend.  I called the worship team in to our back
room about fifteen minutes before the service started, and in addition to our
normal prayers, I led a devotion based on Psalm 68:24-26.  In Old Testament
worship, the singers and musicians led a procession of people into the temple-
into the very presence of God Himself.  I explained that we were doing much
more than singing and sharing our talents with the congregation- we were
leading the people Jesus died for into the very presence of God.  I asked the
worship team to visualize what that procession looked like, and we discussed
how joyous yet reverant, exciting yet thankful, it must have been.  The
devotion reminded me and the worship team what our sole purpose in that service
was- to lead the people joyfully and reverantly into the very presence of God
Himself.  We ended with prayer and when we went out, the Lord annointed us with
some of the best worship the church had ever seen.  We were not performing- we
were fulfilling the biblical purpose of the worship leaders.

David_Kibler@ms1.asburyseminary.edu (David Kibler)

I'm a worship pastor in Oregon.  I just returned Monday from being part of
  an exciting week of ministry in Istanbul, Turkey.  It was a joy to learn the
  words to many of our choruses in Turkish.  However, I was sitting there in
  the hotel thinking that what they really need are their own original songs
  written by Turkish people using their own instrumentation.  Just a thought,
  but you could pass on to your viewers this idea.  If they are planning to go
  into a foreign land for worship seminars, outreach, etc.  Find a way to
  order samples of their country's music ahead of time and/or get in contact
  with someone from their nation who now lives here and can help you craft
  some songs that are non-western influenced.  There is a new move among
  Wycliffe Bible Translators called "Ethnomusicology" where they are doing
  just this.  I know the Turkish people enjoyed our worship leading, but think
  of the smile on their faces if we had pulled out a darbuka and soz and
  twanged away at a turkish melody.  It would have been awesome.

  Just a thought,
        Ken Snyder <KSnyder@gcc-tualatin.org>