Recently I talked about how to engage non-Christians in a worship service But what about how to more effectively engage those who are believers? You may be wondering why I’m writing about this so much. I guess you could say it’s important and I’m working hard on it.

Many worship leaders are content to crank through a list of songs. As a musician and perfectionist, I have this tendency. But remember, there is nothing more important in your role as a worship leader than engaging the congregation. Success is determined by how many people are with you, not how flawless your performance was. What good is it if you have perfect execution but zero participation?

This is not easy. My goal with this post is to offer you 3 tips to help you engage Christians more effectively:

1. Mix new songs with simple, familiar songs

When introducing a new song, don’t sandwich it in between two other new songs. People engage with songs they know – songs that are simple and singable. That doesn’t mean you have to do Here I Am to Worship every weekend; however, if you do too many new songs at once, people are frustrated watching instead of worshiping. Do new songs but do them with songs people already know.

2. Speak Honestly

I can’t tell you how huge this is. Don’t allow yourself to be a cheerleader spouting off Christiany phrases. You don’t want to be a ‘wet blanket’ either. Find the middle ground. Be yourself. Speak to people’s situations. Worship with all you’ve got. Every generation of Christian will find common ground with someone who loves Jesus. They may dislike your music, but they’ll enter in if they respect your heart for God. Learning to speak simply and clearly can really unify a room.

3. Build Momentum

This comes with skill and experience. But you can start now. Momentum in a worship service somes when you begin to medley songs that echo what the Holy Spirit is doing in a room. This is not a concert. Don’t just blaze through your setlist song to song to song to song. Slow down, discern what God is doing, encourage people to sing spontaneously, highlight the theme of what God is doing with songs that people know.

I want to learn from you. What else would you add, worship leaders? Do you think engaging your congregation is important or can we just let the music do its job?

Monday

3 Ways to Engage Non-Christians in a Worship Service

Do you ever feel a little weird leading worship when there are unbelievers in the room? Imagine how they feel. It’s more than a little weird to step into a room of jubilant people singing weird songs, clapping their hands, maybe dancing, and maybe, just maybe waving the dreaded streamer. I remember the first time I raised my hand in worship (notice I said ‘hand’. Singular. Gotta start somewhere). It was a big deal for me. I also remember the first time I encountered a streamer waving dancing lady. No comment.

Read the full post here.

Tuesday

The Best Worship Songs…Ever

I always wonder who comes up with this stuff. The best worship songs ever? Who decides? Is this God’s top 50?

Read the full post here.

And…

Recommended Books for Worship Leaders

Wednesday

How to Practice Better – Worship Leading

In a previous post I talked about how important practice is. But not just practice…deliberate practice – practicing those things that will make you more effective at what you do. When we think practicing we typically think of pianists and football players. But what about something like worship leading? How do we practice that? Yea, I could try to lead worship more often but what about those times when I’m by myself?

Read the full post here.

Thursday

Happy Thanksgiving

Friday

Do You Contribute Or Merely Consume?

Something that I’ve noticed about this generation of young adults is that we are very good at consuming and criticizing. We consume media, teaching, church, and information. And then we spend time venting our opinions on it all. Contrary to what you think I might say, this can be a good thing. We are looking for what is real. We want honesty on display and we want to join with those who are making a difference.

But…

Read the full post here.

Interesting Links:

Vicky Beeching talks about “10 Things I Wish I’d Known When I Started Leading Worship”

Seth Godin on “Where Do Ideas Come From?”

Steven Furtick on “A Ministry Momentum Killer” & “3 Things This Generation Demands”

Brad Lomenick on “5 Tips for Communicating Well”

Do you ever feel a little weird leading worship when there are unbelievers in the room?

Imagine how they feel. It’s more than a little weird to step into a room of jubilant people singing weird songs, clapping their hands, maybe dancing, and maybe, just maybe waving the dreaded streamer. I remember the first time I raised my hand in worship (notice I said ‘hand’. Singular. Gotta start somewhere). It was a big deal for me. I also remember the first time I encountered a streamer waving dancing lady. No comment.

In a related post I talked about 8 ways to engage people in worship. But I want to narrow our focus today. How do we more skillfully engage non-christians in our worship services? If a healthy church is one that has a consistent influx of unbelievers, we need to learn how to connect them. And I don’t believe it involves watering down the Gospel.

I feel this tension every time I lead worship. I’m glad they’re there. They don’t know what’s going on. I desperately want them to experience the power of God.

Here are some ways to engage:

1. Play good music

It makes sense that as unbelievers step into church they aren’t thinking about how to flow in the Holy Spirit and which isle to dance in. They are watching people. They are watching you. They are listening to the music. They are reading the lyrics. Don’t allow sloppy music. Work hard on being good.

2. Sing easily understandable songs

When I’m picking my setlist, I ask the question “will unchurched Joe understand this?” I know I may personally like the song that talks about burning for God in an ocean of wind, but will that make any sense to an unbeliever? Probably not. Focus on songs that articulate the Gospel and aren’t too abstract.

3. Address them

It’s so important to acknowledge unbelievers and empathize with their situation. Bring them along with you. This involves speaking to them, being real, being likable. Don’t freak people out with your personality. Tell them it’s OK if they don’t sing and just stand or sit there. In the meanwhile, pray that the lyrics and presence of the Holy Spirit will reach them deeply.

What would you add to the list? How can we better engage non-Christians in our worship services?

What I love most about leading worship (I guess besides actually worshiping God) is making disciples. Each member of the worship team is someone called by God whom I have the privilege of pouring into.

I believe sometimes we can short circuit what God wants to do through our worship team because we give excuses. “I can’t afford to hire good musicians.” “I just don’t like asking him all the time.” “This schedule is just too busy for people.” “There’s too many services at this church!” Or we just get into ‘weekly maintenance mode’ and lose the big picture of what we are doing.

Let me ask you a couple questions. What culture are you creating with what you’ve got? Do you have a process within your worship team where individual growth is intentional? Are you creating enough margin in your schedule to dream dreams and seek God’s vision for your worship team?

I’d like to share our process with you in hopes that if you don’t have a discipleship strategy for your worship team, that you would start. Or if you do, keep doing it. I’m not saying this way is the only way. Just let it stir your imagination. And let me know if you come up with even better ideas.

When I’m thinking about worship team discipleship, I’m asking the question, “What can we do WEEKLY, MONTHLY, and ANNUALLY?”

WEEKLY

• 15 minute band devotions on Sunday morning (study a good book and/or book of the Bible)
• Pre service prayer (short, declarative prayers)
• Rehearsals (rehearse songs & ‘flow’ moments)

MONTHLY

• Worship Team Workshops (Vocal, Rhythm Section, Worship Leaders, etc.)

ANNUALLY

• Refresh Night (a rehearsal night where we meet off-site and simply worship, cast vision, and hang out. We do this 3x/year.)
• Attend a local conference

What is it that you are doing? What has been helpful for your worship team?