Hello all,

Welcome to this month’s installment of The Art Of Worship.

This month I will discuss bringing up or training of new worship leaders. I believe that part of being an effective worship leader includes the willingness to recognize others in our midst, those who may already be part of our worship team(s) or band(s), who have demonstrated gifting towards worship leading.

Usually, the first thing that I notice in someone who may be a candidate for a worship leader is their heart. This is a very easy and natural thing to pick up on when we’re paying attention to those we serve with in worship ministry.

Many times, we can get so caught up in our own role as the worship leader that we sometimes miss opportunities to encourage others to consider worship leading as well. One way we can help to bring up new worship leaders is to call out or encourage them to continue to move in the gifting and abilities that we see operating in and through them. Again, we need to keep our eyes open so we can recognize when others seem to be moving in that direction.

It is also very important that we are both honest and sincere when we encourage others to pursue such a position. One example would be when we notice in someone a real heart for worship leading, but also notice that while they may be a gifted and talented musician, perhaps their vocal skill is weak, or in need if serious improvement. It could be the exact opposite: they’re a strong and talented vocalist, but very weak or inexperienced in their playing abilities as a musician.  In either case, we must be honest and sincere from the beginning.

Sometimes in our well meaning excitement, eagerness, and desire to encourage others, we can also unintentionally mislead people by over exaggerating their actual abilities, because we want to make them feel good about themselves in a supportive and positive way. The important thing to note here is to be truthful. This can be hard sometimes, especially when you have someone who is really excited and gung ho about leading worship, but may not be ready yet because of these and other possible limitations.

One way to encourage new worship leaders who are still developing in their vocal or instrumental skills, is to allow them to lead worship first, in small group settings, such as home groups, bible studies, or similar gatherings. This will give them experience in leading others in worship in a less demanding environment away from the pressure of a morning service, where they’re in front of the entire congregation.

In the meantime, we should also be encouraging them in pursuing improvement in their vocal and instrumental skills, even suggesting lessons to help their development in the areas where they are week.

If you have time available, you may consider offering to help now and then with lessons or to sit with them once in a while to show them stuff they need to know. Maybe you can schedule regular worship jam sessions that provide an opportunity to learn and to play in a band setting, which is always fun! This can also serve to help build their confidence as they learn and improve as musicians in their playing and singing skills.

Until next time, let’s continue to give our all to the King of kings and the Lord of lords, as we worship him together!