WORSHIP MINISTRY OVERVIEW 101 (Pt 1)

WORSHIP

Aug 2

I wish someone had sat down with me when I first started leading worship. I needed to be coached in doing a wholistic approach to worship ministry.

Often times we’re thrown into worship ministry without a lot of training or coaching. Whether it’s as a young leader in a new position, as a volunteer worship leader, or as someone filling in because the last person is gone, there’s a lot to consider.

After spending 22 years in ministry, and leading worship the whole time, I’d like to offer you the overview that I had to figure out on my own. This is not an exhaustive list, but I think it could be an immensely helpful jumpstart to a new minister. I suggest here that you think through your position as a worship leader and what it entails to help lead your congregation and team in enjoying God. In an effective worship ministry, you and your congregation will be transformed by being in his presence, and spurred on to engage in his mission through worship.

Start with why and who: Theology and Orthodoxy

As Simon Sinek says, “Great leaders start with WHY”. We need to be clear on the foundational principals of why we worship, before we move on to how to execute effective worship services each week. We need to consider these foundations when deciding which songs we should sing, what prayers are spoken, and what testimonies should be given. Here are some questions to think through, as well as some links to resources to help you ponder these questions.

Why do we gather for worship?
- Who is the God we worship? What is worship? What does God tell us about acceptable and pleasing worship? What is idolatry and distortion of worship?
  - Topics: Trinitarian, Communal, Relational, Holy, Creator, Sacrificial, Covenantal (Hesed), Incarnational, Idolatry, Spiritual Warfare
What is the goal of worship?
- What happens inside us when we worship God? What does God want to do in us through worship?
  - Topics: Joy, Relationship, Formation, Discipleship, Mission

Books to Consider: Delighting in the Trinity | Engaging with God | Recalling the Hope of Glory | You Are What You Love

2. Designing worship: Now Orthopraxy

Once we’ve clarified the big question of why we worship, we consider the attributes of the God we worship. Based on his attributes, we consider what he wants to do to us through worship. Then we’re ready to talk about how we worship. This is where we start getting into the specifics and details of planning worship services.

What does worship look like biblically and historically?
- How is worship like a conversation between God and his people? What story is told through worship? How does God’s story during worship stand in contrast to the stories of this world? What are the appropriate heart responses to God during worship?
  - Topics: Narrative Arc of the Bible, Biblical and Historical attributes of worship: Adoration, Confession, Assurance, Thanksgiving, Instruction, Communion, Baptism, Petition/Intercession, Charge/Blessing
What is missing in our church and from the stream of Christianity?
- What does our church background/tradition value in worship? How did this come to be? What do other backgrounds and traditions include in their worship that we might be missing in our own? Of the biblical and historical attributes of worship (adoration, confession, assurance) which expressions are we missing and which ones do we rarely attend to?
  - Topics: Streams of Christianity and worship (Catholic, Protestant, Reformation, Holiness), Form and worship (place of communion, form of baptism), Omissions (Lament, Silence)
- What is timeless in worship and what is time bound? Where might we be stuck in a certain cultural expression of worship? What might not make sense to new people in our congregation? How does our worship resonate with younger generations? How do we value multigenerational worship?
  - Topics: Believer Focused, Seeker Accessible, Ritual and tradition, Hymns and Modern Worship, Transitioning worship styles
How do we design corporate worship each week?
- How might we put a system and template into place for designing worship? How do we pick music and develop our own church’s modern hymnal? Where do we incorporate more purposeful moments for prayer, lament, or silence during worship?
  - Topics: Developing a Worship Template, Modern Church Hymnal/Playlist

Books to Consider: Christ-Centered Worship | Rhythms of Grace | Ancient-Future Worship | Streams Of Living Water |

3. Putting together a worship planning team.

If you are a volunteer or a part-time worship leader, you may find yourself planning worship on your own. Even for full-time worship pastors, planning as an individual is common. However, if you have taken the time to work through the theology of worship, look at the historical elements of biblical worship, and then try to create worship that is culturally accessible and historically rich, you will find yourself overwhelmed. It is a ton of work to find scriptures, prayers, songs, charts, and other creative artistic elements, and then fit them together in a way that is cohesive and wholistic.

It’s better to plan worship together with others! There are some practical logistics to think through when putting together a worship planning team.

Who should be part of the team and what roles do they fill?
- Who should be on the team? What are the various roles and expectations for each person on the team? How big should the team be?
  - Topics: Team Roles (producer, curator, band leader, liturgist, visual artist, cultural guide, teacher), Working Genius (wonder, invention, discernment, galvanize, enabler, tenacity)
How do we collaborate?
- Depending on the size of the church and the ratio of paid staff to volunteers, there will be various dynamics that need to be navigated. How involved is the preaching/teaching leader in the worship process? How far out has the teaching leader planned their sermon series? How integrated do they want the teaching to be with the rest of the service? Does the sermon have a theme that the service should be organized around? Is the teaching expositional? What are the leadership/elderships goals for the service? How often should the team meet?
  - Topics: Sermon/Series Planning, Thematic-vs-expositional approach, leadership expectations, paid and unpaid member scheduling
How do we facilitate a brainstorming/creative meeting?
- What should a brainstorming meeting look like? How is that different than a planning meeting? How many weeks out should you be planning services? What elements are you collecting to use in your services? What is the timeline that is required to bring a service from ideation to execution? What are the milestones/timelines (overview, gathering, dumping, sorting, refining, curating, resourcing, execution)?
  - Topics: Creatively gathering elements, creativity, project management, stylistic choices/values, transitions between elements, communicating well from the platform, Team Study of the Bible