20 Worship Leading Tips
By Ben Abu Saada

If you are interested in becoming a music / worship leader, here are some things I’ve discovered on my journey…so far!

Learn to worship with your life. It’s not all about the music. It’s about an exchange of life.

Learn to become a leader. You will have to lead a team of people. Read as much as you possibly can about leadership. Read, read, read. Get your hands on material and ask questions of others. The first key to becoming a leader is understanding that you DON’T have all the answers.

Learn to get organized. Usually a difficult thing for the creative mind. But this is essential if you are going to lead a group of people and assemble worship services week in and week out. And stop being late to everything!

Learn to keep commitments. When you say you are going to do something, do it!

Learn to say no. Better to just say “no” up front than let people think you will fulfill a commitment.

Learn to step up. Don’t just say “no” because you’re afraid to fail. Challenge yourself. Leadership demands people who will fill a gap when the going gets tough.

Learn to find solutions. Don’t point out problems without solutions. No one likes it when someone drops a bomb and walks away without sticking around to help solve the problem. When you lead people, there will be many bombs dropped in your lap, learn how to diffuse them carefully.

Learn to take risks. You can’t please all of the people all of the time. Don’t make decisions based on offending a few. Also learn from your mistakes, then move on.

Learn to review. It’s never fun to hear people tell you what you did wrong. If you want to lead worship or any ministry, you will have to accept criticism. Taking things personally will not get you far in the worship leading world.

Learn to prioritize. Your relationship with God is key to bringing genuine worship each Sunday. Your relationship with your family is also key. Maintain a balance with your priorities. When one area seems to be broken, don’t assume you should quit all other responsibilities. This is not called prioritizing your life. This is called bailing out. If you need to quit, don’t leave a ministry hanging…invest in someone you can disciple in leading worship and give them the reigns.

Practice it all. Don’t get too comfortable. After a few successful Sunday’s, you may be tempted to skip individual rehearsal. Been there done that! Spend time alone with God prior to that Sunday. If you play guitar, pull it out and sing the night before. Play and talk to God as you worship privately. Practice speaking to the church. Stand before a mirror if you have to. Practice it all!

Get some rest. You don’t need to see another Saturday Night Live. Turn off the TV and sleep. Be ready to lead the next day. Nobody wants to be lead by a grumpy worship leader!
Read your Bible. Get it in you! It’ll come out during your worship leading.

Pray for your team. They need you. You need them. Most importantly, God needs all of you. I make a point to pray specifically for each member of the praise team, audio team, video team, lighting and stage team. These people put in a LOT of work without any recognition. They sacrifice coming to church with their families, many times leaving behind a spouse to deal with children on their way to church…alone. YIKES!

Silence the noise. Turn off the radio on the way to church Sunday morning. Talk to God. Recognize His creation and praise Him. I LOVE seeing the sunrise on the way to church. This would also be a good time to pray for your teams.

Positive attitudes. How many times have you arrived at church feeling a heavy negativity/tiredness amongst your team? You’ll be surprised to find out how much a smiling face, encouraging word, and a pat on the back can uplift your team. Remember why you are doing this service…it’s to change lives for Christ!

Tune up. Try and tune up before arriving at church if you play an instrument. I typically spend time the night before tuning up the guitar so I won’t spend much time doing it during sound check. Tune up your voice before arriving.

Watch what you eat. I’ve tried those McDonald s sausage and egg biscuit runs on the way to church on Sunday. If you’re leading worship and you have eaten one of these babies, be ready for a lot of belching. I’ve found myself dropping out of the audio mix during these Sundays. It’s hard for people to follow a leader who is too busy burping and cleaning his/her teeth than leading. I recommend something lighter than a butter baked biscuit and substitute that Coke for a water on the way to church.

Deal with sin. Gotta do it. The Devil will use it against you while leading. People look to you to lead them in worship, not just singing. Display a holy, separated life. When you fall, deal with it and move forward. Don’t let sin keep you from reaching the potential God has for you.

Support your pastor. Pray for the service as a whole. Pray for your pastor who has the burden of shepharding his flock and communicating God’s word each week. Find out what his vision is for each Sunday. Prayerfully choose songs that will enhance the messages and help people open their hearts. Don’t just randomly do things based on your preferences. The pastor sets the vision for the church, your role as worship leader is to support that vision.
These are just a few of the things I’ve learned so far! I’m sure another list will come as I grow in my role as a worship director. I’d love to see your leadership lists. Please share what you have learned in your ministries. Thanks

From: www.ministrytoday.com web site. October 2008

This article may not be not be written by an Apostolic author, but it contains many excellent principles and concepts that can be adapted to most churches. As the old saying goes, Eat meat. Throw away the bones.